So FaceTime camera ... It's better on the MBP right?

Apple says the 2011 MBP has a FaceTime HD camera (Which means 2MP). I'm guessing the 2011 MBA uses the older VGA cameras as Apple didn't suffix it with "HD"

I know this is a silly thing to consider when buying a laptop but really ... I want that HD camera.

 

It is reasoned that the thin-ness and space in the lid of the MBA lid made it unfeasible for Apple to include a HD camera on this iteration.

 

Hm, I thought the resolution of a sensor was a function of its area and not necessarily its thickness?

I think they just wanted to keep the cost as low as possible, it's hard to imagine what they are saving by skimping on the sensors though. In any event, I just wanted to confirm that the Airs indeed lacked the HD camera.

I don't get Apple, it's 2011 ... In all honesty, VGA cameras should be a thing of the past. We shouldn't be making pixelated video calls with terrible dynamic range and erratic metering.

 

The resolution is not entirely dependent on size of the sensor. Point and shoot, and small camera sensors rely more on density. The sensor in my Nikon D90 is many times larger than the one in my Nikon P&S, but the resolution in the P&S is much more, albeit a much lower quality. Size generally affords image quality. But neither is the subject of this thread ( sensor size in relation to quality).

The entire camera element in the MBP does not physically fit in the MBA (never-mind the sensor size, which is partially irrelevant). Nor does any HD candidate that was considered. Cost may have been a factor, but insofar as an HD camera that would work in the MBA would be much more expensive than the one in the MBP.

Even Apple has emphatically stated that the entire physical Facetime camera element is smaller on the MBA than even the iPhone.