12mp is enough

And it is claimed that Bill Gates once said 640k of base memory would be enough for peoples needs. :D
 
It depends whar you're using the camera for really. If you're an amateur who prints at A3 or smaller, and doesn't sell your shots, 12MP is more than enough.

If you're doing stock photography, and/or selling your shots as a pro, I'd say that's nowhere near enough for what you need.
 
Instead, Olympus will focus on other characteristics such as dynamic range, color reproduction, and a better ISO range for low-light shooting, he said.

What we have all said many times before...!
 
Nikon have also made this point. The number of pixels is a trade off against noise at higher ISO. More MP on a bigger sensor means less noise so the medium format digitals can push it further.

But thats only as things stand now and who knows which way things will develop. I suspect it's a marketting angle Olympus hope will persuade people they don't need to upgrade to a camera with more MP - which they don't have.
 
I tend to agree, to a point.

I think it would be nice to see bigger advances in other areas (Higher DR / Noise Handling / Hi ISO ) rahter than just keeping on cramming pixels onto the sensors.

for example..

The E-3 has a similar pixel density to the 50D (but a smaller sensor), but gets sharper images on the edge of the frame due to the telecentric design of the camera / lens.
 
More MP is still better than less - IF the other technology involved advances enough to realise the increased potential.
 
and there lies the problem - higher MP = higher ISO noise to go with better resolution. Higher noise levels require more aggressive NR protocols, which soften and dampen down the noise at the expense of detail.

I maintain that, unless a remarkable sea change in NR technology occurs, at 35mm full frame equivalent 12 MP is the perfect pixel pitch for high ISO shooting. The D3 will be a benchmark in higher ISO's for a while yet.

Perhaps the newer technology will see individual pixels able to determine their own optimal ISO.
 
Not an E3, but I have tried an E30. I just don't get with their layout. I know they're not bad cameras, but they don't do anything for me.


Ahhh, so not so much 'poor cameras', more like you dont like them.

Not trying to stir it up, but more point out that the camera is a very personal thing and it either 'fits' or it doesn't.

The menu system on my D700 drives me insane :bang: whereas the E-3 was a much simpler affair, although nearly as powerful in what it could achieve.
 
Ahhh, so not so much 'poor cameras', more like you dont like them.

Not trying to stir it up, but more point out that the camera is a very personal thing and it either 'fits' or it doesn't.

Haha, yeah, well I thought that was a given. ;) Sorry, I forget people on here don't know my posting style.
 
Akira Watanabe said:
"We don't think 20 megapixels is necessary for everybody. If a customer wants more than 12 megapixels, he should go to the full-frame models,"
And without the marketing speak:
[quote="Akira Watanabe]"We gambled on the smaller sensor and lost. We've tried everything we can to get acceptable results above 12MP and failed, so we're going to pretend it doesn't matter"[/quote]
 
I think that he has a point, they keep brining out sensors with more and more MP and they tell us its better, It happened to intel they kept making faster processors, 3 GHZ and then the rumoured 4GHZ net burst prescot (i think), and then AMD brought out a far more efficient processor running at 2.4GHZ and that changed intels whole road map, they had to come up with something good and they did the core 2 duo.
what do you want more MP or better image quality, If i believe the hype I should get rid of my D300 and get the D3x with its 24mp, If i do it won't make me a better tog, and I bet I would still need Noise ninja, neat image etc.
I bet with the way technology has moved on they could produce a 6mp camera and you wouldn't ever need a noise reduction program, but they won't cause there's money to be made pushing pixels, I think olympus should try it might shake things up a bit like AMD did to Intel
 
""Originally Posted by Akira Watanabe
"We don't think 20 megapixels is necessary for everybody. If a customer wants more than 12 megapixels, he should go to the full-frame models,"""
Problem is that 12Mp on a 4/3 sensor is the same pixel density as 19.7Mp on a Nikon/Pentax/Sony APS-C sensor ...
= more noise
 
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