uh oh, new dSLR rumors!

[Digital Matt]

who knows...i kinda doubt it, as the prices would be quite high and the percentage of photographers that would require one would be quite small. if there were photographers that would look into them, they probably would have already looked into the current MF digital models.

I don't think the prices would be that high, given that as technology advances, prices come down. Digital backs get cheaper and cheaper, and if a company like Canon or Nikon got into MF digital, they would have to be competitive pricewise to even dream of it.

To say that the percentage of photographers that would require one would be quite small is really not true. Do you think there is a small percentage of photographers using digital backs with MF bodies now? Hardly. The fashion/advertising market is headed that way big time. As film dies off, MF digital will completely take over that arena, for the same reasons that MF film is used over 35mm now. I know that megapixels aren't everything, but higher resolution does make a better print.

 

[usayit]

i believe they already have...i dont know the names of them, but i'm almost sure there is an R9 or DMR or something like that that's already out there

yes... Leica has an R9 (SLR not Rangefinder) with an available digital back. Its not cheap and neither is there glass. I had the opportunity to handle one a while back. I wasn't impressed and I can see why they really don't have a strong market share. I do like how Leica went digital with a back rather than a body. I think its a big advantage to have both 35mm and digital without the trouble of carrying two camera bodies. Now the M-series rangefinders, those are some nice cameras! The old saying is that the problem with Leica is that they perfected the rangefinder back in the late 50s with the M3.

The M8 has been looming around for quite sometime in the Leica and rangefinder forums. Its definitely going to be a digital rangefinder and no question... extremely expensive. Oh why? Epson already makes a Leica M-mount rangefinder... I want one so badly but they are rather hard to find and new ones are a bit expensive. The reviews are good but nothing spectacular either.

 

[Ihaveaquestion]

Damn, I need alot more money.

 

[thebeginning]

I don't think the prices would be that high, given that as technology advances, prices come down. Digital backs get cheaper and cheaper, and if a company like Canon or Nikon got into MF digital, they would have to be competitive pricewise to even dream of it.

To say that the percentage of photographers that would require one would be quite small is really not true. Do you think there is a small percentage of photographers using digital backs with MF bodies now? Hardly. The fashion/advertising market is headed that way big time. As film dies off, MF digital will completely take over that arena, for the same reasons that MF film is used over 35mm now. I know that megapixels aren't everything, but higher resolution does make a better print.

yes, the prices would go down, but how much? some of the nicer backs and MF digital bodies are in the 20k-30k range. canon would be marketing for a group that is pretty small anyway. i meant the 'percentage of photographers' in canon's and nikon's terms, not in our terms. i'm not sure if they'd think it would be worth their time and money to develop such a highly advanced body or back when they still have consumers, advanced amateurs, and pros that dont shoot commercial and fashion to please. eventually that might be the case, i just can't see that happening any time soon. but we'll see

 

[Digital Matt]

I think a large portion of Canon and Nikon's customer base is a professional portrait photographer, and there are immense benefits from MF. The only barrier is cost, and it will come down for sure. If you go back to the first digital camera, which probably came out, what about 15 years ago, it was barely 1mp, and super expensive. Now adays, it seems like every 13 year old kid as at least 5mp, if not 7, or 10mp cameras. </huge generalization> In 15 years from now, what will it be?

 

[usayit]

I really wish Pentax went through with that 645 digital.....

 

[ksmattfish]

I think there is potentially a huge market for medium format digital if they can get the price down. Plenty of amateurs shoot medium and large format film, but at 30K+ for a digital camera it's still more practical for most to continue shooting film. Eventually someone will want to sell digital to this crowd, and will figure out a way to do it.

When people talk about APS digital vs full frame 35mm they rarely discuss lens technology. To some extent it doesn't matter if the smaller sensor has just as good of resolution as a larger sensor, with the smaller format, the lenses have to be much higher quality. Sensor technology is outpacing optics technology. Even with the best lenses on the market, APS sized digital have aperture diffraction issues at f/11 and smaller apertures. This is no good for landscape photographers. Unless someone comes up with better lenses, the easiest solution is bigger sensors. With medium and large format the company making the digital back doesn't even have to make the camera body or lenses.

 

[danalec99]

Ya, don't they make a 'Digilux' or something? ...........yes they do.

Leica Digital models

I think he was referring to this > Leica Digital Modul R

 

[Jeff Canes]

MF & full frame DSLR

Would love a D-back for my 500cm but numbers just do not add up to the cost?

See I am under the impression that the MP size is for the total sensor and not for a standard measurement like a square millimeter. So how do you compare systems like the Hasselblad H2D or V96B back to Canon&#8217;s 5D and 1Ds MII. IMO on the surface numbers seem to show that the Canons are nearly as good or maybe better that the Hasselblads. I must be missing something.

H2D: 36.7x49mm (1798.3mm sq) sensor @ 22mp
V96B: 36.9x36.9mm (1361.6mm sq) sensor @ 16mp
5D: 24x36mm (864mm sq) @ 13mp
1Ds MII: 24x36mm (864mm sq) @ 16mp