Fuji surpasses 6 megapixels

CNET News ^ | February 19, 2003, 10:01 AM PT | Sandeep Junnarkar

[Cooter]

Canon claims to make their own CMOS sensors.

[Las Vegas Dave]

I suggest this site:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/default.htm

[Cooter]

I'm no expert, I was just lucky enough to be able play with a high end digital camera at work.

That said, the two most important factors are price (obviously) and compatibility with existing lenses, accessories, etc. If the fieldwork involve sporting events or similar, then you need a camera with a good burst-mode capability.

Imaging Spectrum has a good variety of professional digital cameras. Starting at $2K you could get a Canon EOS D60 for Canon-type lenses or a FUJI S2 PRO for Nikon-type lenses. If your brochures aren't very large, then either of these would probably be a good choice. If money were no object, I'd go for the Kodak Pro Back Plus ($15K) on a studio camera. The Kodaks don't have a great burst rate so maybe I'd go with a Canon or FUJI for fieldwork.

Also, the standard rule of thumb for electronics applies. The longer your wait, the cheaper/better/faster things become.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for posting this!

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[Keeper of the Turf]

Kodak DCS Pro 14n does ~14 Megapixels.

I must say...WOW!! I couldn't find a price on that puppy though. Could you enlighten me?

[ArrogantBustard]

Have a look at Nikon's website; it's follow the "photography" link to digital cameras. It does use standard AF Nikkor lenses. There's also the D1H and D1X, which run in the $5000 range.

[Cooter]

Kodak DCS Pro 14 - Estimated Price $4,799.00

[Rudder]

The longer your wait, the cheaper/better/faster things become.

No kidding! I've been putting this purchase off mainly because of the rapidity with which prices are falling.

Many thanks for the info and the link.

[js1138]

Have you checked out the Foveon chip cameras?

click

[Leto]

Kodak is releasing (may be out) a 14 megapixel camera. It uses nikon lenses. I think Nikon is manufacturing the camera for them. $5k for the body.

[Cooter]

I haven't tried one but the Sigma SD-9 looks great and Foveon has a very impressive pedigree.

Foveon, Inc. was founded in 1997 by Dr. Carver Mead, a pioneer in solid-state electronics and VLSI design, and professor emeritus at the California Institute of Technology. Foveon's mission is to develop innovative products and technology which will allow photographers to fully realize the potential of digital photography.

[Cooter]

I came upon a page that explains the components of the DCS-14n. Sorry to say that the sensor is not American-made.

The sensor in the DCS-14n was designed by the FillFactory (Belgian company) and is produced in Israel (Tower)... The DCS-14n's body (the lower portion) is designed and made by Kodak, the top third of the camera is from Nikon, as is the exposure and AF system, some of the connectors and the F-mount.

[Billy_bob_bob]

I'm using a Canon EOS-D60 (six megapixels) for wildlife photography, with a couple of zoom lenses and a Celestron scope for my supertelephoto lens. I'm keeping my eyes open for a good deal on a 600mm to 800mm Canon lens with good glass.

[js1138]

The Sigma is getting mixed reviews -- more for implementation than technology. I suspect this technology is the future. Any time you can get each pixel to detect or display a full spectrum, you are way ahead. The image is sharper and the software is cleaner. You don't need to interpolate.

Vivitar has a digital snapshot camera on sale at WalMart for $48. Eight megs memory, USB upload. I give film about five more years before its market share drops below 50%. Maybe ten years before it loses all technical superiority, except in specialized applications.

[Cooter]

Foveon's partner, National Semiconductor, has an interesting take on the future.

National Semiconductor executives said the company was planning to take the technology that Foveon had developed for the priciest reaches of the professional photography market and make it economical enough for some new consumer electronics.

"National's interest is not in thousands of cameras a year but in hundreds of millions of cameras a year," said Brian L. Halla, the company's president and chief executive. "We could make the world's highest-resolution throwaway digital camera and sell it for the price of a similar Kodak system."