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Why does the first picture from every Mars landing look like it was shot with a Kodak Brownie Box Camera through a peephole on Verichrome Pan?

LOL, true. But the reason is that a small, compressed image is sent to conserve bandwidth. Right now there is a huge amount of diagnostic data being uploaded that takes priority.

If all goes well, in a few days we should get some jaw-dropping scenes.

As I understand it, there is a relatively low tech camera which is operational at the time of landing, just to take those "did she make it?" shots.

The cameras with the high quality optics and sensors are stowed to prevent damage from any landing debris and dust. They are powered up later.

The color cameras aren't deployed yet. These are just the hazard avoidance cameras.

For all the whiners:

1) What's the point of art, music, cathedrals, or any act of beauty? Why bother spending money on anything but food and shelter? Why be educated? Why have discourse? Unless you take all your disposable income and dump it into the poor people of America, you're showing a vague hint of why this is so incredible.

2) Cost to you, the taxpayer: $8 a person. Less than what the average person spends on overpriced coffee drinks per year. Less than what you probably spent on silly things that only gave you pleasure for a few hours (a movie? a really low-priced...er...nevermind)

3) A submarine being built in RI right now has run up a budget of $3 billion and has a singular purpose: killing. There are far more of them than there are of the rover. Are you telling me that the whole of the US military might hinges on one submarine? Let's not mention all the money our government frittered away on military endeavors that have utterly failed.

4) The rover teams directly employed 419 people and hundreds of contractors, according to the news conferences. Let's also think of the hundreds of businesses, from mining refiners to coffee shops, who received direct or indirect capital from these teams.

5) Many of those 419 professionals are the sort of highly-skilled people who will promote American science: many of these people will go into private sector or military technology knowing how to work as a team with great precision.

6) I'm a Jew, but I have some Gospel knowledge. Remember what Jesus said in response to Judas when Judas criticized the Magdalene? Take that with you: the poor will always exist. We have enough b******* in the budget that could be cut to be put towards science, infrastructure, etc. Why cut this?