The next Nikon D3
So the D2x is out and it seems up to the expectations. Now we only have to wait for phil’s review. In the meantime we can dream up specs for the D3. Some rumors say that it will be announced end 2005. That will devaluate the D2x a little quick for “equipment measurbators”. Although changes are that a coming D3 might be twice as expensive!
Nikon engineers have confirmed — in an interview with Asahi camera magazine — that Full Frame is on the drawing board. They will bring it out when the timing is right. The reason seems to be that this is on demand of the customers and not because the end of the DX line of sensors. As shown in some reviews of the D2x, the DX sensor uses the “sweet spot” of todays lens line up and it is questionable if full frame will really improve images. It might end up in people having to invest heavily in pro glass (which shoul dnot be a problem if you can spend $8000 on a camera)! One area in which full frame will show improved images is that of absolute pixel size (read: ‘noise’) and usage of wide angle lenses.
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Comments
The Idea that The DX chip format uses the sweet spot of full frame lenses is not true.
Different formats all have different resolving abilities.
IE 35mm lenses resolve @about 40line per mm
Med format Lenses @ around 10-15 lines per mm
depending on format
Large format lenses @ around 5-10 lines per mm
The larger formats dont need as high resolution
because the neg is bigger and doesnt need as much enlargement.
So if you shot a peice of 5x4" film and cropped it down to 35mm size it would be very unsharp compared to a 35mm camera image shot with its corresponding focal lenght of the sams subject.
This principal applies to cropping DX format from 35mm full frame but obviously not as drastically . DX format needs better resolution than full frame because it is effecively being enlarged more.The smaller the format the hihger the resolution required to acheive an acceptable level of sharpness.
The above comment that there is no sweet spot to 35mm or any other format of lenses is false. It is a principle of optics that image quality is highest at the center or nodal point of the lens.
This is the reason MTF graphs go from zero to the outer radius of the image circle with resolution usually degrading. The graphs for 35mm lenses run from 0 to 21 mm as the image circle of 24X36 is 43mm.
This the main reason that medium and large format lenses always have lower resolutions than 35mm lenses. The larger the required image circle the more quality degrades from the center. It is also true that they don't need to be as good as the film is enlarged less. However they cannot be as good.
how soon will we see the d3 on sale