Originally posted by: rudder
Are 12 megapixel cameras on the market?
Absolutely:
Canon 1Ds (11.1 MP) $8,000.00
Kodak DCS Pro (13.8 MP) $4,000.00
Those are the big boys of the DSLR world at the moment. Both are however, fairly special purpose. That is, their price is significant due to performance characteristics so simply buying either of those just to have the biggest MP's on the block is somewhat of a silly thing to do. The Canon 1Ds is your high-end sports shooter and your Kodak DCS is more your studio and just-this-side-of medium format. There's a 8.5MP
Canon 1D Mark II that has been recently released which has everyone in the Pro Canon world losing sleep and speaking incoherently. It's high FPS, E-TTL II, WB accuracy and a host of other features are a Pro's dream come true at $4,500.00.
There are other 'high' megapixel cameras out there but you mention wanting to leverage your existing EF Lenses so digicams are irrelevant here as are references to Nikon's DRebel killer, the D70. Your existing lens collection puts you squarely in Canon territory unless you're willing to jump ship. As you well know lenses very quickly outweigh your Camera purchase.
There's more to the megapixel story than sheer numbers however. Pixel density, chipset architecture and color sampling are done differently between manufacturers and even between varieties of manufaturers' cameras. A CMOS sensor has strengths/weaknesses compared to CCD sensors and whether you shoot in controlled light, available light or no light makes a difference on your intended ISO shooting range. That said, buying new into the DSLR world right now will net you an excellent quality camera so the mentioned argument of pixel density and chipset architecture though important becomes more of an endeavor in hair splitting than moat crossing.
Print size per MP is relative in some respects depending on what you're shooting. An 8x10 landscape picture taken through airplane glass is going to have different detail requirements than say the same size print of a flower macro. Assumed quality lenses equal, your MP rating comes into play when assessing detail per print size. Resolution; dpi process of your photo-lab or photo-printer affect your printing as well; similarly if your printer caps at 200dpi and you're image contains 300+dpi of information. A 4MP D30 will render you a near indistinguishable 4x6, 5x7 print to a 6MP 10D or even 11MP 1Ds. Even up to 8x10 print size there can be little if any difference in resolution and image quality if your skillz make effective use of the camera's potentional. 6MP will net you solid 13x19 potential and depending on what you're shooting, even larger. 6MP will get you a nice 13x19 or even 22x33 of a landscape or aerial ground shot but a macro shot in that size is going to leave a little to be desired if you're going for crisp detail standing w/in 5' of the picture. The farther you stand from the printed image, the less critical the fine detail.
There's also a digital rendering discussion of 'adding' pixels in software, but the base modus operandi is do it right in glass first.
For your stated price range going with a DRebel for under a grand is a good way to get your feet wet and get the job done. It carries the same 6MP CMOS sensor as the 10D and produces slightly better out-of-camera images (does a slight amount of consumer post processing in-camera). If you're serious about manual control, durability and photographic flexibility however, don't hesitate to get the 10D. It's a stellar camera within' its price range.
Personally, if your needs are simple I'd go with the smaller wallet hit of the DRebel and if you really get into it and what to upgrade then you'll be in a better position financially when the newer models hit next year. I love my 10D but would really like the Digic II and ETTL II processors the MKII sports this year. A DRebel or 10D refresh or replacment is hoped for by many. Until then, we're all very happy shooting in the DRebel and 10D worlds.
-Sketcher
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