Canon CMOS in compact cameras.

[photophorous]

Hopefully, this will lead to better image quality in compact cameras.

Paul

http://www.reuters.com/article/compa...14022720070715

[Franglais]

Hopefully, this will lead to better image quality in compact cameras.

Paul

http://www.reuters.com/article/compa...14022720070715

The "CMOS is better" theory blew up when Canon released the XTi. For the first time in ages reviewers could compare an almost same-size Canon 10Mpix CMOS sensor with a Sony 10Mpix CCD sensor (in the Nikon D80, D40x, Pentax, Sony, etc). The result was pretty much a draw. Canon and Nikon have different ideas on the compromise in terms of noise and sharpness.

It will be interesting to see whether other manufacturers use the Canon sensor in their non-DSLR ranges. My guess is that Canon have been forced to use the Sony CCD in their point and shoots to remain competetive and I don't see any reason why this would change.

[photophorous]

I didn't mean to imply that CMOS sensors are "better" than CCD sensors. From what I've read, CMOS sensors in general have lower noise and better dynamic range, but these differences are very minor. That's not why I posted this.

I read elsewhere (possibly just rumors) that this change might result in slightly larger sensors in compact cameras (maybe even with lower pixel count). If that's true, it really could lead to improvements in image quality. That's what I was getting at. Noise is my biggest complaint about small digital cameras.

Obviously, it's too early to know if this will actually change anything. I just hope that one day one of these camera manufacturers will decide to market a compact camera that is designed more for image quality than gimmicky features.

Paul

[mwfanelli]

[QUOTE=Franglais]The "CMOS is better" theory blew up when Canon released the XTi. For the first time in ages reviewers could compare an almost same-size Canon 10Mpix CMOS sensor with a Sony 10Mpix CCD sensor (in the Nikon D80, D40x, Pentax, Sony, etc). The result was pretty much a draw. Canon and Nikon have different ideas on the compromise in terms of noise and sharpness.

EDIT: Just noticed a new press release that Sony is investing 60 billion yen, 5 billion more than Canon, to develop CMOS sensors for small cameras and devices such as cell phones. Competition might be a good thing. If Sony succeeds, CMOS might be showing up in lots of devices.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0707/07...investment.asp

It will be interesting to see whether other manufacturers use the Canon sensor in their non-DSLR ranges. My guess is that Canon have been forced to use the Sony CCD in their point and shoots to remain competetive and I don't see any reason why this would change.

FWIW, the luminance noise in the 400D is lower than its competitors. The chroma noise in the D80 is lowest but gets that through the use of heavier noise reduction. The 400D has more detail but also more noise in chroma. But, in real life, I doubt most people would ever see any difference with any of the cameras.

I doubt that Canon would sell its CMOS sensors to major competitors. There is an advantage to controlling ones own production rather than relying on others. Now that CMOS fabrication costs have substantially lowered, I think we'll see Canon P&S with CMOS within the next year or so.