Originally posted by Stefan Carey Perhaps it lies in the fact that camera beta testing is done publicly and then seized upon by those do not understand what beta testing is, or prefer not to understand for their own reasons. This can create posts like this: "I am concerned about model XYZ image quality" before the camera is released. Lots of pointless discussions ensue.
Yes.
Most people do not understand that a large part of digital camera development is software development. Many people don't understand what firmware is, or what can or can't be done in firmware. Nor do they understand the concepts of Alpha or Beta software. Most have no idea about such practices as software regression testing, or why adding a seemingly minor change can cause a big delay in development.
You see this in people asking for another firmware update for the K20D. Ain't gonna happen. The engineers are finishing up the K7 and moving on to the next camera in the pipeline; they are not going back to rewrite code for the K20D.
And finally, many don't understand that in a digital camera the hardware, cpu performance, bus speed, processing pipeline, firmware etc. are very tightly integrated.
Cameras are no longer mechanical boxes for holding strips of film