PC Mag has posted a coverage from the annual Photo Marketing Association trade show
If the annual Photo Marketing Association trade show (PMA) that wrapped up in early March was any sort of bellwether for the industry, then traditional film photography has officially shifted from center stage to the sidelines, in favor of digital photography. Yes, the PMA featured its usual assortment of next generation printers, scanners, and other graphics hardware and software, but there was little doubt about where the heat and excitement was.Read more
Scores of vendors announced and displayed numerous 5- and 6-megapixel consumer and prosumer digital cameras, but interestingly, 3-megapixel devices took center stage, for the most part. The reason? Despite the hype and loopla over state-of-the-art high-density image sensors, 3 megapixels is proving to be the sweet spot for the vast majority of digital camera buyers. That's enough resolution for a good to very good full-frame 8.5- by 11-inch print or for cropping an image without losing quality. But it's not enough data to slow down typical processes or quickly fill up available storage. Canon, Casio, HP, Kodak, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, and most other major digital camera manufacturers-and a large number of comparatively unknown Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese companies-will be shipping new 3-megapixel cameras within the next few months. Typical prices for consumer digital cameras average about $100 per megapixel, with ultrasmall models or those that have extra features or manual controls going for a premium.
