R8 predicted specs: Full frame at $1499

SafariBob wrote:

Llop wrote:

Sensors are made on fixed size wafers such as 300mm. Twice the area, twice the cost.

Twice the variable cost actually (probably a bit more as the yields are lower, you have 2x probability of defects in the larger chips/sensors)

The fixed costs (R&D, tooling) are a relevant percentage and are spread across all chips manufactured, therefore the overall cost difference is not so large (assuming comparable amounts are required for full frame, APSC or m43 or...).

And then the price is a different question, as long as you are covering costs, price it as high as the market allows you. If people are willing to pay more for full frame, price it higher (even if the costs were equivalent). Little competition? Again price it higher. Want to earn market share? Lower it.

A relatively good comparison would be the automotive industry: very high upfront/fixed costs in design and getting ready to manufacture spread across all the cars made.

My impression is that most fixed cost is priced in on a relative, percentage basis. Mid range Lenses are about $1-2 pr gram, Apple laptops $1-2 pr gram and I would expect affordable cars to be about $15 pr kg.

Bob, in a very friendly way, no malice intended, but sarcastically, imagine that a company spends 8 billion Dollars to get into the camera sensor business. But they only plan on selling 8 sensors. What is the price that they will sell them at ? One billion each ?

They must have some sort of « réclamation » process to pull the precious materials out of the sensors that they cannot put it cameras. That process costs money too. 
Say that they have produced all the sensors that they need for aps-c for the month of February 2023, are they going to tell their workers to just read the newspaper in the factory break room ? While all the machines, and all the trained workers, just do nothing ?

The fixed costs are so astronomical, it’s almost silly to look very seriously at the unit costs, is what I am trying to say. But whatever.