pog
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| reply to PC Doc 54
Re: True or false ... the megapixel scam?
said by PC Doc 54  :» www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htmTrue or false ... are we being scammed by camera makers on the number of pixels? As photographers, what are your opinions? Yes, it's a known scam... just better known now.
Also, as B52GUNR says... the small sensors with 10+ MP aren't doing anyone any favors.
I learned a new concept the other day (sorry, I can't recall where)... many of us have heard of diffraction-limited lenses, lenses where the natural diffraction of light limits the resolution of an image. (Such lenses are highly desirable since, by definition, they could not be better). There is also the concept of photon-limited image quality.
Basically, there are only so many photons available for producing an image. By fitting a huge number of photo cells on such tiny sensors, I wonder if they've hit the wall. How many photons are available to fill each cell in typical lighting conditions on a 10MP postage stamp-sized sensor? How does this compare to built-in sensor noise?
I realize the technology is improving almost daily... but when we reach the point (have we already?) that 10 photons hit each cell, there's really no room for sensor noise at all. Far better to have larger cells that can take in far larger amounts of photons.
Heh... I'll stop here since this is basically speculation on my part. Maybe there's a real writeup somewhere else. (I'll look later).
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