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[OM] Re: Evolt review

Subject: [OM] Re: Evolt review
From: Joel Wilcox <jowilcox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 08:06:30 -0600
At 09:40 AM 1/17/2005 +0100, you wrote:
>2005-01-17 kl. 05.58 skrev AG Schnozz:
>
> >
> > The D7D is definitely on my shortlist.  But my heart keeps
> > saying "E-1".
> >
> > AG
>
>
>But isn't the E-1 starting to be a bit old? If I HAD to by a DSLR to
>day, I would buy the E-1, but when the E-3 is approaching maybe one
>should wait... Though I'm still using Kodachrome now and then, talk
>about old...
>
>Who, on this list, is ready to say "Well I feel that 5MP is enough" one
>year from now? Two? Buying in to a whole new system (only OM-s in my
>locker) is a big step for me. The E-300 could have been a way in, but
>is not for me. I have no wishes to go to N*kon or C*non and the H-1
>system from H*sselblad is just out of reach for me. But buying the 18
>month old E-1 isn't that appealing either.
>
>/ Johan

Johan,
This review (http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/oly-e/e300-rev.html) has this 
interesting sidebar about sensor size:

"Although the Kodak chip has a total of more than eight megapixels (or, 
more exactly, photosites interpolated into pixels), the exact number of 
those which end up within the recorded image is 7,998,272. I'm referring to 
this number as 7.62 MP: while "mega" means in science one million, in 
computer applications it traditionally denotes the factor 220, or 
1,048,576, a difference of almost 5%.

"Why all this hair-splitting? First, I'm addressing my articles to Readers 
who like to know such things, second, it simplifies the calculations. An 
uncompressed image from a 7.62 MP camera, with 8 bits (one byte) per color, 
will contain 3*7.62 = 22.86 MB of information.

"Now, is this a progress from the 5 MP of the E-1? Not necessarily, and for 
many reasons. Generally, the current technology (and, to some extent, the 
laws of physics) defines some pixel count above which, for a given sensor 
size, there is little, if any, additional gain in image quality. I would 
guess this limit, for the 4/3 sensor size, is somewhere between 5 and 8 MP. 
The 6 MP lower-end cameras already crossed this line (with the mass market 
being largely ignorant, and following the "more is better" marketing ploy). 
Yes, I would like to see a 20 MP camera, but only with the full 24x36 mm 
(or larger) frame size.

"You may enjoy reading 'In Search of the Ultimate Image Sensor' 
[http://www.kodak.com/global/plugins/acrobat/en/digital/ccd/papersArticles/ultimateSensor.pdf],
 
an article by Brian L. Benamati, posted among Kodak technical papers, a 
treasure trove for those of us who do not want to rely just on advertising 
blurb."

I'm still trying to figure out what it all means, but in the meantime I am 
not dismissing the E-1 so long as the images are good, provided you can 
accept its limitations, mainly some noise and no on-board flash.

Joel W.


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