Old megapixel question

[ni_gentry]

Please move on if you're tired of this question, but I was just

wondering again if the megapixel count of digital cameras will ever

start reaching a plateau. The 8 megapixel mark seemed like a great

milestone and plenty of resolution for most people except for the

small percentage of those who do critical or professional work. A

large majority of images taken with digital cameras never get viewed

beyond the computer screen anyway. Yes it's nice to be able to print

at 16x20 or larger or have the freedom to crop and recompose, but

how often do 'most' people really do that? <br><br>

How many megapixels will satisfy the market... the 12.8 megapixels

of the 5D or the 10.2 megapixels of the new D200 or the (probably)

10 or 12 megapixels of the 20D upgrade that Canon will be all the

rage in a few months? I bet the next 1Ds succesor will be in the

20+ megapixel range and start competing with medium format digital

backs (although you can argue that it's already competing).

<br><br>It's not all about pixel count anyway. How about doing

something more fundamental to improving digital capture? Give us

better sensors. Get rid of the bayer filter. Improve image

processing algorithms. Better glass that resolves beyond what was

originally designed for 35mm film. From my own personal experience,

I know that the results I used to get with my Hasselblad and Zeiss

glass and film was clearly superior "technically" than any DSLR (at

least those with a 35mm or smaller sized sensor). It was also more

aesthetically appealing to me. However, I can't argue the

convenience and fun of shooting digital...there's compromises we

choose in all aspects of our photography.<br><br>BTW - I just pulled

the trigger on a new 5D right before seeing the announcement for the

new Nikon. Not regretting the decision since I'm already invested

in Canon lenses and would still make the same purchase today. But I

guess I can't help but feel that the 5D will be "obsolete" by some

standards in just a couple years. For my own purposes I hope it

will last much longer than that.

[ni_gentry]

... btw, I'm already convinced that for the near future digital cameras will be fairly disposable pieces of equipment that will be upgraded every few years by most people who pursue this hobby. Just an unfortunate side effect of the great technological advancements we have the benefit of enjoying. Those who are smart will ride the back-end of the wave. I don't have enough will power for that :-)

[martin_doudoroff1]

I'm no optics expert, but I thought I'd read that more than 30-35 megapixels was probably

pointless with 35mm optics.

[benb]

I just got a 5D as well and I think we are going to start seeing some level of slowdown in the improvement/upgrade cycle.

 

I had a 10D before the 5D and there were clear things I could easily rattle off that I didn't like:

- Poor dynamic range compared to film

- Colors just not quite as rewarding as film

- Metering/AE not as good as my old film camera (Elan 7e)

- Crop factor (always hated it)

- Tiny viewfinder (always hated it)

- Slow startup (not a big deal)

 

The 5D fixes all of these as far as I can tell. The 10D already had plenty of megapixels for me, I have printed up to 13"x19" on the 10D and was always happy with the results. 5 megapixel is enough for 8x10 IMO, it's hard to tell shots from my Powershot S50 from my 10D at 8x10 assuming low ISO. So the jump from 6.3MP to 12.8MP was not one of the deciding factors in me upgrading. ISO performance and noise was already decent on the 10D.

 

If you look at what is left for Canon to do given that they have the 1Ds2 and 5D at full frame now:

- Consolidate the 1D series cameras into a single camera with the quality of the 1Ds Mk II and the speed of the 1D MkII

- Possibly speed up the 5D in a future release, possibly include the 1 series AF on the 5D so the cameras resemble the old film lineup in terms of feature differentiation

- Bring the 20D and 350D series cameras up to larger sensors.

 

So given that all the DSLRs have plenty of megapixels at this point for almost everyone, I think we are almost ready to see the cameras start to mature and the upgrade cycle will slow down.

 

For me the only things I don't have are faster shooting. (E.x. 5-10fps) This is not something that will get me to upgrade, just as it was not something that I ever cared about with film. So I am hoping to keep my 5D for 5 years at least now, I'm not sure what would happen that would make me want to upgrade. And if I keep it for 5 years the cost to buy it won't seem too bad at all compared to what I was spending on film a few years ago.

[mark_chappell]

<I>But I guess I can't help but feel that the 5D will be "obsolete" by some standards in just

a couple years.</i><P>

 

Of course it will. This is a fact of life in the DSLR universe. Does the same (or shorter)

product lifetime get you worked into a tizzy when you contemplate buying a new

computer?<P>

 

<I> For my own purposes I hope it will last much longer than that.</i><P>

 

They don't suddenly die and disappear when the new models come out. They will

continue to make pictures of the same quality until the cameras physically fail -- which

should be A LOT longer than the production cycle.

[grant g]

"Those who are smart will ride the back-end of the wave."

 

I don't know how true that is...especially since I almost cringe when I have to answer the "How many megapixels is that?" with, "Six." since I'm still shooting with a 10D and 300D. I wouldn't *dare* mention to a client that my backup is a 3MP D30!

 

But I am sticking to the plan to upgrade to a 20D now that I can get one new, post rebate, for under $1,000. : )

 

I do suppose though, that being penny-wise with camera bodies has *allowed* me to be pound foolish with the lenses. Can't wait to get a 5D under $2k.

[ron_jonson]

Pixel count will continue to rise steadily for a while. It's a great marketing tool and an easy thing for consumer level people to latch onto as a measure of how good a camera is. More experienced people will know better. <br><br>

There are like, what...8 or 9 megapixel point 'n' shoot digicams now? I can easily see 16 megapixel APS sized pro-sumer DSLR's in the current 20D market/price range, and 24 megapixel full-frame pro DSLR's in the 1-series market space...Probably get there within about 3 years at the current rate... I think that's when it'll start to level off. It all makes the used market is a great place to live...for both DSLR's and "obsolete" film cameras.

[jon_austin]

The higher the pixel count, the more powerful the PC resources required to process the images.

 

I'm beginning to suspect that the true driving force behind the pervasive marketing of (ever-higher-resolution) digital cameras is the PC industry...