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Re: [OM] How many pixels on the mythical 4/3" sensor?

Subject: Re: [OM] How many pixels on the mythical 4/3" sensor?
From: Winsor Crosby <wincros@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2003 15:48:41 -0800

On Wednesday, February 5, 2003, at 03:15  PM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:

While browsing around on dpreview.com I happened to notice that the C-5050 sensor (7.2mm x 5.3mm = 38.2mm2) is smaller than the E-20's sensor (8.8mm x 6.6mm = 58.1mm2) yet both produce 5 MP.

I thought I remembered the 4/3" sensor rumored for the Oly DSLR to be larger so I looked it up and found that it's 18mm x 13.5mm = 243mm2. While the 4/3" sensor is small compared to a 35mm film frame it is positively gigantic compared to the C5050 and E20 sensors.

If Olympus (or Kodak, whoever is building it) were to produce the 4/3" with the same pixel density as the E-20 it would have 5 x 243 / 58.1 = 20.9 MP

If it had the same pixel density as the C-5050 it would have 5 x 243 / 38.2 = 31.8 MP.

Food for thought:
Is it possible that the 4/3" system could ultimately rival MF quality? Are there overriding economic limitations in producing a 4/3" sensor with the same pixel density as the C-5050? The C-5050 lens can obviously resolve detail at the density of its own sensor. Can an equivalent lens be economically made to cover the larger image circle?

Chuck Norcutt
Woburn, Massachusetts, USA


I think the main limitation on pixel density is circuit noise. If you are going to build a "pro" camera system you do not want people spotting noise in the shadows or to have limitations in using the camera at higher ISO ratings. It is disquieting to see Olympus upgrade an existing camera to the C5050 which already had well documented color aberration issues with the lens and which has been criticized because of its circuit noise level. Hope the the new system camera is better thought out.

It could be delayed because they have been too slow and need to reconfigure the camera. After all they announced it in April 2001 as a 5.1 megapixel camera. This stuff is a quickly moving target. They have long passed any interest in an expensive 5 megapixel camera. There is not going to be much interest now unless they pop out with a 7 or 8 megapixel camera. And soon.

Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California, USA


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