High Resolution - Do we need that?

No matter what we prefer, the maximum resolution of a digital camera defines the largest photo that we can print. This is undoubtedly one of the factors for choosing the camera.

FROM AN ARTICLE IN NEW YORK TIMES

As said in an article, "The Big Picture: Megapixel Race at Milestone 8" dated February 24, 2005 by David Pogue,

"Let's get one thing straight: the number of megapixels is a measure of how many dots make up a digital photo, not its quality. An eight-megapixel photo can look just as bad as a three-megapixel one - just much, much bigger."
and
"First, an eight-megapixel photo has enough resolution for giant prints - 20-inch-by-30-inch posters, for example. Second, more megapixels give you the freedom to crop out a huge amount of a photo to isolate the really good stuff, while still leaving enough pixels to make reasonably sized prints. Third - let's be honest here - it's fun to blow people away by telling them you have an eight-megapixel camera."

SOMETHING TO KNOW

These points are certainly true. The problem of resolution is quite complicated. Competition is always the sole reason for manufacturers trying every way possible to have something ahead of the others. Intention may not be fulfilled without the technology. It is the advancement of technology that offered the manufacturers to design higher gears with lower cost. We may have double or even triple pixels on the same size of sensor soon. In other words, the resolution may reach 32-megapixel for high end and over 10-megapixel for compact digital cameras. One thing in history may remind us. About twenty years ago, when hi-fi was a trendy consumer product. With new model just about 1% better in sound quality (percentage is arbitrary too), consumers had to pay up to ten times higher. New materials, glass, gold etc. were added to various parts of sound systems. However, to make these high priced products attractive, recording of jet plane taking up, or breaking glass sound etc. was used. Some even spent tens of thousands to build a special audio room, no echo and measurement suitable for the system. Of course, the buyers were not music lovers, but rich people just to show off. We should not think that those who prefer to buy better cameras but not taking better photos are not contributing to our society. No, I always say that without them, the cost of cameras would be higher. Without this type of consumers, camera manufacturers might not try hard to give us better models.

Now, who need higher resolution? Larger photo may be one of the reasons. But it is only when we can have the photogenic idea and technique. Frankly speaking, an inch larger requires a level higher. In the old days, we always complain that the development of photographic materials were lag behind our techniques. Now, it seems we are facing the opposite in digital imaging. The technology rushes forward while most camera users are lack of the time and effort to catch up.

Again, I have to refer something before. Years ago, there was a fallacy to use medium format camera. First the frame was bigger and cropping would not have coarse grain photo. Second with the 6 x 6 square format, one could choose either vertical or horizontal cropping to have a rectangular image.

Great scale cropping is not required by most of us. Perhaps this is suitable for those who like to steal a shot of someone or something special. For application like spying or news, it may be useful. But for photography, it is almost a poison, good enough to terminate one's ability to take better photo.

To put it simple, photography is to take what we see. If the final photo is changed by cropping or any other means, we shall fool our visual sensation.

END OF THE RACE

Will it happen that customers give up the choice for resolution in the future? I believe that not only resolution, even the demand for digital cameras and cam-phones would gradually decline. Cameras are for us to take photos. If one cannot take good photos, there is no reason to keep anymore. Usually, most will blame the camera. Then after getting a higher quality camera, the interest will be vanished. This happened in the old days and certainly will happen again today.

I do not mean that the number of people taking photos would be decreased. Among the newcomers, a few percent will keep on. Just see the cam-phone. It is now targeting multi-media instead. There will be another wave for another period.

As for digital cameras, functions will dominate the future competition instead of resolution. Perhaps, the camera will become a microcomputer that we can manage the images instantly.