
Why does the $2.5 billion Curiosity use a 2-megapixel camera? - maxko87
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/134239-why-does-the-2-5-billion-curiosity-use-a-2-megapixel-camera?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-does-the-2-5-billion-curiosity-use-a-2-megapixel-camera
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ojiikun
When you consider how far and over how low-bandwidth a link each bit of data
must travel, a geek's first question should really be why it uses _so many_
pixels, not so few.

Another salient point is that pixel density/sensitivity aren't just a cost and
time tradeoff, they are actually a direct technology tradeoff. Biger cells
collect more photons and have less noise at higher effective sensitivities.

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stinos
when not forgetting that #megapixels isn't everything, this is not so
strange.. There's also pixel quality, dynamic range, ADC quality, lenses etc.
High-end 10 year old cameras using 'only' 10 megapixels still take much, much
better quality images than any brand new 40 MP smartphone camera.

