gdanmitchell wrote:
One of the main reasons that cropped aensor bodies (thogh not the only one) was economic — FF sensor bodies raised the price considerably. That is far less the case today, and it isnt too surprising that ((Fujifilm and MFT ASIDE) cropped sensor models are and will continue to be relegated to the low end. And few budget minded people buying these cameras are likely to tolerate the cost of grips.
That is disappointing to some, but it is pretty inevitable.
I'm kind of thinking that the price differential between APS-C and full frame isn't quite as large as it once was, in terms of ratios.
Thinking back to the original 5D, I think that they didn't even have dies/blanks that could cut out a full frame sensor. If I recall from reading back then, the 5D sensor was manufactured by taking the 1D Mk II sensor and basically fusing/attaching pieces together to make a larger surface area than was possible with the technology of the day.
Also at the 5D time frame, most manufacturers were talking up the crop bodies and claimed little to no interest in full frame. I think Kodak had a full frame body at the time, and we had the 1Ds.
The attraction for a crop body for me, these days, would be the pixel density. "Pixels per duck" was a thing back in the 2000s. And my R7 does satisfy that category quite well. But it is as the expense of high-ISO noise. Which can be corrected, but the more correction, even with today's very good noise software, means less original detail. Noise isn't a huge issue at ISO 400 and below, but for bird photography and a relatively slow lens (100-500 is f/7.1 at the long end), you are pushing 3200+ if you're looking at, say, a warbler hiding in the shadows of the forest. It's a tradeoff.
All that said, I think that the beauty of the crop sensor was really apparent in the EF-M series bodies. Very small and compact, but very good performance. And I believe that series was quite popular. But perhaps it wasn't earning any money for Canon - I don't know. They did seem to support the format fairly well.
Ok
Quick update
Just received the 3D printed grip yesterday
Bottom line is it’s the best solution I’ve tried upto now, it’s not perfect but the seller is currently tweaking the design so I have high hopes.
It’s currently fitted to the R100 and makes a massive difference to ergonomics/ handing. I can’t upload pictures (sorry) but to anyone out there who also finds the R100/50 just too small my advice is seek out a 3D printed option.
It does make a huge difference 👍🏻
