Economics. Sensor cost is relative to area. This is because there's a fixed size to the silicon wafers that sensors are made from (which affects yields [the number of usable sensors per wafer], as one minor issue is enough to make a sensor useless). The wafers cost a set amount, so the cost of a Sensor is relative to how many usable sensors one can make per wafer. One can make 3-4x as many DX format sensors as FF sensors, and yield is inherently higher as the number of errors is relatively fixed.
Last i heard, yields on the 5D sensor were around 70% (a significant improvement over what they were when the 1DsmII was introduced, which was 25% or so), yields on DX format sensors are at the 90%+ range. So the difference in the number of sensors per wafer is even larger (since you're writing off about the same number of sensors per wafer, but you're making far more DX sensors per wafer) So DX format sensors are MUCH cheaper than FF sensors. Note the cost difference between the Canon 5D and 30D, which are essentially the same camera apart from the sensor and prism. And Canon has been attempting to drive down the cost on the 5D aggressively due to competition from the cheaper and more capable Nikon D200. It's still a $2600 camera, to the $1200 or so a 30D costs (with much less pricing pressure). Most of that cost difference is in the sensor. FF is not going to cost comeptetive with DX. Ever. Simply because even if you can make a $100 FF sensor, you can use the same technology to make a $10 DX sensor. -Adam Bob W wrote: > why do you think they won't bring out a ff body? > > And why would it be so much more expensive? If they get down to the > price level which would allow the non-professional makers (ie not > Canon or Nikon) to use them, then I imagine they'll be about the same > price as smaller sensors, no? > > -- > Bob > >>> If every other manufacture brings out a FF body Pentax will >> as well or >>> they _will_ _die_. Simple as that. >> But the others won't. Simple as that. >> >> And actually it won't affect Pentax. Any "full-frame" bodies >> would be >> much more expensive, and therefore in a separate market segment that > >> Pentax doesn't address. Canon would suffer from the >> competition, not >> Pentax. >> > > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
