Asif Lodhi wrote: > Hi All, > > IIRC, there was long thread on Camera/Mega-pixel on this list.
:) Missed it ! > Knowing > the interest of those users (and probably others), I would like to > share this article link: > > http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/03/why-weve-reached-the-end-of-the-camera-megapixel-race.ars What I am starting to find doing energy audits etc is that the better resolution images capture things that the human eye might have missed at the time. That has commercial value, and in itself is an interesting development. Going from 1 megapixel Kodak, to 3 megapixel Sony, to 5 megapixel finepix, to 10 megapixel finepix has always brought about improvement. Of course optics and light sensitivity are important too. They complement the light sensor. The cameras we've had have always had optical zoom, 10X in the latest models which is great. A camera is a complex system, and in any given application will always have its performance limited by all components in the system. Cameras can't go on getting better without improving all the elements in the system, INCLUDING the number of pixels. The article says "Why we've reached the end of the camera megapixel race" and "camera manufacturers have been pumping up the megapixels on each successive camera model, regardless of whether such increases offered any real benefits (hint: they usually did not)". Seems to me that to reach this conclusion, they must have been choosing their cameras very badly if they weren't buying ones with good optics, light sensitivity etc... Personally, if I could get twice as many pixels at a sensible price, I'd go for it, as long as the optics etc were up to the job. We haven't reached the end of any race, but the race isn't megapixels, it's the quality of whole package, and that depends on amongst other things megapixels. Cheers, J/. -- John Beardmore, MSc EDM (Open), B.A. Chem (Oxon), CMIOSH, AIEMA, MEI Managing Director, T4 Sustainability Limited. http://www.T4sLtd.co.uk/ Energy Audit, Carbon Management, Design Advice, Sustainable Energy Consultancy and Installation, Carbon Trust Standard Registered Assessor Phone: 0845 4561332 Mobile: 07785 563116 Skype: t4sustainability
