Will P/S sensor size ever approach SLR?

[digital_nate]

Will point and shoot sensor size ever equal a dSLR sensor in size? With the newest SLR like cameras such as Panasonic FZ30, Samsung 815, or the Kodak P880, they appear to make token efforts at increasing the sensor size, but still put significantly smaller sensors in them. I noticed they are putting manual zooms on these cameras which is a good thing. Why don't they put a large sensor in them?

[erichlund]

Will point and shoot sensor size ever equal a dSLR sensor in size? With the newest SLR like cameras such as Panasonic FZ30, Samsung 815, or the Kodak P880, they appear to make token efforts at increasing the sensor size, but still put significantly smaller sensors in them. I noticed they are putting manual zooms on these cameras which is a good thing. Why don't they put a large sensor in them?

Probably not. For the makers to produce very fast lenses in a P&S, they have to keep the sensor small in order to keep the lens light and small. The bigger the sensor gets, the more glass you need to get equivalent speed. One of the selling points of P&S cameras is their go anywhere size, so don't expect this to change anytime soon.

Cheers,
Eric