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This must be the first time that I’ve ever linked to the website Space.com They have a very interesting article that should prove once and for all that megapixels are not the be all and end all of image quality. Apparently NASA’s Spirit Rover is using a digital camera with a CCD that has a mere 1 megapixel resolution. There’s a technical explanation of how it all works if you’re interested…

“The technology used to make Spirit’s Panoramic Camera, or Pancam, is essentially the same as what goes into a Casio or Pentax digital camera.

But the Pancam’s lenses—there are two, which provides stereo imaging capability—are crafted more finely than anything you’d probably want to plunk down a Visa for. And the light-capturing chunk of silicon, called a charged coupled device, or CCD, was manufactured with no tolerance for the minor flaws that are inherent in mass-produced consumer cameras.”

Website: Space.com - Digital Secrets: How Spirit Makes Great Photos

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