burb19722
like a 1/1,8 sensor, what will the resolution top out at like in 5-10 years, are they having issues with noise, are standard point and shoots reached their limits in megapixels
Answer
Collin is right, but let me add...
Many p&s cameras have quietly reached their max resolution some years ago. But they are not telling you, and keeping to increase megapixel counts to push on newer and (unlike in any other industry I'm aware of) inferior models onto customers.
Let me explain what a resolution really is. It's not megapixels. It's how much detail your camera can capture in a shot. But... more pixels is more details? That's what camera salesman want you to believe...
Let's go a bit back in history. How did they measure camera resolution before digital, when there were no pixels to count? It was measured by photographing a test chart, that had images of parallel lines and other test objects spaced at different distances. Then it was determined on which set the resulting photograph shows distinct black and white lines. Then it was calculated how the lens resolves... Lens, not film. It's a lot more complicated than that, but that would give you an idea...
Now, if we take the p&s camera with this huge number of pixels crowded on the tiny sensor and a low quality lens in front, what we get, is a lens that can not resolve enough lines per millimeter of sensor area to cover each individual pixel. So adjacent pixels actually see the same circles of light produced by lens. Hence, take 8mp camera, 10mp, 12mp and 14mp that have the same cheap lens in front of matrix, and try to print the images from them... They will have the same number of details!!! But among the named cameras, that 8mp one will have the best ability to capture light, because it's sensors are not as small and crowded on a matrix as those on 14mp camera, and will actually capture less noise and more useful data. So in fact, due to that noise to signal ratio difference, don't be surprised, if 8mp camera will in fact outperform the 14mp camera hands down!!!
This is especially true for so-called "pocket" camera systems. Ones with tiny little lens (some are even fully internal) and size of pack of cigarettes or smaller. They naturally have the tiniest sensors of them all, but still crowd 10+ megapixels on them, while, even though I don't have actual data, I'd guesstimate, that their lenses won't resolve better than about 4mp or so. And had they put only 4 million sensors on the matrix, they would've gotten a far better result!
As far as how much more extra useless megapixels we will see on those match head sized sensors... Oh well. I think with current technology we're close to the limit, but since technology goes forward, I won't be surprised to see a 20-30mp camera that resolves just about as good as todays 6mp ones in years to come... And that is probably not a limit either... I just wish they invested in optics as much as they do in producing smaller sensors....
LEM.
---EDIT---
Re: Richard (below me):
As I said, sensors have not reached the limit, and with technology improvements they probably won't for some long time. But unless something is done to the glass in front of sensor, more mp sensors will not get you anywhere. Please read the rest of my answer, not just the first paragraph! Oh, and you'd be surprised, but Google Earth is not a single picture of our planet made at a few terapixels resolution. It's a whole bunch of relatively small resolution images stiched together. They were taken with amazing optics, though, but don't expect to see that on p&s not now, nor ever.. Because that kind of optics will probably take a small hand wagon to carry around.
Collin is right, but let me add...
Many p&s cameras have quietly reached their max resolution some years ago. But they are not telling you, and keeping to increase megapixel counts to push on newer and (unlike in any other industry I'm aware of) inferior models onto customers.
Let me explain what a resolution really is. It's not megapixels. It's how much detail your camera can capture in a shot. But... more pixels is more details? That's what camera salesman want you to believe...
Let's go a bit back in history. How did they measure camera resolution before digital, when there were no pixels to count? It was measured by photographing a test chart, that had images of parallel lines and other test objects spaced at different distances. Then it was determined on which set the resulting photograph shows distinct black and white lines. Then it was calculated how the lens resolves... Lens, not film. It's a lot more complicated than that, but that would give you an idea...
Now, if we take the p&s camera with this huge number of pixels crowded on the tiny sensor and a low quality lens in front, what we get, is a lens that can not resolve enough lines per millimeter of sensor area to cover each individual pixel. So adjacent pixels actually see the same circles of light produced by lens. Hence, take 8mp camera, 10mp, 12mp and 14mp that have the same cheap lens in front of matrix, and try to print the images from them... They will have the same number of details!!! But among the named cameras, that 8mp one will have the best ability to capture light, because it's sensors are not as small and crowded on a matrix as those on 14mp camera, and will actually capture less noise and more useful data. So in fact, due to that noise to signal ratio difference, don't be surprised, if 8mp camera will in fact outperform the 14mp camera hands down!!!
This is especially true for so-called "pocket" camera systems. Ones with tiny little lens (some are even fully internal) and size of pack of cigarettes or smaller. They naturally have the tiniest sensors of them all, but still crowd 10+ megapixels on them, while, even though I don't have actual data, I'd guesstimate, that their lenses won't resolve better than about 4mp or so. And had they put only 4 million sensors on the matrix, they would've gotten a far better result!
As far as how much more extra useless megapixels we will see on those match head sized sensors... Oh well. I think with current technology we're close to the limit, but since technology goes forward, I won't be surprised to see a 20-30mp camera that resolves just about as good as todays 6mp ones in years to come... And that is probably not a limit either... I just wish they invested in optics as much as they do in producing smaller sensors....
LEM.
---EDIT---
Re: Richard (below me):
As I said, sensors have not reached the limit, and with technology improvements they probably won't for some long time. But unless something is done to the glass in front of sensor, more mp sensors will not get you anywhere. Please read the rest of my answer, not just the first paragraph! Oh, and you'd be surprised, but Google Earth is not a single picture of our planet made at a few terapixels resolution. It's a whole bunch of relatively small resolution images stiched together. They were taken with amazing optics, though, but don't expect to see that on p&s not now, nor ever.. Because that kind of optics will probably take a small hand wagon to carry around.
olympus mid body camera?
Daniel Mil
I am trying to find the model of a camera that came out about 5 years ago. It had something like 15 optical zoom and 15 megapixels. The interesting thing is you could lower the megs and raise the zoom or you could do it the other way around. I think you could get either one up to 21. It had rapid and burst. I want to say it was somthing like 2500ls or something like that but I cant find it anywhere.
Answer
Of course you can't. 5 years is ancient history in technology. No doubt the camera is neither made nor sold any longer.
Five years ago the only cameras with that high an mp count - 21 - were extremely expensive so that's probably not possible.
Of course you can't. 5 years is ancient history in technology. No doubt the camera is neither made nor sold any longer.
Five years ago the only cameras with that high an mp count - 21 - were extremely expensive so that's probably not possible.
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Title Post: what will be max resolution on point and shoot camera?
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Author: Yukie
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Rating: 92% based on 9788 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Yukie
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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