6-Megapixel Cameras

[Suhit Gupta]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115276,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,115276,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div>"Remember when a 6-megapixel digital camera was a professional tool? No longer. Olympus and Konica Minolta are both announcing consumer-friendly 6-megapixel cameras priced under $500. Olympus's C-60 Zoom will ship in April, with a $450 estimated street price. Konica Minolta's DiMage G600 won't be out until May, with pricing expected to be "under $500," the company says. Olympus also is announcing a low-end, 3.2-megapixel camera. The D-395 will also be available in April, with an estimated street price of $150."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/115276-n_031804_G600.jpg" /><br /><br />It appears that these 6MP cameras are aimed at that advanced amateurs, though they do support automated point-and-shoot as well. I think we can safely say now that 6MP is going to be commonplace.

[Jason Dunn]

Hmm...I don't know about that. Most people I know aren't willing to spend $500 USD on a digital camera, so I think the models around the $200 USD mark at 3 MP are the "commonplace" ones.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

The difference between a 5mp and 6mp camera is pretty small anyway.. 10% increase in print sizes given everything else is the same.

[Macguy59]

I think my newly acquired 5MP camera will do for awhile.

[Raven]

3MP cameras provide the sweetest price spot for now.

Plus, the really average user (or first time buyer) of digital cameras will look at maximum number of images they can fit in a flash card. On the other hand, they might even be interested in the 4x6, 8x10 etc. print size claims of the manufacturer.

[Suhit Gupta]

Well, it may be right now that 3MP is the sweet spot in terms of price, however the 3MP has been around for some time. Plus, I said that "6MP is going to be commonplace", not "is already". I think that from this article quoted here and the other literature that we have all been reading, we are seeing more and more 6+ MP camera being released, in the professional, prosumer and consumer lines. And it won't be long (prediction: Q1/Q2 2005) where 6MP will become the new sweet spot.

Suhit

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Why not 5 megapixels? They're already pretty commonplace.

[Suhit Gupta]

No specific reason why it can't be 5MP however I am seeing a LOT of 6MP cameras being released off late. Anyways, this was all in context of the article posted. But it doesn't look like most people are willing to accept that statement :). Perhaps it won't be commonplace then ;-). Time will tell.

Suhit

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Nah, think 5/6mp will become pretty common place soon. There are already quite affordable 5mp cameras.