So, like several here, I occasionally follow canon rumors. The hot topic right now is that a new Canon 1D/Ds may (or may not) be annouced tomorrow (or some other time in the future). The current rumored spec is 18 MP, but as recently as a few weeks ago the rumor was 54 MP. This has some thinking that the new sensor may be Foveon-like, in that each pixel, instead of reading a single color (as our current sensors do), will record data for three colors. So, an 18 MP Foveon has the same resolving power as a current 18 MP CMOS/CCDsensor, but has 3 times (54 MB) worth of color data.


So, first of all, please feel free to clarify my above understanding. But my question is about memory usage. Wouldn't RAW files from a Foveon require 54+ MB as they record three colors for every pixel whereas our current senorsrequire 18+ MB (the "+" being things like the internal jpg, etc). So a Foveon senor might be a memory hog when shooting in RAW but when the images are converted to jpg they'll be very similar to the current jpgs from the current 18 MP sensors? If so, the burst rate may be faster for jpg than for RAW in the new camera?


Not that I put much stock in any of this, but I am mostly just curious and didn't find the answer in a brief internet search.


Thanks,


Brant