In this post, I'd like to send a message to camera manufacturers. And that message would be that we need to move away from pixels; megapixels, that is. It's about that time. Today's cameras have what I, as well as many others, would consider a very significant number of megapixels, enough for photography, at least in general. Do we really need more than forty something megapixels? I'm amazed by the newest generation of cameras, my favorites being between the $1,000 and $2,000 range, although there are arguably better camera and lens combinations that cost far more. I put emphasis mostly on image quality, so that's what I look for most in digital cameras, as well as how well the colors are reproduced. When it comes to colors, I want the most vibrant colors possible. But instead of color vibrancy, it seems that modern cameras are judged by color accuracy or color rendition. Yet another factor that I think about, although it comes second in importance after color, is dynamic range; this is how well a camera can capture details at the extremes of light and dark areas of a photo. I think that modern camera manufacturers should focus not on megapixels anymore, but instead focus more on dynamic range as well as color accuracy and vibrance. Who knows, perhaps one day will come when we won't need Photoshop for basic photo enhancements, because those processes will be replaced by in-camera post processing? That would be truly neat in my opinion. And it would also be really neat, as I said, to shift the focus from the megapixel race (camera companies competing for who has the most megapixels for their cameras) to be more concerned with color and DR. The camera company Canon has gotten a slightly bad reputation at least from some for not having as good of a color rendition as Sony, although keep in mind that unless you are too critical of color, then you might not notice any difference. Computational photography might be the answer here in a moment (and by moment I mean a few years or more). Computational photography is a fascinating endeavor and to apply this to traditional professional digital cameras would be as good as a paradigm shift. B&H Photo would agree with this, if you agree with what they wrote in their most recent edition of their seasonal magazine. And I think (it actually seems that) more people are starting to agree with this idea. What do you think? Should we transition into computational photography, or should photography be kept as it is? Do you like the fact that technology and programs are making it easier to obtain higher image quality, or do you prefer photography to be more challenging, and therefore, maybe more rewarding? I enjoy when photography is challenging, albeit not when I have a limited amount of time.
Apart from this, think about how this logic can also relate to life. Do we need to find more time for ourselves to make life more challenging and yet more rewarding, or should we rely more on technology to make life easier? Or maybe we can't exactly decide, and we should maybe find a balance between technology, and doing things the "old fashioned way"? Don't think that this post is necessarily just about photography; this can also have to do with the way we live in general with technology. When I spend too much time with modern technology myself, I find myself (surprisingly or unsurprisingly) yearning for more time away from it. And there have been times in my life when, interestingly enough, I've wanted things to return to how they were in the old times; Not that the old days were easier, but because things were done differently. I think that many people could relate to how I'm feeling when I think to myself, that I want things to be done differently now, despite the fact that this might make life more difficult; yes, life might be difficult, however, that might very well translate into a life that's more rewarding. After all, overcoming more difficult endeavors sounds more enjoyable to me than constantly overcoming endeavors that are made to be easy thanks to technology. Why do we put so much emphasis, or importance, into making life more productive over making it more enjoyable?
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