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[OM] How many pixels on the mythical 4/3" sensor?

Subject: [OM] How many pixels on the mythical 4/3" sensor?
From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 05 Feb 2003 18:15:27 -0500
While browsing around on dpreview.com I happened to notice that the C-5050 sensor (7.2mm x 5.3mm = 38.2mm2) is smaller than the E-20's sensor (8.8mm x 6.6mm = 58.1mm2) yet both produce 5 MP.

I thought I remembered the 4/3" sensor rumored for the Oly DSLR to be larger so I looked it up and found that it's 18mm x 13.5mm = 243mm2. While the 4/3" sensor is small compared to a 35mm film frame it is positively gigantic compared to the C5050 and E20 sensors.

If Olympus (or Kodak, whoever is building it) were to produce the 4/3" with the same pixel density as the E-20 it would have 5 x 243 / 58.1 = 20.9 MP

If it had the same pixel density as the C-5050 it would have 5 x 243 / 38.2 = 31.8 MP.

Food for thought:
Is it possible that the 4/3" system could ultimately rival MF quality? Are there overriding economic limitations in producing a 4/3" sensor with the same pixel density as the C-5050? The C-5050 lens can obviously resolve detail at the density of its own sensor. Can an equivalent lens be economically made to cover the larger image circle?

Chuck Norcutt
Woburn, Massachusetts, USA


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