On Wednesday, February 5, 2003, at 03:15 PM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
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
I think the main limitation on pixel density is circuit noise. If you
are going to build a "pro" camera system you do not want people
spotting noise in the shadows or to have limitations in using the
camera at higher ISO ratings. It is disquieting to see Olympus upgrade
an existing camera to the C5050 which already had well documented color
aberration issues with the lens and which has been criticized because
of its circuit noise level. Hope the the new system camera is better
thought out.
It could be delayed because they have been too slow and need to
reconfigure the camera. After all they announced it in April 2001 as a
5.1 megapixel camera. This stuff is a quickly moving target. They have
long passed any interest in an expensive 5 megapixel camera. There is
not going to be much interest now unless they pop out with a 7 or 8
megapixel camera. And soon.
Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California, USA
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