Seitz Launches 160 Megapixel Digicam

Nope, that’s not a typo in the headline! Swiss company Seitz Phototechnik has just launched a whopping 160 megapixel digital camera. While most high-end D-SLRs can shoot images that size up to 24 x 36 mm, this monster can go up to 60 x 170 mm, which frankly is a helluva lot more. But you kind of guessed that when we mentioned the 160 megapixels, didn’t you?


You need to be really serious about the kind of pictures you’d want to shoot with the Seitz 6x17, since it’s around 18 inches wide and weighs close to 10 pounds. Oh, and it also costs $44,414.
The 6x17 Digital employs a digital scanning back made by Dalsa. Scanning cameras employ a linear light sensor detector similar to that used in flatbed scanners; it moves across the field of view to take the photo rather than using a two-dimensional sensor that captures the entire scene simultaneously. It's a good way to get high resolution, but it comes at a cost: it takes a single second to take a full-resolution 7,500x21,500-pixel image.
The official site also gives you the option of buying a tablet PC with the Seitz 6x17, which makes sense considering the size of each full-res image would be close to 900 MB.

As for me, I’m gonna wait till this comes in an ultra-compact model.