Wedding photographers don't buy 40,000 dollar cameras. IF Nikon intends to show off and release something insane like what is proposed here... thats a hell of an interesting find.
I don't know why they would make a 41 (or 48 or whatever) mpixel MF sensor for a rangefinder body. Cool, yes, but if nikon wants to step in to MF territory, they could likely own it from Phase/Leaf/etc. Why not just release a true MF camera. God knows a 48x48mm sensor would light up the MF community. Bigger sensor is phenomenal in that way.
Needless to say, if Nikon manages to make an MF sensor with huge megapixrl count and makes its noise characteristics like that of the d3/d700, well, they will have a different class of camera, and make leica look like dust in the body department
I personally am thoroughly excited about "MX" lenses that I cant mount on my cameras.
Well, today you can get digital medium format backs that better this resolution. In fact, Phase One is running a September special that includes a 645 body, the P 45 back, a normal lens (80mm), the f/3.5 45mm wide angle TS, and a Mamiya 120mm macro lens, for only $30k (US). That's an $11K savings on the kit.
Of course, if you need more resolution, the P 65 back (65MP), which is full frame on a 645, will be available this fall.
Those that need this resolution will find these prices outstanding compared to what was available just a few years ago for commercial work with digital.
That document has to be fake. It has household hints or cooking recipes or something on the right-hand page.
And I agree..except perhaps for the top 10 wedding photographers in the world (the ones who photograph the weddings of royalty and move stars), wedding photographers would not be the market for such a camera, but high-end fashion and advertising photographers would be, but that's a very, very small market.
There is a missing link here. Nikon do not make their own sensors. So they would have to buy it in as they do their other sensors. Except that they can't buy this one, as it is a new format. So they would have to design and commission it. That is hardly a cheap proposition. Would it be a priority in the midst of the DSLR wars, let alone the cutthroat compact market? Highly unlikely IMHO...
If I could (ever) afford it (doubtful), the camera depicted in that rumor would be what I would do before I bought a FF Nikon. I'd keep one or two APS-C body and one of these newfangled thingies (perfect for landscape).
philber wrote:
Would it be a priority in the midst of the DSLR wars, let alone the cutthroat compact market? Highly unlikely IMHO...
It is a valid tactic in war to attack on a new unseen front if all the current battles are stalemated.
Sony could make that sensor no problem, just lots of $$$$. Of course Nikon has the background and the mindshare among the public that if they did go the MF route they could steamroll in and give Phase, Leaf, Sinar, Mamiya some very strong competition. I would guess they are a far larger company than any of those four.
Jammy Straub wrote:
It is a valid tactic in war to attack on a new unseen front if all the current battles are stalemated.
Sony could make that sensor no problem, just lots of $$$$. Of course Nikon has the background and the mindshare among the public that if they did go the MF route they could steamroll in and give Phase, Leaf, Sinar, Mamiya some very strong competition. I would guess they are a far larger company than any of those four.
Uh! Fill up a FF sensor with 50D pixels and you got 37Million of them. So just by squaring the sensor and mount should push the count over 48Mp and that's with the same FX lenses
I think photographers are much richer then they used to be ... I think I should switch my job and become a photographer ... I also want medium format and ... a sports car, house with swiming pool, etc.
Hendrik wrote:
I think photographers are much richer then they used to be ... I think I should switch my job and become a photographer ... I also want medium format and ... a sports car, house with swiming pool, etc.
I am very excited by this. I loved my Mamiya 6's. I don't like the M8 for a variety of reasons. A Nikon digital version of the Mamiya 6 would rock. I hope it isn't fake though. You do have to question whether there is a market for an unpocketable high resolution rangefinder with good high ISO.
I think photographers are much richer then they used to be ... I think I should switch my job and become a photographer ... I also want medium format and ... a sports car, house with swiming pool, etc.
I know you were partially joking, but in reality, except at the high-end, I would maintain it's just the opposite: the advent of digital photography and the misconception that anyone can take a great photo has greatly reduced the opportunities for pros and forced down pricing.
Luckily, I don't make my primary living from photography (my father was head of a large photography company in New York City that was around for about 80 years), because the prices I am offered from publications who want to use my concert photos are so absurdly low, it's usually not even worth the time to zip the files and FTP it to them. But there's always another guy with an expensive camera who's willing to take photos for free just for the ego gratification or the concert VIP pass or whatever. It seems to be a great time for photography, but a bad time for pros.
If Nikon really is working on a larger format camera, maybe that's part of the strategy: price amateurs out of the pro market. If Nikon (and you know Canon would also make an offering) releases a 48x48 or 48x36 sensor with a new lens line and publications / agencies, etc., insist on images with that resolution (whether it makes a practical different or not), it could push amateurs out of the market of competing with pros like in the days when pros walked around with a 4x5 Graflex and used 8x10 in the studio (not to mention those pros who specialized in shooting with a Cirkut panoramic camera (in which the negative could be 10" high and several feet long.)
zoetmb wrote:
If Nikon really is working on a larger format camera, maybe that's part of the strategy: price amateurs out of the pro market. If Nikon (and you know Canon would also make an offering) releases a 48x48 or 48x36 sensor with a new lens line and publications / agencies, etc., insist on images with that resolution (whether it makes a practical different or not), it could push amateurs out of the market of competing with pros like in the days when pros walked around with a 4x5 Graflex and used 8x10 in the studio (not to mention those pros who specialized in shooting with a Cirkut panoramic camera (in which the negative could be 10" high and several feet long.)...Show more →
That's a pretty big "IF"
With the current condition of the market for printed media, except for relatively few publications, image quality takes a back seat in a very long bus as compared to investment in top quality image content. Most publications are cutting their budgets to the bone and with the relative availability of above average to decent images at discount rates, I don't see many, if any publications raising their standards for image quality. Let alone driving out the budget equipped amateurs with expensive high tech equipment.
Of course where an image with this much data would show it's most value would be in print. However the market is moving away from the print medium each and every day. Large corporations are investing less each year in their advertising budgets for print media campaigns. Circulation for magazines and newsprint is plummeting on a daily basis compared to just a few short decades ago. Printed catalogs with highly detailed images? Very few and far between.
If the transition from printed media to digital continues for magazines, newsprint, etc., do you really need a 48 MP MF camera to create a 500 pixel illustration for your online publication? Certainly wouldn't need that much IQ on an iPhone or like devices.
While I find the thought of Nikon (or Canon for that matter) developing new and better technologies, I don't see the introduction of such a camera as a savior for the industry on the whole. It will be interesting to see if this is rumor or fact as it doesn't seem all that long ago there were many who were "sure" Nikon was not going to introduce an FX DSLR, and if they did, it was going to be a dog .....
