No more 1.3x sensors?

[SimonD]

Heard via the grapevine that Canon is stopping the 1.3x crop sensors?

Held out until Photokina to replace my kit. Hoping for a 1D2n replacement with about 12MP. That would be my dream camera with 8FPS, 12MP and the 1.3x crop (suits me perfectly!). But alas, Canon didn't even upgrade the 30D. So, since I'm still happy, I'll wait until PMA... although my shutter is nearing the end of it's life soon across all my bodies.

I asked a friend if Canon was going to release a new 1D2n - but he said that he heard the 1.3x crop sensor was being dropped! Only FF and 1.6x

You think Canon would do this? Surely all the sports shooters love the 1.3x crop?

[JDArt]

I would also rue the demise of the 1.3x sensor, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Canon cut back on the number of "crop levels" on their digital bodies.

The crop, however, works to the advantage of nature photographers. I even enjoy the 1.6x cameras solely for the sensor crop when shooting birds with long lenses.

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by SimonD

Heard via the grapevine that Canon is stopping the 1.3x crop sensors?

I recall an interview with IIRC Chuck Westphall of Canon USA, he predicted the 'merger' of the 1D and 1Ds line, alike Nikon, a switchable '22MP FulFrame, 8FPS, and a '1.3 crop 16MP 12 FPS' in one body, a 'FF detailabsorber' and a '1.3x speeddemon'.

After this revelation the reaction was: so Canon is ditching the 1.3x crop sensor? His answer: I never said that...

FWIW: Rumour Alley also had mentions of a $2.750 price range '3D', a lighter version of 1DMkIIN, 1.3x crop factor, weather sealing, 25 focus points, 8FPS, an 'amateur sports-body', that would be positionned to the 1DMkIIN like the 5D is positionned to the 1DsMkII.

...*my* €0.02 worth...

Kindest regards!

Max@Home

[cyclohexane]

'22MP FulFrame, 8FPS, and a '1.3 crop 16MP 12 FPS'

Time to buy more memory cards... LOL =)

$2.750 price range '3D', a lighter version of 1DMkIIN, 1.3x crop factor, weather sealing, 25 focus points, 8FPS

I like the sound of that.

[SimonD]

I like the crop factor of the 1.3x sensor. Not wide killing like my 20D and not tele killing like my 5D.

I also like the 1D size, but cannot afford a 1Ds pricetag.

Therefore, a new higher res 1D would be perfect. Please Canon, make a 1D3 around 12MP or so and I'll be a happy snapper!

[erikmatey]

>>So--Chuck--now's the time to set the record straight (especially since the search at old RG's forum is currently not working). Did you (or someone from Canon) say "they'll merge sometime in the future" or "at the next release"? Or were you just trying to say, between the lines "things have changed?"<<

Jamie, I've never said that the 1D and 1Ds models would ever be merged. As best as I can tell, this line of thinking is based on the alleged comments of another Canon executive (Mr. Takaya Iwasaki) who was interviewed a couple of years ago by a European digital camera web site.

http://www.e-fotografija.com/artman/...icle_440.shtml

Jernej: At the moment you have two high end cameras. Will the next generation be just one, high speed and high resolution camera?

Takaya: [nodding] yes

Back to Chuck: I strongly suspect that Mr. Iwasaki was simply acknowledging the question rather than answering it. This type of reaction is quite typical in Japanese culture. Another possibility is that he simply misunderstood the question. After all, he's not a native English speaker, and neither were the folks who interviewed him. In any case, I strongly doubt he meant to answer this question affirmatively.

It's interesting to note that Mr. Iwasaki's October, 2004 interview was followed very closely in the same month by another interview with a Canon Inc. executive, Mr. Tomonori Iwashita, who incidentally holds a much higher position in Canon's global organization than either Mr. Iwasaki or me. Mr. Iwashita was asked a similar question by a Japanese digital camera web site. Here is a relevant excerpt from an English translation of that interview:

http://hobday.net/canon/

At the present time Canon has 35mm full frame sensors, 1.3x sensors, and 1.6x sensors, a lineup of 3 different sizes. End users have various complaints about this such as lenses behaving differently depending on the body, and difficulty switching between high-end and low-end bodies. Do you have any plans to consolidate your sensor offerings into either 1 or 2 sizes?

We feel that the ability to use different sensor sizes is a strong point of digital cameras. Rather than consolidating into fewer sensor sizes, we feel that different sensor sizes offer various strong points to different users. For users who wish to make use of the full range of their EF lenses, full frame sensors are best. For those searching for the fastest frame rates, 1.3x is best. For the most cost-sensitive users, the APS-C 1.6x size is ideal.

Back to Chuck again: In my opinion, this quote is much more in line with Canon's philosophy regarding the use of several sensor sizes. It echoes my response on the subject, which I posted in Rob Galbraith's web site in September, 2003:

"Canon's digital SLR design philosophy is to provide a range of camera models to cover clearly defined market segments. For the foreseeable future, this is going to involve a range of sensor sizes from APS-C (as in EOS Digital Rebel and 10D) through APS-H (as in EOS-1D) to full-frame (as in EOS-1Ds)."

My statement was true then and it remains true today. I have no intention of discussing Canon's future plans in detail, but it wouldn't surprise me to see us continue to manufacture several distinct sensor sizes, if that's what it takes to offer the best camera performance in each DSLR product category.

Best Regards,

Chuck Westfall
Director/Media & Customer Relationship
Camera Marketing Group/Canon U.S.A., Inc.

[Max@Home]

erikmatey,

thanks for finding and sharing this information

Kindest regards!

Max@Home