New Canon cameras-I don't get it

[JK98]

Why is it that they are focusing on gadgets like WIFI, and not delivering a pocket sized, affordable digital camera with an f1.8 lens(perhaps f1.8 at wide angle, and f3.5 or better at full telephoto?) and a larger sensor(at least 1")? I am tired of the compact digital cameras that are f5.6 or worse at full telephoto and that have a 1/1.7" or smaller sensor. I would also like to see more digital cameras that take AA nimh batteries, or perhaps ones that use a standard cheap Lion battery like the 18650.

[CrowdAds]

[saratoga]

In optical design, volume directly trades off with sensor size and f/#. You can basically pick a small sensor with a thin camera and a low f/#, a large sensor with a big f/# and moderate thickness, or a relatively thick camera with a low f/# and a big sensor. Cost also rapidly increases with larger sensor sizes because much more expensive glass is needed to fill a larger sensor (particularly so if the f/# is low).

A 1" sensor is quite large, and so requires a quite a lot of glass to fill it. Its quite hard to come to a good focus over such a large sensor without a long focal length or very expensive glass. If you take a look at 1" point and shoot cameras like the Sony DSC RX100, you can see what I mean. They're quite bulky and not all that cheap because there are a lot of precision optics that go into them. For what most people use a point and shoot for, it doesn't make sense to try to pack so much precision optics into such a small package I think.

[musichound]

I'll tell you the main reason for this, IMO: User simplicity. I think most users prefer the convenience of printing pictures directly from their cameras instead of caring of the components that are built into them. As the saying goes, instant gratification.

[JK98]

The Sony DSC RX100 is close to what I want, however imo it is priced too high. I am hoping some competing products will appear at lower prices.

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by JK98

The Sony DSC RX100 is close to what I want, however imo it is priced too high. I am hoping some competing products will appear at lower prices.

Glass price goes up exponentially with sensor size, so the obvious thing to do would be to look at a camera with a smaller sensor.

[JK98]

A larger sensor is needed though for low noise images in low light conditions.