Re: Apples and Oranges (was Re: Why and How I switched to Canon (for those who care) long)

[David Oswald]

That's always what consumers as an aggregate group want and get. 
Consumer car stereos produce thumping bass, and lousy overall sound. 
Computers have measurably blazingly fast processors, and immesurably 
sluggish operating systems.  8MP digital cameras exist for their high 
pixel counts, but the average consumer doesn't understand the issues of 
visual noise associated with 8mp chips.  The list goes on and on.  And 
it's hard to blame individual consumers either; everyone has busy 
schedules, lacking the time to research every buying decision to its 
fullest.  Instead, they look at a few key numbers and don't miss what 
they don't know about.  "They" as a group buy in a less than fully 
educated way, despite there being a few more selective at the top.  The 
idustry seeks out the greatest portion of the market, and there you have 
it; minilabs, APS film (in the 90's), P&S cameras, etc.

Bruce Dayton wrote:
Bill,
If I hear you correctly, you are saying that consumers wanted a much
larger quantity of inferior photos rather than a smaller quantity of
superior photos.  And that is just what they got.