05-18-2004, 09:00 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Megapixels Have Become Commoditized
"Digital cameras with the power to develop a picture as big as beach towel may attract attention, but it's better to look for more-practical camera features that meet everyday needs. So far, megapixels -- the measure of how many millions of picture elements are captured in a digital snapshot -- have served as the primary way camera makers differentiate their models.
Only 18 months ago, U.S. shoppers were still buying 2-megapixel cameras. Today, more-potent 5-megapixel models are easily affordable, and 8 megapixel versions are already on the market. More megapixels give picture-takers more flexibility to manipulate snapshots after they are taken, allowing them to do things like zoom in to find out the color of a person's eyes. But experts say consumers generally use cameras to record important events, not to play with pixels and pigments."
Most of us already knew this, but I think it's official now: megapixels are no longer the driving factor in deciding which camera to buy, and that's a good thing. Now other factors come into play - in the consumer space, I think the three most critical factors are how quickly a camera turns on and is ready for that perfect shot, how quickly the camera takes the picture when you press the shutter button, and how much optical zoom the camera has. The article goes on to cover some of the other differentiators that digital camera makers are focusing on. What do you think will become the major differentiators for the rest of this year?
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