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Locked down on a good tripod with a remote shutter release, the very best prime 35mm lenses will resolve about 40Mpix worth of useful detail at their optimum ap

Locked down on a good tripod with a remote shutter release, the very best prime 35mm lenses will resolve about 40Mpix worth of useful detail at their optimum aperture. The pro-level PJ zooms (24-70mm and 70-200mm f/2.8) will manage about 30Mpix on a good day. Handheld, all bets are off - you're at the mercy of image stabilisation and your own hands. In many circumstances, you'll have no choice but to use a sub-optimal ISO or aperture setting to get the shot, losing even more effective resolution. High resolution sensors are very useful in some applications, but you'll often see little or no benefit in real-world use. All the major manufacturers offer both a >40Mpix and a ~24Mpix sensor option in their high-end cameras, because resolution isn't the be-all and end-all of a sensor.

dingaling 9y ago
The Canon Mark II 'big white' primes are said to be designed for 100MP. The smaller Mark II / III zooms are indeed in the 40 - 50 range. Bear in mind that the 24MP crop sensors have been pushing past the 50MP-full-frame-equivalent for several years and really show up any lens flaw. The one example that stands out is the Canon 70-200 f4 IS zoom, which has an ageing early-digital-era reputation for being razor-sharp but never managed that even on my old 1Ds III and looks like mush on a 5Ds. Hence a Mark II is to be released this year. Interestingly the even older non-IS f4 version was on the list of lenses approved for the 5Ds, which shows how difficult adding those extra optics makes lens design: https://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=15356 https://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News...