What'll YOU Do When Big Dig. Sensors Are 'Cheap'?

[Ralph Barker]

"When BIG sensors get cheap enough, I'll use 'em to tile the walls of me darkroom!"

Just remember to use a non-scratching cleanser when you spiff up those walls. ;-)

[Dan Wells]

As has been alluded to here. the problem with really big sensors is the sheer area of silicon involved. Computer chips (of all type) get radically cheaper per transistor with time, but the price per square millimeter of silicon changes much less! Almost all of the price decreases have been due to figuring out how to pack more transistors into 1mm^2...
This is an odd case where we care not so much about the number of transistors, but the actual size of the piece. 22 MP is nice, 60-100 MP from a good back would print so big you'd need a three story enlarger (or an impossibly large inkjet!) to handle it, not to mention gallons of developer or inkjet ink. The problem is that you need a large format film or sensor to use movements effectively. 35mm 0r 645 size chips and viewfinders are just too small. Someone's going to have to figure out a new way of making chips before we see a 3x4 inch or larger chip (for a price anyone other than a spy will pay-I'm sure spies already have them in airplanes, satellites or both...)
Until them, big film is the only real way to use movements unless someone comes up with a really good tilt-shift lens with full front movements, mounts the sensor to give us micrometer driven back movements AND figures out how to magnify the viewfinder effectively!

-dan