Nikon Denies Possibility of Making 35mm Full-Frame Sensor

Industry watchers have been discussing if Nikon Corp., Tokyo, Japan, will come out with a 35mm full-size image sensor in pro-oriented digital SLR. A Nikon top official denied the possibility of making new full-size sensors, Photo Trade Express reports.

"35mm is a film format, which I do not think is necessary in the digital era," says Makoto Kimura of Nikon. "We have been exploring the possibility of commercializing a 35mm full-size sensor, but it's not clear at this moment if we go for it. We feel that the 'DX' format or APS-C size will be the best for the DSLR and interchangeable lenses. Based on the assumption Nikon has been bringing up in number the lenses for the DX format, change in the size of the sensor would possibly puzzle some users in finding effective focal length related to angle of view," he says.

He repeats that Nikon thinks the DX format will be the best for the DSLR, adding CMOS sensor "LBCAST" is also in preparation, reports Photo Trade Express.

Personally, I find the idea that a new sensor would "puzzle some users" to be a cop-out. The fact that most DSLR users are coming from film means they've already had to rethink focal lengths in relation to angle of view. Also, there isn't an exact standard for all digital cameras, so the crop-factor has to be determined for each manufacturer. And let's not even go into medium-format versus 35mm film. Clearly the average photo enthusiast isn't the reason Nikon can't, or rather, won't develop a full-frame sensor. These simpletons that Nikon consider their customers have been begging for a FF-sensor for years.