Re: What upper limit for megapixels?

On 2007-09-28 09:31:13 -0700, "John A. Crabtree" <nopublic@xxxxxxxxx> said:

"SS" <xsx2000x@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:IycKi.2318$Qd2.1446@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:
What is going to be the reasonable limit of megapixels beyond which it
is pointless going (for amateur photography). I would have thought
maybe 20? and where then - what sort of technology? Lower noise,
higher ISO etc? I would like to see built in GPS that stores the
location pictures were taken as well as time and date.



6MP, but you guys have already upgraded beyond that ;)

This limit will be governed by sizes of computer memories which grow linearly in time, not to be confused with Moores law! Also to be considered is the BANDWIDTH of computer memories which have increased VERY SLOWLY (as compared with Moores Law) over the years.

In other words, in three years you'll have double the MP and four times the load time, save time, editing time, etc., in each image. Considering the fact that loading a digital RAW 10-20 MP image on a 2Ghz machine already takes more than 20-30s, we will have problems getting much beyond this in the next decade.

Costs of physical storage will be another important consideration. The average user with 10MP and 1000 shots a year has to archive 10 Gb/year. A hobbiest with 5-10k shots will need 100 Gb/yr of _durable_ storage, i.e., better reliability than a hard disk. This means hobbiests with lots of MP will be approaching a 10 year lifetime storage limit for most practical computer setups.

Finally, as your database of photos grows and grows, imagine the difficulties of searching for old photos, archival format, etc. These problems will hamper the growth in MP in the coming years even if sensors can be pushed out to 100-400 MP in consumer setups.

I agree it takes discipline and organization. Right now, the contents of a 4Gb flash memory card can be archived on a DVD-RW, with the catalog saved on the HD and as hard copy with thumbnails, depending on individual preference, for more cost in time and effort than in materials.

Isn't the main consideration the total number of images, rather than file size? If you really need faster retrieval than the system I'm talking about, _then_ you're looking at RAID arrays, multi-terabyte servers, etc., but in that case it would be part of the cost of doing business...


At present this problem remains unsolved.
6MP.

- John


--
Cease then to grieve for your private afflictions, and address yourselves instead to the safety of the republic

.

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