Camera Tech in 2009 - What to Expect [WIRED]

Clearly things are just starting to get interesting, and we're starting to get some cameras that will genuinely change the way we can take pictures. Up until now the focus (ahem) has been on copying film cameras. Now we've done that, it's time to start getting creative. - WIRED

NVDL: Amen brother.

clipped from blog.wired.com Finally -- finally! -- the camera market is changing. Instead of merely hyping megapixel counts, camera manufacturers are starting to add some exciting new features that will actually help you take better pictures. High ISO sensors These have been creeping in at the high end on full-frame DSLRs from both Nikon and Canon, and are starting to trickle down to the point-and-shoot models now, too. Fewer pixels means bigger pixels for a given sensor size, which means more light can be gathered, which in turn means less noise in lower light. This is important. Up until now, the only way to take shots in dark places was to switch on the flash, and on-camera strobes tend to reflect from retinas and wash out faces. The alternative was to crank the ISO (the equivalent of using faster film in an old, analog camera) and amplify the tiny signals on the sensor. The result was often unusable, noisy, low-contrast pictures.