Thermal cameras measure much larger waves (7-14 microns as described in the article), and their sensitivity to amplitude is high. A major limiting factor in ca

Thermal cameras measure much larger waves (7-14 microns as described in the article), and their sensitivity to amplitude is high. A major limiting factor in camera sensor resolution is signal to noise ratio. It is well known that if you bump up the "ISO" (light sensitivity) to make photographs at night, you see more noise. The higher the sensor resolution, the smaller each photosite and therefore the less signal (fewer photons) captured in the short time of one exposure. Larger sensors can solve this problem but these are CMOS devices whose cost increases superlinearly with area (like microprocessors, see die yield). Most customers won't accept dead pixels. Economics is also a major enabler of kilobuck 50 MP visible light cameras, miracles though they are. Industrial users aren't going to re-buy all their cameras every few years like DSLR users do.