If you've ever been confused about the way sensors are named and their sizes, join the club! It looks very much like it was organised by a circle of confusion in a Siberian gulag. I mean who would have thought that there are 5 different versions of APS-C sensors!!
I've just spent a day, armed with a calculator and Excel spread sheet calculating the pixel densities for new camera recommendations. Really tedious but, believe it or not, very useful. DP Review used to publish pixel densities but they stopped several years ago. So, I've taken on the task as a labour of love.
Simply put, having a whole bunch of megapixels in your camera does not guarantee a top camera. Its like a farmer who owns 20 million sheep. The farmer has to have space to put the sheep, otherwise the sheep starve, get skinny and die. So a moderate number of sheep in a big paddock is the way to go. Then all the pixel sheep are fat and smiling and happy. And you have a top camera!
From a photographic perspective, noise reduces, tonal values improve and you get improved skin tones. Even sheep would be happy.
There are some really poor performers when you get into the so-called compact mirror less cameras. Some have sensors slightly larger than match heads with results that should be lit with a match.
As a Nikon owner, I was surprised but honour bound to report that the top performing camera based on pixel densities is the Canon 5D MkIII. It narrowly edges out theNikon D600.
There are a dozen other factors that influence image quality. However, pixel density is one that is often overlooked when choosing a new camera. And nobody publishes the specifications!!
To see what workshops I'm running for UWA click HERE.
I've just spent a day, armed with a calculator and Excel spread sheet calculating the pixel densities for new camera recommendations. Really tedious but, believe it or not, very useful. DP Review used to publish pixel densities but they stopped several years ago. So, I've taken on the task as a labour of love.
Simply put, having a whole bunch of megapixels in your camera does not guarantee a top camera. Its like a farmer who owns 20 million sheep. The farmer has to have space to put the sheep, otherwise the sheep starve, get skinny and die. So a moderate number of sheep in a big paddock is the way to go. Then all the pixel sheep are fat and smiling and happy. And you have a top camera!From a photographic perspective, noise reduces, tonal values improve and you get improved skin tones. Even sheep would be happy.
There are some really poor performers when you get into the so-called compact mirror less cameras. Some have sensors slightly larger than match heads with results that should be lit with a match.
As a Nikon owner, I was surprised but honour bound to report that the top performing camera based on pixel densities is the Canon 5D MkIII. It narrowly edges out theNikon D600.
There are a dozen other factors that influence image quality. However, pixel density is one that is often overlooked when choosing a new camera. And nobody publishes the specifications!!
To see what workshops I'm running for UWA click HERE.
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