InfiniteISO wrote:
So our IT guy is rolling out new desktops and laptops at work. This happens about every 3 years. Many have noticed that the new machines are pretty much the same box performance-wise as they're giving up, making the swap-grade that much more painful. Now I realize that my coworkers and I, engineers for the most part, are not rocket scientists and we're not working to solve world hunger or cure cancer. We use our computers for the normal engineering stuff: basic CAD, email, minesweeper, etc. The formula the powers that be use to decide how nice of a PC we get every three years appears to be this: "get them the best PC you can for $2000 and spend $4000 on the guy in the corner who does all the crazy stuff.
Now from a camera standpoint, I can't afford to stay on the bleeding edge of technology. Photography is a hobby, after all. I own a D100, a D90, and a D7000, all purchased used. That said, I window shop and dream quite a bit when I'm not playing minesweeper. To me it seems cameras are still breaking some amazing ground. The D7500 and D500 are sports cars that make my D7000 look like a wheelbarrow, especially from an ISO standpoint. Yet the 7000 and the 7500 didn't have drastically different release prices when they were new. So from year to year, at least when it comes to cameras, it seems the same money is still buying better and better technology. I'm sure this the same for every brand and camera type, DSLR, Mirrorless, etc.
I guess I'm just wondering if cameras can continue this crazy space race for much longer. Does anyone think we're nearing the point where a camera made a couple years from now will not be significantly better than one made today? Oh, and one of you wonderful folks who just have to have the latest and greatest may currently own my next camera, so go ahead, trade that well-cared-for baby in.
So our IT guy is rolling out new desktops and lapt... (
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Even computer technology pretty much slowed to a stable and semi-predictable course. CPU Clock speeds are mostly still at about 3 to 4 GHz but then two, four, six, eight core processors with or without Hyperthreading. But if you looked at the 1990 to 2000 period you'd think we'd have 10 THz processors by now. Thing is how much heat would such a processor generate?
The next significant camera image IQ advance may be something other than the Bayer Array.