Capturing An Image

The latest advances in digital photography and color scanning make image capture not only a snap, but exceptionally high quality. And the prices may be coming down, too.

BY ALLISON ECKEL

Take no specifications for granted. "The old models for discussing image quality are starting to dissolve with respect to evaluating the potential quality of an image," states Eric Zarakov, vice president of marketing for Foveon, a Santa Clara, CA-based manufacturer of image sensors and capture systems. While commenting on Foveon's recent digital chip breakthrough, Zarakov has voiced a trend in the digital image capture industry. Everything you thought you knew about the numbers used to explain digital cameras and scanners is now up for re-evaluation.