Larger Sensors for Pro-sumer cameras ???

[Tobias]

Well ..we have come a long way in a few short years with digital cameras ...it seems to me now that there is a market out there for a particular kind of camera that a lot of folks are looking for. With the big names of Nikon , Canon , Sony etc all coming out with similar 8 meg cameras with a built in zoom ...the so called Pro-sumer camera or upscale Digicam ....they are certainly taking notice of consumers demands ....( the Pro's ..semi- Pros ..and Advanced Amateurs I'm referring to ).

Seems to me that this group is looking for exceptional quality in a camera with a built in zoom ..and I certainly am looking for this. What I would like to see is a camera with a say 28-200 lens ..insignificant CA ....and very minimal noise up to 400 ISO. I would like to see the 2/3 sensor gone from this particular market ..and replaced by a thouroughy tested 1"(3/3) or maybe 4/3 sensor. I want the camera to feel like a thoroughbred ..heavy and all metal ..( well fairly heavy anyway ....makes for steady shots).....minimal pincushion and barrel distortion and great sharpness and color.
Now if all this makes the camera larger so be it ...I dont want quality compromised for a 20% larger camera. I think noise and CA are some of the huge problems that consumers just wont tolerate any more in a flexible Prosumer camera. If this puts the camera into the Pro level ...even better ..lots of Pros out there would love to have the flexibilty of a built in zoom .

About these small sensors and noise.....Hopefully there will be a lot of R&D done here to give the consumer what they want ...one option could be going to an Optics block (Prism ) and splitting the RGB on to 3 separate sensors each sensor could be about 1" (3/3) and from 3 to 6 megs each (9-18megapixels) with larger pixel pitch and lots of space around the pixels. This might seem like it takes up a lot of space in the camera ..but it wouldnt really ...the camera and lens would be about the size of an SLR. Foveon are layering their silicon chip ..and this is OK ..but splitting RGB onto 3 sensors would be a better way to go. The image results from this would meet the consumers quality demands ...and the R&D expense would be re-couped with huge sales ..and market domination for years.

I was really attracted to the 300D with its large sensor and features until I actually felt the camera in my hand ..eewwwww ... that cheap plastic body thing looks and feels soooo tacky ..I hope all these manufacturers get it right 1 day at least once ...just build a camera that feels like a heavy duty pro camera ...make it all metal and black and make it feel like it weighs a ton for good stability ( well not quite a ton lol ) ...oh and stop making 2/3 size sensors ...just start at least with 1" sensors( test those and if it works ..use it ) ..oh and just make it manual focus and zoom ..no trick power focus ..( just like a real 35mm )....throw a decent piece of glass on the front ..( 28mm to 200mm works fine ..aperture around 2- 2.4 ) and of course fluorite the hell out of it so its crisp ..and please just dont put it on the market until the CA is almost gone ...and the noise is not apparent up to 400 asa..Dont worry about competing at $999 bucks ...YOU make the right Pro-sumer that the Con-sumer is looking for and the sales will dictate the selling price!What the consumer wants is a PRO camera ( or darn close ) with just 1 zoom lens built in !...I'll bet the first manufacturer to come up with this camera will be the market leader for a very long time !

PS ...having worked with film cameras like Mitchell, Arriflex & Panavision ..you really feel the quality from a solidly built camera ....and ya dont shoot high end TV commercials and Features on 16mm .only 35 mm( too much grain (noise) )....likewise ya dont make high end digital pictures with small sensors . Just my 2 cents worth lol ! Cheers ...Tobias.

[Michael Fanelli]

Well ..we have come a long way in a few short years with digital cameras ...it seems to me now that there is a market out there for a particular kind of camera that a lot of folks are looking for....

Several observations. First, you can get a lot of this by buying a DSLR and leaving a single lens on it at all times. If you decide to expand you interests, you can without having to buy another camera.

Cost is an issue with consumer cameras. What you are asking for would be well over the price people would be willing to pay. How many people are going to pay $1500-$2000 for a camera with no way to update the lens? This is the same problem the film-based ZLRs had.

A metal body means nothing. Big and heavy does not translate to durability. In many ways, polycarbonate is superior to metal. Why a big heavy consumer camera? Again, I really think this is the wrong market.

Take another look at DSLRs. I think you'll find they have all the features you will actually use.

[Tobias]

Hey ..nothing wrong with DSLR's ..... just dont want to tote lenses around ....just a nice zoom with low noise and low CA ... for my needs anyway ! I think within 2 years the camera I need will be on the market ..sensor costs will come down ...shoot I remember how much 2/3 Vidicon sensors were 40 years ago lol and they dropped way down .... think we will be seeing 3 chip cameras by then anyway !
Cheers ...Tobias.

[Nate]

Well, the whole point of having smaller sensors in consumer digital cameras is to keep them small, light, and easily portable which is one main reason why they are so popular with consumers. As far as your last comment about not making high end pictures on small sensors... well that's what DSLRs are for.

-Nate