400 megapixel image

[MarkBarbieri]

Canon released a firmware update to the R5 yesterday that allows it to take 400 megapixel (24,576x16,384) images. It does this by taking 9 images and shifting the sensor up, down, left, and right for each picture. Because it has to take 9 pictures, it takes a while. You'll need to have the camera locked down on a tripod and everything in your image should be motionless. You'll also need really sharp glass to get the maximum benefit.

I intended to play with it a little today, but it's hot here (over 85°F/30°C) and the landscaping guys are making a racket, so I just went outside and took a few quick shots in the backyard. Can I tell a difference? Yes. Is it enough so that I'll use this mode? Maybe on rare occasions. Perhaps a mountainscape or something like that. It's probably more useful for people with bigger printers and more patience than me. Or maybe if you want to take a picture of something far away and you've forgotten your telephoto lens and you don't feel like walking closer to your subject.

For people that think you need high megapixel cameras to take good images, I have several lovely 11"x14" prints around my house taken with a 6mp camera. Higher resolution can be helpful with images that need fine detail or when you are cropping, but the overwhelming majority of pictures taken today are limited in resolution more by the lens and the skill of the photographer than then number of pixels on the sensor.

I'm not sure how they'll display, but I'll embed the a down-res copy of the image, then the normal 50mp image, and then the 400mp image.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Well, that didn't work. You're not missing much.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Lol. It’s still a good point about megapixels and how to get a good picture.

 

[KVH]

Is this ONLY for the 5? As opposed to including the latest R6?

 

[MarkBarbieri]

As far as I know, it is only for the R5 and the R5C. I think it is a "bragging rights" sort of thing. Because the R5 is their current very high resolution camera, it was the obvious choice. The R6 Mark II is a great camera, but it is a 24 megapixel camera vs the R5's 50 megapixels. I may be proven wrong, but I don't think it's a particularly useful feature, so I don't think they're going to add it to many or any other cameras.

 

[KVH]

Totally get that. Still on the fence about replacing my broke 6D with another one or break the bank with a R6mII. The feature DOES sound interesting but taking a decent shot now takes enough time. Adding yet another set of steps is not something I'd always look forward to.