Pentax Joins Olympus - Opts out of Pixel Wars

[bmattock]

http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/pentax-to-step-out-of-the-megapixel-war-20090323/

Not that I think this will do much - the war will grind to a halt when Joe Sixpack is finally convinced that more does not equal better. We'll see.

 

[dazedgonebye]

A good sign I think.

 

[Tuolumne]

Maybe we can get some real image improvements now.

/T

 

[john_s]

I was asked "you paid that much for a 12Mpixel camera?" The camera in question is a D700 (sorry- not a rangefinder). Even my daughter's pocketable P+S is 12Mpixel, I think.

However I'm not sorry I bought it. The results in low light are marvellous, and there are enough pixels!

 

[freeranger]

I'll be getting the k20d, then...instead of waiting around for the next increase in sensor size!

 

[iamzip]

I'm quite happy with my eight megapixel rebel, for digital.

 

[Al Patterson]

So maybe the K200 will still be around when I'm looking to upgrade. I'm happy with the results I'm getting with 6 and 7 megapixels on my two current digital cameras.

I wish the P&S looked more like a G10, but no need to buy new until one breaks.

 

[Sam N]

While processing 21mp RAW files is a bit annoying, I think more resolution is typically a good thing as long as it's done within reason. 12mp compacts that look like garbage on the pixel level are pretty pointless. However, a full-frame 21mp sensor has the same pixel density as an APS-C 8mp sensor, so it's not as if Canon/Nikon/Sony have gone off the deep end or anything (yet).

Hopefully, Pentax and Olympus are actually working on sensors with considerably higher dynamic range, etc. and not just using this as an excuse to cop out of being competitive. Unfortunately, these companies don't design their own sensors. I'd love to see more things like Foveon, Fuji's SR/HR/EXR, Kodak's sensors, a monochrome sensor, etc.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Not that I think this will do much - the war will grind to a halt when Joe Sixpack is finally convinced that more does not equal better. We'll see.

Joe fourpack?

 

[dazedgonebye]

Haven't I read somewhere that pixel density affects the point at which diffraction becomes a sharpness issue?
Something about the 50D being limited at around f11?

Please just correct me if you know the details or if I'm out of bounds on this. I can't remember the source of this "info" so I can't say it is reliable.

If this is true, aren't we reaching/approaching a practical limitation of pixels for the various sensor sizes?

 

[martin s]

Pentax Joins Olympus - Opts out of Pixel Wars

Funny to read this a few minutes later. (Not the same, I know..)

martin

 

[jmilkins]

Time to start an "Is Digital Dead?" thread 😉

 

[Gaspar]

Pixels bah! If a photo has been well taken and is tack sharp you could interpolate to double of the size and nobody would know. Give me smoth contrast and colour rendition instead.

 

[cysasam]

Interpolation is fine, up to a point. Then resolution of the uprezzed image goes downhill after that.
Wildlife and bird shooters can't get enough of pixels, as they crop a lot often.

 

[sooner]

I have a K100d and at a mere 6mp it does a fine job, especially indoors and/or in low light, which is the best reason to own a dSLR. Using a standard zoom, I shot pics of my son playing ice hockey from the stands, and you could make out his name on a piece of tape on his helmet. That was plenty good resolution for me.

 

[Platinum RF]

Pentax and Olympus... they are both losers in this digital age. pentax should come out a reasonabale priced Full frame DSLR, and Olympus is already out of the game when they went to the 3/4 route. They are both losers, peroid.

 

[katgut@earthlink.net]

Platinum,
You're only right from the viewpoint of the professional. However, most of the camera-buying public isn't--that's why there are only a few FF DSLRs on the market, but about 100 point-and-shoot model. The average person doesn't need FF. They want light weight, ease of use, and good photo quality for moderate sizes. Both Pentax and Olympus give features that the FF cameras don't, for much, much less money. At this point, ergonomics is the big factor, and not sensor size or megapixels.

 

[gavinlg]

Pentax and Olympus... they are both losers in this digital age. pentax should come out a reasonabale priced Full frame DSLR, and Olympus is already out of the game when they went to the 3/4 route. They are both losers, peroid.

What a load of crap.

Just wait till the olympus micro 4/3rds come out.

Also, I assume you haven't tried an olympus e-3 with top end zuiko digital glass. There's a reason why it's so damned good - it's the 4/3rds sensor.

 

[Rick Waldroup]

For years all I shot was a Nikon D2H- 4.2 mp, and a Nikon D1x- 5.2 mp. I never had any desire to change cameras until I moved to the 4/3 system. And that move was predicated more on downsizing in equipment than performance. Those Nikons produced outstanding images. The D1x is still one of my favorite cameras that I have ever owned.

I now shoot a Lumix L1 and I have a Ricoh GRDII. For the kind of stuff I shoot, these work just fine.

 

[BillBingham2]

Something about history repeating itself..... Nikon FTN and the OM-1.....D3x and the .....

I actually think this has more to do with the economy (tanking) and the marketing folks trying to buy more time in model life (12 months plus). It's the right thing do not get me wrong, should have been the focus much earlier, but with the short cycle time getting new (more pixels) sensors to market the time it takes for the engineers to develop better firmware to provide better (color) pictures in camera was just too small to see many meaningful advances.

I also think you will see less model variants in the P$S space. Unless the line setup is nothing between models it takes time and money to reset a line.

B2 (;->