The latest Sunday Morning Photographer column from Mike Johnston discusses the future of full-frame DSLRs:

“Nikon, meanwhile, with the introduction of its professional uber-kamera the D2x, has shown its firm allegiance to the APS-size sensor that gives a 1.5X effective crop. Its digital “format” is uniform, from the entry-level D70 to the D2’s (yes, there’s the choice of a further crop with the D2x, but that doesn’t count because the whole sensor is still 1.5X). Nikon has also quietly begun building up a collection of its DX lenses, made expressly for its digital format.

Not to beat around the bush: I firmly believe that what Nikon is doing will prove to be smarter in the long run.”

Website: Sunday Morning Photographer: Thoughts About “Full Frame”

Interestingly this week, Luminous Landscape’s Michael Reichmann has issued a rebuttal to Mike’s column and given his own view!

“I’m no prophet. My crystal ball is fuzzy, and I rarely pick the right stocks. But it doesn’t take a clairvoyant to see that chip sizes and chip prices are headed in opposite directions ? the first one up, and the second one down. At some point the marginal cost differential between putting a full-frame chip in a 35mm format camera vs. putting in an APS-sized sensor will have diminished to the point that it won’t represent a significant manufacturing cost factor.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Some Further Thoughts on the Full Frame Issue

Which viewpoint do you agree with?