Canon announces 21 MP 1Ds Mark III

I'm not a Canon guy, but I know a few people out there have been waiting for this announcement. I just happened to stumble upon this on another forum, so I thought I would share the news. It will be interesting to see how Nikon, the digital MF guys as well as the existing prices of older cameras respond.


http://www.calumetphoto.com/store/newcanonaug07


-Mike

Nikon will undoubtedly answer this great camera from Canon. Competition is a good thing. Remember its not the camera!
JG

Wow, 61 views, 1 comment - and the one comment is a very sensible reply and not the usual party line. Well said JG. The evolution of the tools these two great companies and others in the industry produce is a benefit to all who love the medium of photography. In the end, the enjoyment experienced in witnessing a sunrise light up a mountain range reflected on a glass still lake is not dependent on the company who made the camera I use to capture the moment.

Guys - I think the reason for the lack of comments is that Juza scooped you. Look a few posts before this one...

Nikon's new cameras are supposed to be announced tomorrow, Aug 23rd. It will be fun to see what they have. Rumors are they have finally added VR to the rest of their big glass!

The rumors are also saying a D3X FF @ 16MP, and a D300 DX @ 12 MP. Should be interesting. I will be a little disappointed if Nikon's FF is only 16MP though; was looking for something in the range of 20 MP.

I'm still looking forward for my dream camera to come through - a 60 or 70 MP full frame 6x7 MF digital camera with the body in the $10k range. Looks like I'll be dreaming for at least another decade.

In the mean time, I can wait a couple of years and pick up a Mark II on the cheap to replace my 35mm film camera body.

I thought Canon, Nikon and the others would raise the MP's more slowly, like 2 or 3 MP's at a time with each new release. A 21 MP is a big leap forward by Canon and I am not surprised it is them making this step. I guess they are trying to run ahead of the competition and leave everyone frantically trying to catch up

In the meantime I am happy and content with my Nikon D80

Will
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Will - The reason they make big jumps is because you have to look at what the percentage change is. A 2 or 3 MP jump from, say 15MP to 17 or 18MP is not much of a jump - the pictures wouldn't be very different. When you make the same jump at a smaller size - say from 8 to 10 MP, the percentage change is a lot bigger, and makes a much bigger difference. That's why, for instance, in medium format, the pixel count jump from like 21 to 28 to 39...

I am happy with my 5D and have no plans to replace it soon. But I do have to wonder at what point the increase in MP becomes a futile or marginal attempt at improving resolution. I would think at some point the lens or sensor becomes the limiting factor rather than MP capabilities.

Roger - The absolute pixel count doesn't matter as much as the pixel density. Lenses can only resolve detail to a certain degree at any given point on the sensor. Since the pixels are packed closer together on small sensors, these actually strain the limits of the lens more currently. So (all else equal, which isn't necessarily the case) and XTi is tougher on the lens than a 5D.

We just bought a 1DMkIII for the studio and it's a sweetie, despite the AI Servo backfocus issue. 10 MP is plenty for what we do (24X36 max). I guess at 21 you could crop off a small chunk and still have a decent size file to work with. Any idea what the price point will be? Surely north of $8000...

Kelly - Canon's MSRP for it is $7999. I think that's the same price as the last two 1Ds cameras.