"Jens Bladt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Wrong answer. >Sensores don't get bigger and bigger, I believe. They get smaller and >smaller, better, faster, cheaper - and have more MP's - just like everything >else electronic. Today 15,7 X 23,5mm (APS size) seems to be a rather large >sensor. The 8 MP SONY sensor is only 8.8 x 6.6 mm - a 2/3" sensor. The >Olympus E-1 is a 4/3" sensor system (5.7 MP) - using a 15-18mm sensor. >There's many good things to be said about small sensors. Less glass (weight >and cost) is one of them. I guess the next generations of cameras will have >smaller sensors making larger image files. Small sensors are the future, not >ff.
Both theory and experience argue against this. For equal pixel size, a larger sensor will always yield higher resolution; or for equal pixel count a larger sensor will larger (lower noise) pixels. And these factors are in addition to the greater information gathering capability related directly to size itself. Simple observation shows an inexorable trend toward larger sensors: The first Kodak DSLR's had a 2.7 crop factor! Then came the 1.6 and 1.5 crop factor cameras, followed by the 1.3 crop and 1:1 (full frame). Then came medium format sensors. At first these cropped the image as well but now full-frame 645-size sensors are available. The *only* reason "crop factor" DSLR's ever existed was price. The new Canon 5D is whittling away at this factor. Of course, we know full-frame sensors will never be any less expensive than the one in the 5D.... <g> -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
