RANT: SONY's Misdirection in Sensor Design: A Suggestion

[photoaddict]

It's really just stupid to use the Mega Pixel race as a marketing
strategy. There is no reason at all that a 15mp jammed packed into a
tiny 1/1.7 or 1.8 or 2.5 can be more useful than a 4000 pixel wide
12MP. There is really no reason for this in consumer P&S cams. None!

I totally agree. It's totally insane and the noise is MUCH worse. My image quality from my Olympic 3000Z (3 MP) remains a LOT cleaner, sharper, and BETTER than my Fujifilm F40 (8MP).

They need to make BIGGER sensors or keep the MP count low. I tell you, if they make it 4 MP sensors with today's technology, the image quality would be truly astonishing because of better light gathering technolgy and better noise reduction.

 

[Andrew dB]

see, you think more MP jammed packed into a super tiny chip is
progress. Not so!

Progress is making exceptional products. The trick is not keep
making the MP higher, that by itself is not progress, nor does it
generate better quality images. Keep in mind we are talking consumer
cams, not pros. Major fashion photographers can't have enough MP.
Just talking consumers here.

Progress is making a 12MP chip that shoots totally clean at 800iso or
1600iso. That's progress.
Progress is making a 12MP chip that shoots amazing images, on a
consumer cam, at 4 frames a second at highest resolution.

Stop thinking in MP, that's not progress. That's marketing BS.
Panasonic has stopped the race. Good for them. S

What you are asking for in terms of high ISO capability is significantly bigger sensors - the pixel count itself isn't particularly important. That in turn would mean a big jump in cost while losing much of the neatness of little cameras.

I recently bought one of the little Canon Ixus models and while it does have more noise in the images than some people might like (because I always have NR turned off), the relatively high pixel count means the noise is very fine grained and not particularly noticeable at normal viewing sizes. If I do want to print big, I know enough about image processing to make the most of the shot so for me, the small sensor tradeoff is worth it for the low cost and convenience I get.

 

[Maverick_]

I didn't realize those Fuji 6MP F series are fetching high prices now. Older Fuji F series struck to a great formula of producing very clean high ISO images. they also make their own chips. They could still pull it off at 10MP with right R/D, but they don't seem to be into it any more.

Perhaps guys like us are in the extreme minority, but then again you look at Panasonic and you see them limiting their MP and focusing instead on quality, we can't be that extreme of small group of enthusiasts... S

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http://www.shahramshiva.com

 

[Maverick_]

I agree, obviously, with your post. Gotta give Pana credit for keeping a 10MP limit on their LX3, while trying to improve the image quality. Sorry to repeat myself, but 15MP on a chip the size of your pinky's fingernail is pure criminal. S

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http://www.shahramshiva.com

 

[G Rash]

The governing factor is sales, of course. If Fuji rolled back out the 6 mp chip from the F30 (heck, roll back out the F30), would the sales be enough of a return to justify it? I hope so, and I'd love to see that kind of thing happen. 6 mp is plenty for a P&S for my compact camera uses, I've gotten great 8x10's out of less than 6 mp before. I'd happily pay a premium for a high quality compact with a reasonably clean and detailed high ISO, and an updated F30 would be great. Unfortunately I doubt it would sell all that well because the average consumer is ill informed as far as their needs in a P&S.

I hope the MP race is over in most of the DSLRs are well. The 12 plus in my D300 are plenty for me. I'd rather have photo quality improvements than more pixels. However, I'm sure the studio and landscape guys would enjoy more pixels.
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Good shooting,

GR
North Carolina