Originally posted by er1kksen Cheap is relative. Computing and storage compete for the same funds I could be spending on Pentax cameras and lenses, right? Pentax doesn't make desktop computers. On the other hand, for those who shoot a lot of frames and will reproduce most of them in smaller digital formats, RAW detail may be forever but it can also be unnecessary for most shooting. I went back to lower-res sensors intentionally, but these aging cameras won't last forever. It's a good thing when we have features that support different people's different use cases!
Every hobby costs money and a good part of that is supporting systems - be it compute, storage, paper, ink, online storage. I don't understand the rationale for decreasing quality - if I create an image on my K-1 and whatever lens I have mounted, I want everything, every single colour bit, every tone graduation. I don't care that right here and now I can't easily display it in its full glory on paper, or that if I share it with family and friends they can't make out the tiny minutiae, that technology will reach the masses eventually.
I probably have a different use case from you but I see photography as capturing a moment, it is also an archival format and I want to save and protect as much detail as I can now so when my memory starts to blur or I pass my saved moments to the next generation they have the maximum amount of detail.
You can argue that I can save 50% storage and only lose 10% fidelity, I'd argue that that is 10% you'll never be able to recover and its short sighted saving. That 10% can be the difference in someone's eyes reflecting warmth and happiness or a pair of eyes.
I could go into numbers and figures about relative cost of compute & storage but it's a waste of time. I will say my first PC that I built myself in 91 cost me 2000 pounds which I saved myself working in a factory over a summer, back breaking work. 4MB of memory cost 200 pounds. A 2GB hard drive cost 400 pounds, a CD Rom drive cost 400 pounds. I see you're based in the states, you have the luxury of some of the most competitive pricing for any consumer facing product world wide. I'm based in the EU, if I say its cheap, it's is for sure cheaper for you.
S!