The End of the Megapixel Race

Articles: Guides

Photography

Author:
Editor:
Sponsor:
Published:

Karl Blessing
Kurtis

Mar. 13, 2006

Article

Specifications

Images

User Reviews (0)

Comments (0)

<< Previous

Home >>

The Future of Photography?

I can't tell you exactly what the future of digital imaging has in store for us since the manufacturers keep surprising me with innovations. However, there are some unique imaging features that I believe might find their way into consumer digital cameras in the near future.

Post de Facto Focusing

A team of researchers at Stanford university are developing what they are calling a light field camera. What makes their prototype unique is that while most cameras can only focus on one thing at a time, theirs can focus on everything at once. Traditionally you would have to shoot a longer exposure at a higher higher f/stop, or risk quality to get a large depth of field. What I mean is that you could focus on more of what's in the frame, but at the expense of overall sharpness and/or the ability to shoot without a tripod. The light field camera can record several focal points in a single exposure by utilizing an array of micro lenses without sacrificing available light or overall sharpness. Of course, you can still choose to make just one object sharply in focus with this type of camera as well. Through specially designed software, it is possible to change your focus point(s) after the fact. This allows you to increase the depth of the picture without sacrificing brightness or causing an increase in noise. Right now the technology is limited to a small sub-megapixel resolution, but it probably won't be too long before we start to see manufactures offering this feature in consumer level cameras. I expect that the first areas to adopt this technology will be security and medical applications.

Tiny Lens in a Drop of Water

Some companies are focusing on being smaller than everyone else. This is true of Varioptic, a company that has developed a liquid lens system. While this is mainly intended for cell phones I could see this being useful technology in credit-card sized digital cameras. The way the liquid lenses works is by passing an electric current through a drop of water which alters the shape of it against oil. The lens changes its focus by adjusting the curvature of the water droplet against the oil, laying the groundwork for some very tiny digital cameras in the future. Have a look at Varioptic's website for more information on their liquid lens technology.

. . . . .
Closing Thoughts

The days of consumers using features such as megapixels and zoom as a measuring stick for quality are fading. While it was a relatively quick and easy method for consumers to choose a good digital camera, it was far from effective at helping them do so. Over the last few years we've seen manufacturers take many approaches to convince consumers that their product was better based on these factors, but it was only a matter of time before consumers caught on.

Now we are seeing a shift in the digital camera market as manufacturers move away from gimmicks and start innovating and offering actual value. Some will take features and aspects from more professional series, others will incorporate features that make interaction with your existing devices easier, and some will try to redefine their approach all together.

While the Megapixel Race is finally coming to an end, you can be sure that at some point we will see some new feature create a new race until once again consumers grow tired of it. What will replace megapixels as the focal point of marketing campaigns, we won't know until we see it. Perhaps it will pop up at PMA 2007 or 2008 - but let's hope not.

<< Previous

Page 3 of 3

Home >>

Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Moving Beyond Megapixels
Page 3: The Future of Photography? / Closing Thoughts

Subscribe to Photography [more info]

View All

Nikon Announces D90 Digital SLR - First Ever With Movie Mode

Photography August 27, 2008

10+ Things I Learned With my First DSLR

Photography May 19, 2008

5 Things You Need to Know About SLR Lenses

Photography February 6, 2007

10 Reasons NOT to Buy a DSLR Camera

Photography November 14, 2006

Add Comment

0 User Comments

Add Comment

To add a comment without being a member, you may omit the password field, but you must enter your name (or nickname) along with your comment. * Denotes required fields.