Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley
Party pooper. 
Just think its 23% of 39 megapixels though!
Greg. |
Its all good Greg. Its an easy trap to fall into...having mega pixels isn't always the answer. Another exhibit is Fairchild's 85megapixel monster -
http://www.fairchildimaging.com/prod...ea/ccd_595.htm but at a peak QE of 35%, it gets a little "ho..hum". Big chips are great for wide field vistas assuming you've got the right sampling. With CCD cameras, the array size is only a small contribution to the price when you compare it against sensitivity - thats what you are really paying for. This is evident with back illuminated chips etc that cost a small fortune. i.e. Apogee's U42. Its only a 4 megapixel camera, but has a QE of 95%...alas costs
US$38.5k for a grade 1 chip (if you want a grade 0 (no defects) add another 15k on top). Note, this is a camera that can be purchased by an amateur. Its not a special government agency order. How times have changed...