EOS1Ds. No it is not two small sensors glued together, at least that I have heard. Most of these ICs have leads coming out all four edges so it would be hard to do that (we are talking the chip now, not the package). Big chips have low yields (that is a higher percent of defective chips per wafer) that is what makes them so expensive. Some of the wafers are big enough to get a 4x5 sensor out of, but the yield would be something like one usable chip per 10-12 wafers, and a 6 inch diameter wafer costs many thousands of dollars. The biggest sensors that I have heard of being available in a back are about twice the 35mm frame. The digital back that uses it is over $100,000, way over I have heard.
There are larger scaning backs for studio still life use, but those take forever to make and save an exposure, and in the past needed to be tethered to a computer. The newest ones have onboard computers and save on a portable hard drive. By all reports the Fovean sensor Sigma has more problems with artifacting and moire than the convention sensor cameras do. Whether that turns out to be a insurmountable problem or just a glitch that will be solved in the next generation Fovean cameras is still up in the air. The new Kodak, DCS14n, is supposed to be out this month, but I have as yet not found any posts of images from it. That does not bode well for its timely introduction either. The Canon is apparently shipping and in the hands of users. Only, since the wisdom on this list is that no one would pay $7K for a digital camera, how come nobody can keep the EOS1Ds in stock at $8K? <g> And, 14mp is about equal to 35mm color negative film. What the digital does for a professional photographer is make him more money quicker and 6mp and up gives adequate resolution for many pro markets. I have been looking into it, and have concuded that at todays prices you have to use 300+ rolls of 35mm per year to break even on the higher cost of the $2000 6mp cameas over the same basic film camera. So that savings every digital maven talks about is not going to affect most ameteur photographers, but they don't really have to justify the price of a new toy if they can afford it. I wonder if Pentax is going to anounce a pro-DSLR at PMA. I suspect it will be a prosumer camera though maybe with interchangable lenses. Well, I can hope can't I? Ciao, Graywolf http://pages.prodigy.net/graywolfphoto ----- Original Message ----- From: "gfen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > In regards to 645 dying before other 120 formats because of cheap FF 35mm > digital cameras... > Isn't thenew Canon FF (EOS1D? Whatever its called) simply two of the APS > sized sensors stuck together? Wouldn't one of the next logical steps be > for someone to put four of them together to get a 645 sized sensor? Of > course they'll do the same with more in the future for larger formats, as > well, but shouldn't 645 be the next one to get this massive upgrade? By > that right, if Canon can make a 14mp camera from twoAPS sized sensors, > wouldn't a 28mp 645 be next? And if people are already saying that 14mp is > better than current MF in some situations, who knows if we'll really need > anything bigger than the 28mp 645 sized sensors? > In other words, when that happens, everyone will change their tunes AGAIN. > Until, of course, they glue eight toegheter to make a 56mp 67 sensor. :) > Of course, as I've sdaid before.. I'm no digital guru, and I don't really > know any of the science and theories behind it..
