Higher Megapixel Count Not Necessarily Bettter

Shutterbug has an interesting article today on just what increasing megapixel counts actually means when it comes to digital photography.

The article is largely in response to Canon's introduction of a full-frame camera boasting 50 megapixel resolution.  That pixel count puts the full-frame camera in the same league as many medium format cameras, but Canon can offer their camera at a much lower price. 

The Canon 5DS and 5DS R have price tags under $4,000.  The cheapest medium format camera with at least 50 MP resolution costs just over twice that.  As an additional bonus, the lenses should also have similar price differences.  (The lenses for the smaller full-frame cameras need smaller lenses.  Less glass usually equals lower price.  Emphasis on "usually").

The 50 MP offerings from Canon do look like an attempt to compete with medium format cameras without actually creating a medium format camera.  The move makes a certain amount of sense given all the Canon lenses currently available for Canon full-frame cameras.

There is a drawback here, though.

A 50 megapixel full-frame sensor requires smaller individual photoreceptors when compared to a 50 megapixel medium format camera. This impacts performance at higher ISO settings.  Some photographers will find a camera with a lower pixel count more suitable for the images the capture.

Canon Dominating Photography News Today

The news on the various photography web sites has been largely dominated by the latest releases announced by Canon.

This includes the announcement of

A new Canon 11-24mm F/4L USM Wide-Angle Zoom Lens

2 new Canon Rebel cameras

2 new Canon EOS 5DS Cameras (50MP sensors.)

(Pop Photo just happens to be the first site in my RSS feed.  The other sites cover the announcements as well.  I just didn't see the need to link to all the articles.)

I'm also a bit amused at the timing of the posts.  The posts were all times to be published at roughly 10:00pm Central last night.  On most of the sites that announced the releases, not just Pop Photo.  Apparently that's when Canon's news embargo was lifted.

There are a few product announcements not covered by Pop Photo.  Imaging Resource has a post on the PowerShot SX 410 IS, ELPH 350 HS, and G3 X.

They also have first impression reviews on the EOS 5DS cameras (the links are at the bottom of the post.)

Digital Camera world goes into detail comparing the new Canon 5DS full-frame cameras to Nikon's D810.  While the Canon now offers larger resolution (50.6mp vs. 36.3) there are still valid reasons to choose the Nikon over the Canon.  The higher resolution requires certain concessions in other areas and those concessions could result in the Nikon being a better choice for some photographers.

Canon also announced the EOS M3.  This is a mirrorless camera that will only be available in Asia for the time being.

Nikon D750 Service Advisory

Nikon has finally announced an official service advisory for the D750.

The service advisory page will allow D750 owners to check whether their camera is one affected by the banding issue (it only shows with strong back lighting so some photographers may not have noticed the banding even on affected cameras.)

Only cameras with certain serial numbers are affected.  Some of those cameras were serviced before being sold.  Those cameras will have a black dot inside the tripos socket.


One caveat from Nikon.

All DSLR cameras are subject to a certain extent to the type of artifact seen in the D750.

It's just that the effect seen in some D750 models was exceptionally pronounced and needed to be addressed.

2015 CES Product Announcement Updates

For those interested in keeping up with product announcements, Amateur Photographer has a blog dedicated to the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show that is currently ongoing in Las Vegas.

Check the blog for updates on the new products announced at the show.

Additional Thoughts on Leica's Corrosion Problem

I posted yesterday on the news that Leica was experiencing corrosion issues with the IR filter glass used in its CCD sensor cameras, starting with the M 9.

I was pressed for time yesterday, so I didn't post anything beyond reporting the problem.  I have some additional thoughts today.


I'm having a hard time understanding how damaging the coating on the IR filter glass could result in corrosion.  Glass is an inert material.  It normally doesn't corrode, even when subjected to corrosive materials.  That's why it's used to contain acids.


The filter does apparently have a coating, but that coating should be inert as well.  (The fact that the filter only corrodes when damaged seems to indicate that the coating normally is inert.)

Somehow, a filter made with two inert materials stops being inert if the surface becomes damaged.


That doesn't seem to make sense.


There are a couple of possible explanations that I can come up with.
  (Discalimer: Based on limited information.)


First, the filter might have more than one coating.  Having a layer that reacts when exposed to air that is covered by a second protective layer would explain what is happening with the Leica filter.  The filter is fine as long as the protective layer is undamaged, but damaging that layer results in the second layer corroding.

Second, there is something in the coating that corrodes the glass when exposed to the environment.  There is only one thing I know of that can damage glass this way: Hydrofluoric Acid.  Unlike other acids, hydrofluoric acid has the ability to dissolve glass.  (One of it's uses is etching glass.)

I suppose it's possible for the glass itself to be damaged if the coating contains a fluorine compound.


Both possibilities have implications.

The first one would suggest that someone overlooked a fairly obvious design flaw.  That doesn't bode well for whatever company is responsible for the filter design.  (I assume Leica, but that's not necessarily correct.)

The second would have implications when it comes to the use of fluorine compounds in cameras.  This would include lenses as well as internal filters.  If damaging a fluorine containing coating can result in the underlying glass being damaged, that would make those coating ill-suited for use in cameras and lenses. 

Nikon recently developed a fluorine coating for its lenses.  It's extremely effective at repelling dust, grease and dirt.  Hopefully it doesn't include a risk of corrosion as well.


There is another issue that needs to be addressed as well.

That has to do with Leica's fix.  They are offering to replace any sensor effected by the corrosion problem.  The key here being "replacing the sensor".

The sensor itself s not actually affected by corrosion, only the filter.  Simply replacing the filter would seem to be a much easier and less expensive fix.  In fact, replacing the filter with one that doesn't use the faulty coating is the only permanent solution to the problem.

Instead, Leica is replacing the entire sensor and replacing it with one that uses the same faulty filter.  That means the corrosion problem could re-occur on any "fixed" camera. 


I'm not sure which is harder to understand, how the problem occurred in the first place or Leica's response.

Leica Admist to Sensor Corrosion Problem, Offers Free Fix

Hat Tip: PetaPixel

This issue has been covered by most, if not all, of the major photography news sites.  It turns out that the CCD sensor used in certain Leica digital cameras have a serious design flaw that can lead to corrosion issues.

The problem stems from the IR cover glass used in the sensor.  Damage to the coating on the glass can result in corrosion, which shows up in images as white spots.

The corrosion cannot be removed from the sensor by cleaning.  The sensor has to be replaced instead.  Leica is currently offering to do so free of charge.


Unfortunately, the replacement sensor will be one using the same IR cover glass, making the replacement subject to corrosion issues as well. 
 

Oh, the Humanity! Canon 7D Mark II Disassembled

Don't worry, it was all in a good cause.

The good people over at LensRentals.com have disassembled a Canon 7D Mark II.  You can see all the gory details on their blog.


Why take one apart?

To test Canon's claim on improving the camera's weather resistance.  (The claim was that weather sealing was "four times better" than on the original 7D.)


Canon certainly seems to have concentrated on improving the build quality of the 7D, including weather resistance.  The Mark II has rubber gaskets not present in the previous model, increasing the camera's ability to resist water penetration.  (Pretty much any area that could allow water into the camera has been addressed by Canon.)

There are other build improvements and the Lens Rental article goes into those as well.  For example, the CF card reader has been moved to its own board instead of being connected directly to the camera's main board.  This means that any damage to the CF card reader can be fixed by simply replacing the daughter board.

Check out the article for all the improvements and for lots and lots of pictures.

Hat Tip: Imaging Resource


Update: While Canon has improved weather resistance and build quality, image quality could apparently use some work at least at lower ISO settings.

Photokina Nearly Here

I can tell that Photokina is nearing.  (For those that don't know what that is, it's a biennial photography fair in Cologne.)

As an amateur photographer and small-time blogger, I don't get to go to events like this. (Heck, I don't get review products.)

Photokina this year starts on September 16 and runs through September 21.  Various manufacturers are using the upcoming event to get their new products mentioned in photography news media. 

Normally I post a link to the product announcements and reviews written during the previous week in a Sunday blog post.  That post this week is going to be extremely long.  It could become even longer as not every manufacturer has released press releases in preparation for Photokina yet.

Canon for one has been silent.  I expect they will be providing Photokina related press releases in the near future.  That could occur after my Sunday post, though.

Canon Celebrating 80 Years

Canon is celebrating the 80th Anniversary of its first camera, the Kwanon.

Read more at DP Review, or the Canon Camera Museum.

The DP Review story includes a download link to a PDF of the Canon camera history fact sheet produced by Canon's European branch.

The articles are worth reading if interested in camera history, especially the DP Review article.