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I Peer Into The Future... And See Fido!?!!
I'm going to launch into some musings today,
so forgive me if it's not quite your cup of tea.
I'm going to peer into my very foggy crystal ball
(since I bought it on an ebay auction, I guess
it didn't work too well for the previous owner,
so 'caveat emptor') and think out loud, so if
you feel this kind of speculating is a pointless
activity, I won't be offended if you discreetly
make an exit
right here.
5MP Now In Point-and-Shoot Digicams
New digicams are increasingly being introduced
at the 5MP resolution bar now. Let's see: Canon
PowerShot S50 (5MP, 3x zoom); Minolta DiMAGE F300
(5MP, 3x zoom); Olympus Camedia C-50 zoom (5MP,
3x zoom); Pentax Optio 550 (5MP, 5x zoom); Sony
DSC-V1 Cyber-shot (5MP, 4x zoom); Sony DSC-P92
Cyber-shot (5MP, 3x zoom). Image sensor size is
1/1.8 in. unlike the larger 2/3 in. sensor in
current 5MP prosumer digicams such as the Sony
DSC-F717 and Nikon Coolpix 5700. If even point-and-shoot
digicams start sporting a 5MP image sensor, then
prosumer digicams must be poised to move up.
Prosumer Digicams Must Vie Higher
It used to be that a 1/1.8 in. image sensor was
4MP; now, it is 5MP. So, long-time existing 4MP
digital cameras are surely poised for a one-megapixel
update; and, long-time existing 5MP digital cameras
can be expected to also be updated to an extra
megapixel, more zoom, and, hopefully, better AF
(especially low-light), less noise at high ISOs,
and less shutter lag. The Nikon Coolpix 5700 and
Sony DSC-F717 Cyber-shot are two prosumer digital
candidates that readily come to mind.
Canon PowerShot G3
Which leaves one vendor and digital camera out
to lunch: Canon and its popular PowerShot G3.
Canon seemed to have lately concentrated most
of its efforts into its dSLR (digital Single Lens
Reflex) offering: the wonderful Canon 10D. The
PowerShot G3, an excellent camera in its own right,
is however looking more and more outgunned in
the prosumer category. To understand what is at
stake for the G3, we need to look at where one
of its direct competitor (the Sony DSC-F717 Cyber-shot)
may be going.
Sony DSC-F7x7 Cyber-shot
Will the follow-up to the Sony F717 be just an
incremental improvement -- or, as we hope, a worthy
competitor to the Canon 10D? The introduction
of the new Sony DSC-V1 line (with features similar
to the F717) seems to indicate the latter. Of
course, I don't mean that I'm expecting Sony to
introduce a dSLR or a prosumer digicam that will
be as good as the Canon 10D in every respect.
What I do expect is that Sony might introduce
a digital camera that gives images as good as
those of the Canon 10D: 6.3 MP in a larger than
2/3 in. image sensor, perhaps 8x optical zoom,
negligible shutter lag, acceptable to no noise
at high ISOs. That should satisfy many of us who
cannot stomach going back to using a (relatively)
big, heavy and expensive (when you factor in the
cost of the lenses) dSLR camera. Even though the
price point of the 10D is still higher than a
prosumer digicam, it is however low enough (and
the trend seems to be the price is going downward)
to have scared off many of its competitors. For
example, I believe that Sony has no choice but
to meet the challenge to its prosumer model straight
on if it intends to stay profitably in this market
segment.
Canon PowerShot Gx
Which brings me back to the Canon PowerShot G3.
Will its follow-up be the G4 or G5 with 5MP resolution?
I kind of doubt it. If the next Sony F7x7 is as
good as I hope it is, then Nikon and Minolta are
also busily working on their next prosumer digital
cameras (6MP resolution probably). If Canon intends
to stay competitive in this prosumer category,
then a 5MP G5 just won't cut it. No, Canon will
have to jump to the next level. Here, its experience
with the 10D will fortunately serves it well.
So, I am thinking that the next Canon Gx will
be a prosumer version of the Canon 10D: same image
sensor, much same electronics, but in a smaller
and more compact footprint. The Gx will not be
able to keep its current form and dimensions but
will probably evolve to look somewhat more like
the Sony F717, Nikon 5700 and Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi.
As far as I am concerned, the future looks to
be prosumer digicams with image qualities heretofore
reserved for dSLRs.
By the way, when I mention 6MP here, I don't
mean the gain is in the megapixels. Cramming 6MP
in a 2/3 in. image sensor won't probably improve
image quality much. But a larger than 2/3 in.
image sensor like the one in the 10D will definitely
result in better image quality. The 10D's 22.7
mm x 15.1 mm image sensor just happens to currently
be 6.3 effective megapixels. Compare this to the
Sony F717 5MP image sensor at 8.80 mm x 6.60 mm.
And, now, for a 45 degree switch to a discourse
on dSLR vs. Prosumer digital cameras.
DSLRs
And yet, reading the digital camera forums, you'd
think people are lining up in droves to buy the
next dSLR camera. Why do we 'crave' for a dSLR?
Somehow, it seems, we believe that a SLR camera
is synonymous with 'professional' and a rangefinder-style
camera is synonymous with 'amateur.'
Of course, this is absolutely wrong. For two
reasons.
Professional vs. Amateur (I)
First, the term 'professional' simply refers
to someone who takes pictures and sells them for
a living. An 'amateur' simply refers to someone
who takes pictures as a hobby.
Of course, if you take good enough pictures,
you may be able to sell them. And if you sell
them, you may be able to eventually make a living
out of taking and selling pictures, and hence
you'd become a 'professional' photographer.
So, the reasonable assumption is that if you
are a professional photographer, you're also a
pretty good photographer. And if you are a professional
photographer, you now depend on your equipment
and therefore need and use 'professional' cameras:
dSLR cameras. Some of us who demand best quality
images therefore just need a dSLR -- nothing
less will do (this sentence written tongue-in-cheek).
Professional vs. Amateur (II)
Second, a professional photographer is -- we
can reasonably assume -- a pretty good photographer,
and, taking pictures everyday for a living, is
probably a better photographer than an amateur
who only occasionally takes pictures as a hobby.
However, this is not always the case. In fact,
a professional photographer make take awful pictures
(how many have been burned by 'professional' wedding
photographers?), and an amateur photographer make
take superb pictures that put any professional
to shame. We should not confuse 'amateur' with
'beginner.'
So we have clarified that a good photographer
may be either a 'professional' or an 'amateur.'
A good photographer can pretty much use any type
of cameras he or she chooses.
So, let's take a look at (somewhat confusing)
definitions:
| Amateur
Photographer |
Someone who takes pictures
as a hobby |
 Snapshooter |
A
'Click the shutter -- the (point-and-shoot)
camera does the rest' type person |
| Beginner
Amateur |
Someone
who's just started taking pictures |
| Serious
Amateur |
Someone
who's started learning about photography |
| Advanced
Amateur |
Someone
who is quite advanced in photography |
| Professional
Amateur |
Someone
who takes pictures for a hobby and is really,
really good at it |
| Professional
Photographer |
Someone who takes and sells
pictures for a living |
| Amateur
Professional |
Someone
who takes pictures for a living but is not
quite good at it yet |
| A
'Pro' |
Someone
who takes pictures for a living and is really,
really good at it |
As you can see, the only difference between a
'Professional Amateur' and a 'Pro' is simply that
the latter makes a living out of taking pictures,
and the former doesn't. They are otherwise both
equally excellent photographers, and both generally
use 'professional' cameras and equipments.
TopDog, MediumDog and Fido
With the advances in consumer / prosumer digital
cameras, maybe we (as in serious to advanced amateur
photographers, perhaps even the professional amateur
photographers) won't need to bother with dSLR's
anymore. Advances in image sensor technology,
'digital' lenses, and image processing algorithms
mean that we might soon see the introduction of
prosumer digital cameras that give results as
good as any dSLR. Now, altogether chant: 'May
that day come sooner than later.'
I also wonder what the definition of a dSLR is
really? In the 35mm world, a Single Lens
Reflex is quite different from -- and has distinct
advantages over -- a rangefinder, but with digital,
what is really the difference between a dSLR and
a non-dSLR? Do we still need a pentaprism, a mirror
that goes up and down, interchangeable focusing
screens, etc. Not really. Perhaps, what we need
are new definitions, as in something like : 'topdog'
digital camera, 'mediumdog' digital camera, and
'fido.' ;o)
For most of us, perhaps what we need is the same
image sensor of the 10D, the same electronics,
the same quality, all squeezed into a compact
body -- and I stress, compact, because I believe
most of us are dogtired (pun intended) of the
size and weight of current SLRs -- with a long
zoom lens (but with a good wide-angle to tele
range). Impossible? Time will tell.
We now turn our faces away from the crystal
ball to read our notes.
Image Sensor Size
I have also been researching a bit about why
image quality sometimes differs so much among
digital cameras with the same resolution. In fact,
sometimes the images from a 4MP digital camera
seems to be nosier than those from a 3 MP digital
camera. Doesn't seem to make much sense, does
it, if we are to believe that 'more megapixels
is better'?
Well, more megapixels is generally better,
but the size of the image sensor also seems to
matter a lot.
The size of an image sensor is sometimes expressed
as a fraction, e.g. 1/1.8 in. It is apparently
not a technically correct measurement (using an
archaic convention) but for our purpose this is
not important. What is important is to know that
a 1/1.8 in. image sensor is larger than a 1/2.7
in. image sensor.
The rule of thumb is that the larger the image
sensor, the better. To keep the explanation simple
and non-technical, it has something to do with
the pixels being bigger and less crowded in a
larger sensor, thus avoiding signal from one pixel
encroaching upon that from neighboring pixels.
For consumer/prosumer digital cameras, the three
common sizes of image sensor (in descending order
of size) are: 2/3 in., 1/1.8 in. and 1/2.7 in.
For example, comparing two 3MP digital cameras,
the one with a 1/1.8 in. image sensor will probably
give images that has less noise than the one with
a 1/2.7 in. image sensor.
Also, if we keep the same image sensor (say 1/1.8
in.) and crowd it with more (and smaller) pixels,
we might up it to a 4MP or even 5MP image sensor.
Now, unless the electronics and firmware have
also been updated to be able to resolve the extra
megapixel(s) properly, we might end up with more
noise in the 4MP and 5MP digital cameras because
of the smaller pixels and more crowded condition.
Image sensor size is also one reason why some
digital camera is not as compact as we would wish
it to be. For example, one of the reason that
the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1 with 12x optical zoom
can be so small is because it uses a quite small
image sensor (1/3.2 in.) -- smaller than most
2 megapixels digital cameras use (1/2.7 in.).
A smaller image sensor means a smaller lens can
be designed for it. A Sony F7x7 will be even much
bigger than it curently is if it were to feature
a 12x optical zoom instead of the current 5x.
So, to summarize, pay attention to image sensor
size, for image quality depends on it. As I peer
into the (hopefully nearer than we dare imagine)
future, I see a prosumer digital camera that will
rival the image quality of the Canon 10D. If you
ROTFL (Roll On The Floor Laughing), just remember
you read it here first. Woof! ;o)
As always, we hope you enjoy this issue of Photoxels,
and do not hesitate to give
us your feedback.
The Editors
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