Sick of 24x36?

All of photography is making compromises. Be it the exposure triangle or kit, everything is a trade off. If you want the ultimate in image quality then you need to use the largest possible sensor size, be it traditional photographic film or a digital capture system. Sometimes the actual subject matter will determine the equipment that one will have to use. I shoot mostly aviation subjects, and would love the chance to go around a couple of my favorite collections and photograph them with a LF technical camera, I am sure I would be completely blown away with the results. It might even be possible to use something like a Speed Graphic to shoot LF in an air to air situation, and would love the chance to try. When I shoot an airshow though sometimes I am struggling to fully frame a shot on an APS-c sized sensor using a 600mm lens. I would need to be using a 1000mm lens if I were shooting on 35mm FF to fully frame the shot, so the higher resolution generally offered by the smaller format is a big advantage in the digital world. Medium format would need a 1500mm lens for the same subject size. Since this is not possible the only recourse is to use the smaller format, with its image quality drawbacks.

Anyone who says that IQ matters above all else, and is then happy to settle for the results from 24×36mm sensors is being somewhat hypocritical, especially those that expound "FF" digital as that ultimate. What 24×36mm digital sensors offer is a very good compromise between IQ performance and cost, along with a pretty mature range of systems to make use of the sensor. If I really wanted the ultimate in IQ from digital I would be looking for at least a 2.8 Gigapixel 10"×8" sensor! That would be a 10×8 sensor that was delivering the same linear resolution as the 5DS.

Alan

I agree with this post. I may become obsessed with image quality immediately after I have mastered lighting, composition, DOF control, subject selection, framing, lens choice, flash, etc. Given my progress so far, I am not holding my breath on the image quality thing.

Sure, there are some amazing photos coming from an iPhone from folks with skill and a good compositional eye. But then again, I just created a slideshow for someone who just casually took iPhone photos at a charity event. Even though they were 4K jpegs, they looked really awful (underexposed, extremely pixelated, and instances of motion blur). High MP is great for reproducing large prints or needing to crop in, but for my own needs I'm not being quick to buy a 5DSr. My 5D3 is a better general purpose camera, and I don't ever make prints larger then 11x14 (though I have a few panoramas that would be awesome at large sizes) . Although, admittedly, if I had the 5DSr, I might be tempted to make large prints of my treasured photos. It is kind of ironic that digital sensors are increasing in pixel density and most people just view photos on smaller screens. Screens are starting to increase in resolution, but a much slower rate than still cameras. I first invested in DSLR gear when I started wanting to take indoor shots at high ISO without flash. I still like DSLRs for battery life and versatility.

As to the original OP, it is interesting to visit this thread after the introduction of the 5DS and 5DSr. I've noticed Peter Hurley is now a spokesperson for the Canon 5DSr. If you can get past his narcissism, he says the 5DS is great for budding portrait photographers who can save money and stick with Canon L glass. Back in his "day" of going from modeling to photography, he went straight to digital MF. I suppose technically there's some fundamental differences between FF vs MF sensors that would still warrant looking at larger formats. A similar generation 50MP MF sensor can have higher ISO then a 50MP FF...it can also have a lens with smaller aperture for increased DOF. The main thing that's changed with digital is that since pixel density is always getting higher, there's less of a need for getting a large format camera for large prints.

The Grid : Review of Canon 5DS and 5DSr - beware-lots of chatter to fast forward through