Sony 36 Megapixel sensor for Nikon and Sony (Nikon leaked). Is it too much?

Our friends over at Nikonrumors leaked the first picture of the Nikon D800. And why should we care about it? Because it uses the new 36 megapixel Sony sensor that we first reported here on SAR almost a year ago. The leaked picture confirm that the rumor is 99% true. Before to talk about the megapixel madness(?) I want to remind you that unlike Nikon Sony will first release a 24 megapixel FF camera in early Spring and a couple of months later the much more expensive 36 Megapixel FF camera which will probably have a built-in vertical grip. Both camera will be SLT (no optical viewfinder).

The good news here is that unlike Nikon Sony will offer us both, a low resolution and high resolution choice. But the question is, do we really need so many megapixels? Carl Garrard writes on Photographic Central: “I think the average consumer is starting to realize that megapixels isn’t all that important anymore, and the term itself at least in the US is becoming increasingly less popular in conversations I have with everyone. In other words, most people don’t give a crap about megapixels as much as they used too.”

I believe there is no problem if Sony is going to release a camera with 36 megapixels as long as we they also offer the low resolution option (24 Megapixels). Carl also hopes that Sony will offer an optical viewfinder version. But I already know that this is not going to happen. There will be a new generation of OLED viewfinders which is even better than the currently very good [shoplink 8461]Sony A77[/shoplink] viewfinder.

Now let’s hope Sony will release the Sony A9x sooner than expected. I know many are pushing to announce the camera before the planned Spring release!