PMA 2006 Summary

Trade shows are always a good opportunity to gauge the state of health of any industry. Walking the aisles and talking with both exhibitors as well as attendees provides insights into what people are thinking as well as what they may appear to be doing.
With this as preamble, here are some highly subjective observations on the current (March, 2006) state of the photographic industry. No gospel here, just opinion.
Bird in Infrared. Florida, February, 2006
Canon 20D (IR Modified) with 24-105 f/4L IS lens
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Megapixels
The greatMegapixel Raceappears to be over. From the roughly 3 MegapixelNikon D1andCanon D30of late 1999 and early 2000, to today's mainstream 6 – 8 Megapixel and top of the line 12-16 Megapixel models, we now seem to have reached a point of equilibrium. More Megapixels aren't what most photographers need. We needbetterMegapixels, and the manufacturers seem to have realized this.
The 6 – 8M r...