Zombie Dinosaurs

I’ve started working on the fifth edition of How To Do Everything with Your Digital Camera, which should be out in the fall. I’ve decided to rewrite large parts of this book from scratch this time around. So much has changed in digital photography and image editing in the last few years that I want to include all sorts of new stuff. After all, since I last overhauled the book, there’s been a veritable revolution in digital photography. Fewer and fewer folks print at home, instead using online stores and local print shops. Digital SLRs are getting incredibly popular. New techniques like high dynamic range photography are rewriting the rules about what it’s possible to do with a camera. And my old favorite image editor, Paint Shop Pro, can’t seem to keep up with Adobe goodies like Photoshop Elements and Lightroom. So look for a lot of changes in the book this year.

 One old standard that I am keeping in the book is a chart in the first chapter that shows how digital camera prices have plummted in recent years even as their quality and capabilities have gone up. I just finished getting some new average camera prices for the table, and thought I’d share it here.    

Interesting. You can see the lowest end of the camera market has disappeared completely–now, those cameras just come built into mobile phones. And where were the 3 and 4 megapixel cameras in 2006? Pretty much gone. Most of the cameras introduced that year were six megapixel or more, with higher end cameras topping 10 and even 12 megapixels. In 2006, a typical 10 megapixel camera cost $400. That would have bought you a 2 megapixel camera in 2001!