Why digital cameras will replace APS and 35mm systems
The development of digital camera technologies goes at about the same speed as development of computers (ref. Moore's Law) - but there is a major difference between computers and cameras: Computer software pushes the development of stronger computers along, and chances of that development stagnating within the next 10 years or so is not big. In other words: The demand for stronger, faster and better computers will continue to increase.
What is the difference?
For cameras, however, the situation is different. As you can see from the graph below, professional cameras (we are ignoring high end digital camera backs for medium format systems here) have been more or less stable on 6 Mpx. There is a reason for this. For most printing processes, the highest usable resolution is 300 dpi. A 6 mpx image can therefore be printed with perfect quality in sizes up to 20cm * 20cm (8*8 in). If you lessen the quality just a little, you can print the images on more that double that size. Apart from this, we have a procedure called interpolation, allowing you to increase the picture size.
DEVELOPMENT OF MAXIMUM RESOLUTION OVER TIME
MPX
07.0 |
06.5 |
06.0 | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
05.5 | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
05.0 | x o
04.5 | x
04.0 | x o
03.5 | x
03.0 | x o
02.5 | x o
02.0 | x o
01.5 | x o
01.0 | o
00.5 | o
00 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
x - cameras aimed at the professional markets
o - cameras aimed at the consumer markets
Why is this?
In any case: For most purposes (certainly for the press and for 99.9% of all home users) for 6 Mpx is more than enough. Even though new technological advancements are made all the time (better resolution, faster storage etc), chances are that the next few developments will have a different effect: The price will come down. This means that cameras with resolutions that will be more than enough for nearly all users will become affordable for just about anyone.
Why will people change from film to digital?
Add to this the fact that taking pictures with a digital camera is a lot cheaper (no developing costs, and no film costs, just charge batteries and go), and a lot faster (from taking the picture to having it on your computer can be as little as a few seconds) than conventional photography, and it becomes clear that within a few years, digital will have taken over completely.
What has happened so far?
- The most prominent thing: Polaroid filed for bankruptcy. - the worlds #1 manufacturer of instant cameras and instant film has been losing money bigtime
- Sales in medium- and higher-priced APS and 35mm compact camera systems are failing. Nothing drastic yet, but sales of these cameras are clearly down, while sales of digital cameras are increasing exponentally
When will digital cameras take over?
It is hard to tell. In some markets, digital cameras are starting to gain serious foothold. People who are switching from simpler compact camera outfits tend to switch either to 35mm SLR systems or to digital. A large part of the press has switched to digital. Many photographers have made the switch (or, more likely, are using both).
It's just a question of time.
-30-
Digital cameras noded on E2:
Agfa have long been a serious actor in the photo industry, primarily through their film and developing equipment. They made their way into the computer world by way of their incredible scanners, which - for a long time - were considered the cream-of-the-crop for home, office and advanced amateur use.
Agfas entry into the digital photography industry hasn't gone quite as well - realising they didn't have anything to throw at the more established photography brands such as Canon and Nikon, they decided to aim at the consumer market. unfortunately, Agfa decided to do this while the digital camera technology was still very expensive, resulting in expensive cameras. What happens if you sell expensive stuff with not-too-good quality, and aim at the consumer market? Exactly, it didn't go too well, and Agfa decided fairly quickly to pull out of the market.
Canon are veterans in the camera world, and they jumped on the digital bandwagon very quickly, with their Canon PowerShot 600 camera. At the moment, Canon (and Nikon, for that matter), seem to have cameras in every section of the market, from the entry-level S10, via the cool and stylish Ixus cameras, via the serious-amateur models G2 and pro90, to the top-of-the-range digital SLR cameras such as Canon EOS 1D and Canon EOS D60.
The A- series are Canon's plasticy entry level cameras, while the S-series are their more exclusive and more sturdy models. the EOS D- models are the SLR varieties, the pro90 and pro70 are quasi-slr cameras, and the G-series are the cameras designed to cover the gap between the S series and the EOS models.
Despite traditionally being linked with digital watches, synthesisers, calculators, and other doo-dats in the lower price ranges (compared to higher quality products, such as Korg and Roland synths etc), but still at an okay durability, Casio have severely surprised the digital camera world. When they launched their Casio QV-2000UX camera at a very competitive price, the camera was - at least on paper - on par with the cameras from Nikon, Canon and Kodak. Casio also were the first camera to include extreme zoom in their consumer cameras, with the Casio QV-8000SX model which, despite being a mere 1.3 mpx, completely ruled its gap in the market. Because of their high quality / price ratio, most Casio cameras (especially the ones a bit up in the range) are excellent introductory cameras.
Contax started off as a single camera model for Carl Zeiss, but became the brand name for a whole range of cameras - particularly of the rangefinder variety. They never really ventured into the digital world - until they released their N Digital model. This is a professional SLR digital camera with a full-frame 35mm LCD; Quite a start in other words.
Epson, traditionally a famous producer of scanners and printers, started their venture into digital photography hand-in-hand with Hewlett Packard. They were in the market fairly early, but for some reason, the cameras released by Epson seem to hang behind the current technology, and the sales never quite took off. I believe Epson has called quits to their line of digital cameras for now, but rumours in the business are that they are planning a comeback in the consumer market.
Fujifilm are one of the old-class film producers, and are big in lenses of different types (Especially lenses for television broadcast cameras etc, under the name of fujinon), but also for a variety of other cameras and systems: Scanners, minilabs, processing chemicals, photographic paper, photographic film and film for the motion picture industry et cetera. Fuji joined the digital camera market quite early, and soon came with several high-spec cams, along with cameras aimed at the consumers, such as digicams combined with mp3 players etc.
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