William Robb wrote: >On 17/05/2012 1:00 PM, Bob W wrote: > >> posting them online is not the point. Nobody needs a 24mp sensor for that. >> But people do want to print large, and to be able to crop. In addition, more >> pixels generally means other things about the camera are 'better' (depending >> on your definition). > >If they are making 24mp cameras for people who are making large prints, >they can't be expecting to sell many cameras. The vast majority of >pictures nowadays are viewed on digital displays of some sort, be them >ipads or computer monitors. >Chasing the large print market is a fools game. >The pixel war is pretty much marketer driven, people are impressed by >large numbers over smaller ones, and people now are used to (and demand >that) manufacturers give them more large numbers, pixel count being the >key metric they latch on to.
Damn right. Pixel count is an easy numerical target for both consumers and engineers to latch onto, so the pressure is on from both sides. I expect the K5 replacement will use a variant of the Sony 14MP APS-C sensor due to this pressure. I'm really not interested in 24MP APS-C (though that's partly because I already have a 24MP full-frame camera). I can make splendid 12 x 18 prints from my 16MP K5 even with significant cropping. To get the benefits of my 24MP camera requires extra effort and attention to detail, so it only gets used when I think I need it and am willing to work in the manner it requires. As someone else noted, 16MP and 24MP cameras are very different animals. I'd be perfectly happy if Pentax used a 24MP sensor in a full-frame camera but I expect market pressure will necessitate a ~35MP sensor. (And I'll buy one just so I don't have to keep acquiring Sony lenses.) >Nikon took a serious lambasting when they came out with the D3, IIRC, >because it was "only" 12mp". Apparently there is much pissing and >moaning in Canonville because they don't have anything above 22mp. One >would think that the world is ending. I expect that Canon, having merged the 1D and 1Ds models, will come out with a new designation and a Nikonesque-pixel-count camera before too long. >Most of these people never get beyond taking pictures of brick walls, >but they still want more than what the other guy has (Why not just find >some smaller bricks to photograph?). Brilliant! -- Mark Roberts - Photography & Multimedia www.robertstech.com -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
