"Robert Coe" wrote:
On Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:06:28 +1100, "Trevor" wrote:
:
: Right, and for most available lenses once you get to 50mp and beyond
: in 35mm format. Which was my point.
: We should see a return in development and sales toward prime lenses,
: as zooms certainly won't cut it, and many of the primes will need
: improving to do so as well.

I doubt that we'll see that. The ongoing takeover of serious photography by
zooms has been largely unaffected by improvements in sensor resolution.
Instead, better sensors have been accompanied by better zooms. Though new,
better prime lenses are still being developed, they don't seem to be
reclaiming much market share. Primes have become a curiosity in most
circles,
including this one, except for increasingly specialized purposes. There's
probably no going back.

I found that the lenses that were somewhat iffy (Canon 17-40, original 24
TSE) on the 12MP 5D were absolute dogs on the 21MP 5DII, and some lenses
that were OK (Tamron 28-75/2.8) became iffy.

So my 5DII kit was the Zeiss 21/2.8, Voightlander 40/2.0, and Stigma 70/2.8
macro. All of these (and the Canon 24 TSE II) cough up corner-to-corner
pixel sharp images. Every time, all the time. (OK, at sensible f stops, and
my tripod is heavier than yours.)

Now, it's the same story with the Canon 24-70/2.8 II.

I find it hard to imagine that any of these will have trouble on 36MP (7360
x 4912); although it may require using a narrower range of f stops. These
lenses are better on the 5DII than the old lenses were on the 5D.

Sure, there will be some diminishing returns: it won't be the whole 30%
improvement. But there's also an _increasing returns_ factor from larger
prints: People who come in for a closer look won't get as close to a 20x30
print as they do to an 11x14.

So if you like 12x18 prints (300 ppi) from the 5DII, you'll love 16x24
prints (also 300 ppi) from the D800. Ditto for 16x24 5DII (230 ppi) prints
vs. 20x30 D800 (240 ppi).

Of course, who knows if Canon will ever get off their duffs and cough up an
affordable 36MP camera...

--
David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan