They claim that the new CMOS image sensors are 5 megapixels. OmniVision Technologies say the orders will increase too, from 20-21 million estimated this year, to 40 to 45 million CMOS for the 2010. [Digitimes]

Apparently, flash memory cells are highly receptive to light and capable of creating a completely digital image. A focused beam of light directed at sector on the chip becomes a pixel, no analog-to-digital conversion required. Flash memory sensors are up to 100x smaller than current CCDs, too. By my math, that means I could have a 200 megapixel camera in my pocket right now.

The drawback: small pixels are less receptive to light, which could mean problems as pixel density increases. The data also only comes in as binary, so grayscale is tricky. Regardless, the researchers are already achieving better grayscale and low-light performance than seen in CMOS sensors.

Edoardo Charbon and the rest of the team at the Technical University of Delft hope to have a working prototype by 2010. We're still waiting for response from Canon on the rumored, memory-sensor-based D40 Pico. [New Scientist via Wired]

RollingShutter, a plug-in for After Effects and Nuke, recently came to our attention, not because it's a good plug-in (although it is), but because it brings up a flaw with CMOS sensors: Video cameras using CMOS sensors tend to suffer from a major annoyance in the form of skewing anytime the camera is shifted or a fast-moving object flies through the frame. This is mainly due to the line-by-line top-to-bottom scanning done by these cameras and it will make your videos look like a mild acid trip.

The good news is that this pesky issue can be corrected post-production with tools such as RollingShutter. What RollingShutter does is use Local Motion Technology to correct that unsightly jiggling. This means that rather than globally correcting entire frames, the plug-in corrects individual parts of the images and prevents accidental introduction of new distortion.

Your camera won't learn to focus on the fly all of the sudden, but the difference in the before and after clips in the video is pretty huge and almost makes RollingShutters $500 price tag an easier pill to swallow for those who only want their jello to wiggle and jiggle. [The Foundry via badrobot]

The [CMOS] chip measuring 19.3 by 17 millimeters is fitted on the prototype eyeglasses behind the hinge on the temple. From the temple the image on the microdisplay is projected onto the retina of the user so that it appears to be viewed from a distance of about one meter. The image has to outshine the ambient light to ensure that it can be seen clearly against changing and highly contrasting backgrounds. For this reason the research scientists use OLEDs, organic light-emitting diodes, to produce microdisplays of particularly high luminance.

Wearers could scroll through menus, shift elements and pull up new info by simply focusing on a particular area or moving their eyes in a specific way. The researchers envision this technology proving useful for doctors and engineers somewhere down the line, but you and I both know that if and when something like this becomes readily available, there will be millions of hipster Geordi La Forges out there inundating the world's coffee shops and Apple Stores. [Fraunhofer via Fast Company]

Most phone cameras don't have shutters for the simple reason that there isn't any room. Instead of relying on a traditional shutter exposure system, the tiny sensors simply activate for short periods of time, "scanning" a scene and returning a passable, if often blurry, image. That's fine for certain uses, but makes capturing moving objects or shooting in low light nigh-on impossible.

In an effort to sidestep these concerns altogether, Samsung is developing a micro-shutter, built with 36 pieces of curled film that can be opened or close by applying or withdrawing an electrical charge. The concept is just 2.2mm wide and easily compact enough for use in cellphones.

Samsung doesn't mention when (or even if) it will commercialize this tech, but for the sake of our poor eyeballs, please, guys, make it soon. [Tech-on]

If the rumor is true, Canon will be adopting sub-35mm dSLR sensors (APS-C sized CMOS, or what you see in entry level dSLRs like the Rebel) into their elite camcorders. It's not a completely new idea. The Red One has long used a CMOS chip to record 4k video, and Canon makes use of a CMOS in the $1000ish Vixia. But with Canon choosing CMOS for a pro-level camcorder, it pretty much means that CCD (the preferred video chip format of the last several decades) is dead. (Once we saw dSLRs shooting 1080p, we knew this day wasn't far off.) As for the mystery cam itself:

The sub-$8,000 camcorder is said to resemble the XL-H1 (above), accepting EOS lenses and featuring a 12.1MP CMOS that can film 1080p video at 60fps/120hz—that's MPEG4 encoded at a max rate of 56Mbps. We're not sure how the camera will record this much data though the Red One offers CompactFlash, RAID and SSD options. There's also word of a 12bit video RAW format that will require a $4,000ish IO box providing SDI and USB 3 output.

And for the first time in some time, Canon's prosumer camcorders are exciting again. [canonrumors]

Samsung's new 1/4in CMOS sensor is claimed to produce a 720p images at a full 30FPS, and VGA (640x480) video at 60FPS. Samsung manages to preserve low-light performance at such resolutions and framerates on such a small sensor using a technique called "binning", whereby certain pixels are sometimes deactivated and grouped together to help gather light for active pixels. In other words, if you're, uh, Vlogging in the dark, your webcam stream might look like it's 720p, but in reality a significant number of pixels might be clumped together. But at least you'll be able to see them.

The sensor was designed with integration into laptops and desktops in mind, and should go to manufacture in the first half of '09. [Samsung]

Note: actual sensor not pictured

Tokyo, July 30, 2008 – SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (SANYO) announces the DMX-HD800, a new sleek, slim high definition dual camera Xacti that can take both stills and videos. The camera sports a compact and light-weight body, and easily saves data onto SD/SDHC memory cards for convenience. The DMX-HD800 will take stills and videos used on a personal computer or for the Web, houses a new three-dimensional digital noise reduction (3DDNR) filter, and adds the ‘Face Chaser’ for both stills and videos with an active scanner visible on the monitor.
On the new product launch, Hideki Toyoda, General Manager of SANYO’s Digital System Company, DI Company Products Planning Department, said, “The DMX-HD800 has not only has it been designed to be sleek and stylish, but it now offers our unique three-dimensional digital noise reduction (3DDNR) filter, which allows clear, beautiful images with simple operation of a dual camera offering high resolution stills and HD videos in a single unit.”

Main Features
Compact, light-weight camera capable of high definition movies compatible with personal
computers and/or upload video data to the Internet
- Easily drag and drop recorded files on to the hard drive or upload to the Internet
- Ideal for website-use/blog-use videos as well as standard video creation
- Take either high definition videos (1280 x 720, 720p) or 8.0-Megapixel still images with one
unit
- Snap photos anytime, even during video filming, without changing modes or pausing the viedo
- Preview the frame for photos while still recording video with the one-push ‘Photo View’ button
- Uses AVC/H.264 codec format for longer, higher quality recording than traditional codecs

[AV Watch and ]

As you can see, previous CMOS designs had the photoreceptive diodes behind the transistor layer. The transistor layer allowed some light to go through but reflected some of it, resulting in a lower sensitivity and increased noise.

+

In the new design, however, most of the photons goes through the on-chip lens and color filter directly into the new photo-diode structure, while the transistor layer sits at the bottom of the sensor. According to Sony, "that achieves a higher sensitivity of +6dB and a lower random noise of -2dB without light by reducing noise, dark current and defect pixels compared to the conventional front-illuminated structure."

Sony is planning on introducing the new technology in their next generation cameras, and hopefully we will see it in other products, especially cellphones. [Sony]

Normal CMOS sensors use "front side" illumination: incoming light travels through many shallow layers of electronics before hitting the sensor pixels themselves. Backside illumination simply turns all that the other way up, so that incoming photons don't have to journey through interfering layers before they hit the pixels. That means less get lost along the way, meaning the pixels are more sensitive to light, and can be made smaller for the same responsiveness.

OmniVision is busy testing an 8-megapixel camera sensor, and is ready to start shipping sample products out before the end of June. And that should mean that at some point in the future cellphones with 8-megapixel sensors will be available. [PR Newswire]

[Tech On]

We're guessing the technology for the smile shutter is what we have seen previously in some of the Cyber-shot range. All in all, it's great news for high end photography on your cellphone and as the advanced CMOS sensors will go into mass production in Q3/4 this year, we won't have to wait too long either. [Samsung]

Sony isn't about to pop it in one of its Alpha models, at least not as far as we can tell. In fact, Nikon would be a more likely customer for this sucker when it ships this summer, the better to compete with Canon's $8,000 EOS-1Ds Mark III DSLR, which has its own 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS. (Those pro guys really like it when their sensors are the same size as the film they used to use.) Now, who ever said the megapixel race was over? Cuz they're wrong. [Sony]

Press Release:

Sony Develops 35mm full size CMOS Image Sensor with 24.81 Effective Mega pixel resolution and extremely high signal conversion speed for use in Digital SLR Cameras

~ All-pixel scan mode of 6.3 frame/s ~

Tokyo, Japan - Sony Corporation today announced the development of a 35mm full size (diagonal:43.3mm/Type 2.7) 24.81 effective megapixel, ultra-high speed high image quality CMOS image sensor designed to meet the increasing requirement for rapid image capture and advanced picture quality within digital SLR cameras.

Development background
In recent years, the demand for digital SLR cameras featuring high resolution and wide graduation ranges capable of capturing every detail of the subject matter has continued to increase, particularly among high-end amateur users. Additionally, the increasing user requirement to shoot from the same focal length and angle as 35mm film cameras using interchangeable lenses has led to significant interest in the development of 35mm, full size CMOS image sensors.

However, there are a number of technical challenges to developing full (large) size image sensors, such as the propagation delay caused by using extended power circuitry and signal lines, and the difficulty of maintaining uniform sensitivity and signal saturation across the surface of the screen.

Furthermore, because current semiconductor exposure systems are unable to cover the entire chip surface of 35mm full size CMOS image sensors, multiple exposures are required. This results in the difficulty of accurately controlling exposure variance and matching circuit patterns.

Advantages of this device
The newly developed CMOS image sensor combines unique circuit design technology with Sony's advanced fabrication expertise, including a system of joining multiple exposed patterns together and advanced planarization for minimizing fluctuation, to realize 35mm, full size, 24.81 effective megapixel resolution. Sony's"Column-Parallel A/D Conversion Technique"also provides each column within the sensor with its own A/D converter, minimizing image degradation caused by the noise that arises during analog processing while at the same time delivering an extremely high signal conversion speed.

The enhanced image quality generated by the sensor's 24.81 effective megapixel resolution, wide range of graduation expression achieved by its full size broad dynamic range, and the low noise, high resolution, ultra-responsive performance provided by Sony's Column-Parallel A/D Conversion technique enable it to meet the ever-increasing requirements within high performance digital SLR cameras.

Sony will target for mass production of this CMOS image sensor within this year.

＜Major features＞
１）High picture quality in 35mm full size image sensor with 24.81M effective pixels
２）"Column-Parallel A/D Conversion method" achieves high S/N and high-speed imaging
・CDS/PGA(24dB)Circuit （PGA: Programmable Gain Amplifier）
・12bit-AD Converter on chip
・Diversified readout mode
・All-pixel scan mode 6.3 frame/s (12bit)
・Window readout
３）High-speed digital output（12 channel parallel LVDS output）

＜Device Structure＞
Image size Diagonal width 43.3mm (Type 2.7)
Total number of pixels 6236(H) x 4124(V) approx. 25.72M pixels
Number of effective pixels 6104(H) x 4064(V) approx.24.81M pixels
Number of active pixels 6096(H) x 4056(V) approx.24.73M pixels
Chip size 41.0mm (H) x 31.9 mm (V)
Unit cell size 5.94μm (H) x 5.94μm (V)

CMOS chips have traditionally been great for still cameras, but analog master CCD has long ruled the video world. And CCD has traditionally been better in low light situations, especially. So why fix what's not broken? CMOS is cheap. Real cheap. And it's good to see the video being used in applications other than the surprisingly effective point 'n shoots with video.

And this Nissan system looks pretty neat, too. [fareastgizmos via gearfuse]