Olympus OM-D E-M5 Sensor Made by Sony! - Page 5

With_Eyes_Unclouded · #41 July 5th, 2012, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meyerweb

The more possible option is that Sony will use the technology in the m43 chip and scale it up to APS-C and/or FF size. A 60MP FF sensor, anyone?

It's funny that you mention it, because a couple of days ago I wrote a "SciFi" post on my blog, about the posibility of an... Olympus MF mirrorless.

But the notion is valid nevertheless. There are already opinions from several people that, quite soon (next couple of years), DSLRs will be FF sensor size and larger. And it makes absolute sense that Sony will capitalize in sensor technology on ALL platforms, from sub 1" compacts to (possibly) larger than FF.

dcisive · #42 July 5th, 2012, 08:41 AM

Lets not forget that while base line design of a sensor is provided by Sony for other manufacturers, they are but the "Fabricator" for the sensor, NOT the designers of the drive electronics and in some cases the clever on chip NR that can occur for some. Nikon for example has consistently outperformed Sony's DSLR's yet having their chips fabricated by Sony, but from there on all of the drive designs come from the recipient manufacturer. Olympus is no exception, and I think they did a fine job. I noted the similarity to a previous Sony 6N I had in some regards to the IQ, but there is that unmistakable Olympus richness to the image. Having had a GH2 and a G3 I don't consider them the same at all as some seem to.

CarlB · #43 July 5th, 2012, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcisive

Lets not forget that while base line design of a sensor is provided by Sony for other manufacturers, they are but the "Fabricator" for the sensor, NOT the designers of the drive electronics and in some cases the clever on chip NR that can occur for some.

Yup, and I very much suspect that voltage and/or current levels to the sensor are tweaked for various ISOs and light-level readings by Olympus. This would be an area that smart manufacturers could get an edge over competitors with a given sensor.

With_Eyes_Unclouded · #44 July 5th, 2012, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcisive

Lets not forget that while base line design of a sensor is provided by Sony for other manufacturers, they are but the "Fabricator" for the sensor, NOT the designers of the drive electronics and in some cases the clever on chip NR that can occur for some. Nikon for example has consistently outperformed Sony's DSLR's yet having their chips fabricated by Sony, but from there on all of the drive designs come from the recipient manufacturer. Olympus is no exception, and I think they did a fine job. I noted the similarity to a previous Sony 6N I had in some regards to the IQ, but there is that unmistakable Olympus richness to the image. Having had a GH2 and a G3 I don't consider them the same at all as some seem to.

RDM · #45 July 6th, 2012, 02:28 AM

Now what would be really nice (or i should say my dream camera) is if Olympus made an OMD and put one of Sony's APS-C sensors in it, and had a true Multi-format µ4/3 camera. Such a camera would surpass the Panasonic DMC-GH2 in utilizing the 22mm image circle of µ4/3 lenses, because the 1:1 format would for the first time use the whole image circle and retain the same angle of view as the other aspect ratios. And to finish my dream camera specs, it would have a function or setting called full sensor where when using legacy lenses you can capture and image using the whole sensor.

Ahhh, to dream :)

Amin Sabet · #46 July 6th, 2012, 06:45 AM

This sensor reminds me how bizarre it is that DxOmark hasn't tested the E-M5 sensor yet. They been so quick to test every other Olympus MFT camera and prove that they all use essentially the same sensor. Now we have a camera which has generated more interest in DxOmark testing than any MFT camera to date, and they are taking their sweet time.

At first I thought that maybe, like most of us, they were having trouble getting their hands on one. Now I wonder whether they've quietly agreed to hold it back for some reason. It doesn't matter to me what they say for any practical reason - I'm happy with the sensor - but I'm still looking forward to geeking out over their results.

krugorg · #47 July 6th, 2012, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amin Sabet

This sensor reminds me how bizarre it is that DxOmark hasn't tested the E-M5 sensor yet. They been so quick to test every other Olympus MFT camera and prove that they all use essentially the same sensor. Now we have a camera which has generated more interest in DxOmark testing than any MFT camera to date, and they are taking their sweet time.

At first I thought that maybe, like most of us, they were having trouble getting their hands on one. Now I wonder whether they've quietly agreed to hold it back for some reason. It doesn't matter to me what they say for any practical reason - I'm happy with the sensor - but I'm still looking forward to geeking out over their results.

I also wondering what was causing the DxO delay. I wonder what pressure a manufacturer could bring to bear on DxO to shelve/delay test results being published? I assume that if they sourced their own camera, that they would have no restriction? Or, do they need to get agreements in place with camera mfg.'s in order to have access to RAW or other technical bits?

dhazeghi · #48 July 6th, 2012, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by With_Eyes_Unclouded

It's funny that you mention it, because a couple of days ago I wrote a "SciFi" post on my blog, about the posibility of an... Olympus MF mirrorless.

But the notion is valid nevertheless. There are already opinions from several people that, quite soon (next couple of years), DSLRs will be FF sensor size and larger. And it makes absolute sense that Sony will capitalize in sensor technology on ALL platforms, from sub 1" compacts to (possibly) larger than FF.

I disagree. Digital medium format is on its last legs. The market for people who need more than 36 high quality MP or are wedded to MF cameras is tiny, and will only shrink as smaller sensors continue to improve.

DSLRs may well be FF only in 5 years, but that will be because Canon and Nikon transition all of their $1500 and lower bodies to mirrorless designs, ending the APS-C DSLR market.

The future is (mostly) small.

DH

Luckypenguin · #49 July 6th, 2012, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krugorg

I also wondering what was causing the DxO delay. I wonder what pressure a manufacturer could bring to bear on DxO to shelve/delay test results being published? I assume that if they sourced their own camera, that they would have no restriction? Or, do they need to get agreements in place with camera mfg.'s in order to have access to RAW or other technical bits?

I don't need the numbers to tell me that it's very, very good, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to see the numbers

David A · #50 July 6th, 2012, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhazeghi

I disagree. Digital medium format is on its last legs. The market for people who need more than 36 high quality MP or are wedded to MF cameras is tiny, and will only shrink as smaller sensors continue to improve.

DSLRs may well be FF only in 5 years, but that will be because Canon and Nikon transition all of their $1500 and lower bodies to mirrorless designs, ending the APS-C DSLR market.

The future is (mostly) small.

DH

Not on its last legs.

35mm film never supplanted MF film entirely. All of the improvements in film, lenses and technology that improved 35mm film over the years also went to improving medium and large format film. They survived because they were better at some things than 35mm, and they maintained their advantages because they also benefited from every improvement that advanced 35mm film.

The same will happen with digital. Small sensors will drive a lot of research in order to get better image quality but all of those improvements will also be passed on to larger sensors. They will retain their advantages for specialised purposes. We'll see smaller sensors being used for some, but not all, of the stuff now done with larger sensors but we'll continue to see larger sensors of all sizes in use.

The fact is that there's nothing you can do to improve smaller sensor cameras that can't also benefit larger sensor cameras, just as there was nothing that could be done to benefit 35mm film cameras that didn't benefit larger format film cameras ultimately in some way.