Why Moore’s Law Does Not Apply to Digital Photography

An excellent piece by Ray Maxwell on how the diffraction limit on lenses (their ability to resolve a sharp image on the sensor) is being reached at the same time or ahead of us reaching the limit on pixels on a given size sensor.

Gordon Moore once said that the number (density) of transistors on an integrated circuit (chip) would double each year (Moore’s law) and for many years he was right but we’re approaching an end to that doubling using our current manufacturing processes (photolithography).

If someone produces a 35 mm full frame camera with 100 Megapixels, beware. Given the limitations of the wavelength of light, no lens can live up to that resolution. I suggest that the Megapixel race is over. Marketing people may produce one of these cameras, but no physics expert will buy one.

[via Dale Allyn]