Does more megapixels necessarily mean bigger sensor when it comes to DSLRs?

[rasheemo]

?

 

[nynfortoo]

Nope, not even slightly.

 

[sburatorul]

its still an aps-c sensor no matter if it is 6-10-12 mpx, dont quite remember the size right now. but the thing is that the more mpx a senzor has the more noise it produces at high iso since the pixels are smaller. take that into consideration (of course each camera has noise reduction software in it so it is relative)

 

[rasheemo]

alright, which DSLRs have the smallest sensor and which bigger? or are they all the same really? does it break down by prosumer/professional grade bodies?

 

[Steph]

alright, which DSLRs have the smallest sensor and which bigger? or are they all the same really? does it break down by prosumer/professional grade bodies?

There are roughly 4 sizes for sensors in dSLRs. From smaller to larger:

- 4/3 system (as found in Olympus cameras E420, E520, E3...) : 17.3 x 13.0 mm
- APS-c sized sensor (most dSLRs) : 22.2 x 14.8mm or 23.4x15.6mm depending on manufacturers
- 28.1 x 18.7 mm (exclusively in the Canon EOS-1D).
- Full frame (Canon 5D, 1Ds, Nikon D3, D700) : 24 x 36mm

Off course if you want larger sensors, you could buy a medium format digital camera such as the Mamiya ZD (very expensive!).

 

[Village Idiot]

its still an aps-c sensor no matter if it is 6-10-12 mpx, dont quite remember the size right now. but the thing is that the more mpx a senzor has the more noise it produces at high iso since the pixels are smaller. take that into consideration (of course each camera has noise reduction software in it so it is relative)

I wouldn't say that. The APS-C format has nothing to do with it. If it's a FF sensor or an APS-H sensor, then it applies as well.

alright, which DSLRs have the smallest sensor and which bigger? or are they all the same really? does it break down by prosumer/professional grade bodies?

The larger the sensor, the less the noise should be. Olympus is 2.0x. Canon is generally 1.6x except for the 5D and 1D MII+. I believe Sony and Pentax are 1.5x. Nikon is generally 1.5x with the d300 and d3 being the exception.

When you jump from the crop sensor to the full frame it starts getting pricey. Canon has the cheapest FF bodies right now as you can find a used 5D for about $1600-$1700. These were nearly $3000 new. Other than that, you're looking at a starting price fo about $3000 for any other new FF camera.

 

[ksmattfish]

The larger the sensor, the less the noise should be.

The larger the photo receptor sites (pixels on the sensor) are, the greater the signal to noise ratio is, which should translate into less noise, although there are about a dozen other variables that influence it too, so it's really hard to make these sort of generalizations.

If you take sensors with the same sort of technology, then the sensor with the larger photo receptors should have less noise. The problem with the generalization is that the technology is always changing. The EOS 20D and the EOS 40D have the same sized sensor, but the 40D has more photo receptors and they are smaller. While the 20D is renowned for low noise, general consensus seems to be that 40D images have even less noise (personally I find the difference pretty slight). The 40D benefits from improved technology both in the hardware and the software.

Here's a good article discussing sensor and photoreceptor size.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital-camera-sensor-size.htm

 

[prodigy2k7]

No, there are a few different sizes of sensors, but not as many as there are megapixels. Each pixel is bigger or smaller to fit inside of the certain space that a sensor is....

Ex:
Canon Rebel XT 8MP
Canon Rebel XTi 10MP
Canon Rebel XSi 12MP

Each 3 cameras have different megapixels, but the same sensor size...

 

[sburatorul]

alright, which DSLRs have the smallest sensor and which bigger? or are they all the same really? does it break down by prosumer/professional grade bodies?

if i remember right the biggest sensor is on hasselblands(hope i spelled it correctly) but than again those are 41 mpx sensors and need to be huge for iso performance

 

[Village Idiot]

50 now.

 

[Big Mike]

I thought it was up to 60...

 

[Alex_B]

I thought it was up to 60...

those are the latest ... ever growing

 

[tkaat]

phase one has a 60mpx back (the P654+)
the size of the sensor is 40.4x53.9mm
and a $39,990 price-tag