Embarrassingly a few years ago I was very vocal about how disappointed I was about some of the Nikon lenses. I’ve been using Nikon cameras and lenses for decades and although I was very pleased with the image quality and colour rendition their cameras produced, I strongly considered jumping the Nikon ship in search of crisper, cleaner looking lenses. In fact I was so close to leaving Nikon a couple of years ago that I went through the process of hiring and testing other brands to see if other manufacturers could deliver what Nikon could not.
Sony’s new IMX586 stacked CMOS sensor puts 48MP in your phone
For the most part, phone camera resolutions seem to have been stuck between about 12-20MP for the last few years. But Sony plans to change that and make super high-resolution phones a thing, with the announcement of a new IMX586 stacked CMOS sensor. The new sensor packs a whopping 48MP and uses a new Quad Bayer array to maximise sensitivity and dynamic range.
Leaked spec sheet shows a new Sony 31MP APS-C sensor with global shutter
A spec sheet has been leaked to the folks at Sony Alpha Rumors about a new Sony sensor. Of course, new sensors are released all the time, so what’s so special about this one? Well, it’s a 31MP resolution APS-C sensor with a global shutter that potentially offers 4K video at up to 108 frames per second though SLVS-EC – although much lower is more likely.
Samsung: “We want to beat Sony in the image sensor market”we
According to a recent report, Samsung Electronics is planning to increase its production capacity of image sensors. The company has set out to become number one business in image sensor market. And in this race, they reportedly plan to beat Sony and take the throne.
Panasonic has made an 8K global shutter CMOS sensor capable of 60fps
Well, it seems that Sony isn’t the only one with a global shutter CMOS announcement of late. According to a press release, Panasonic has also just announced a new global shutter CMOS sensor. This one, though, is capable of shooting up to 60 frames per second at 8K (36MP) resolution. Unlike Sony, which utilises a rear illuminated design with parallel DA converter, Panasonic’s uses an organic photoconductive film (OPF) to allow simultaneous readout of all the pixels on each frame.
Would a circular image sensor be the best thing ever? Heck yeah!
Have you ever wondered why camera lenses produce a circular image circle (in general) but sensors are rectangular? Of course the answer is mostly historical – the format of a 35mm photo is in 3:2 aspect ratio, a ratio that people have long known to work well due to human binocular vision.
But lenses, in general, are circular. they produce an image circle, a circle that, in general, allows the 35mm sensor to just fit inside it. You don’t want your image circle much bigger than this (except for tilt-shift lenses) because that makes your lenses heavier and more expensive.
Sigma is working on a Foveon sensor for video use
Well, this is a surprise and not an unwelcome one. Few people seem to realise that as well as being a leading 3rd party lens manufacturer, Sigma also make cameras. I have actually had the pleasure of playing with a Sigma sd Quattro for the past few weeks, and it’s pretty impressive if a little on the slow side. The Foveon sensor does produce some truly beautiful results.
That lack of speed, though, has put off many potential Sigma camera owners. Now, a new patent has been filed showing that Sigma looks to be doing something about it. The patent seems to aim more toward the video side of things but no doubt it will speed up its stills capturing capabilities, too. Perhaps this is why Sigma semed a little evasive about camera questions recently at PPE.
Hasselblad X1D beats Nikon D850 with 102 points at DxO
Just 20 days ago, Nikon D850 was crowned the best DSLR ever, according to DxO tests. It was the first camera to reach the overall score of 100, but now there’s a new winner. Hasselblad X1D-50c, medium format mirrorless camera, has won the overall score of 102. According to DxO, it’s now the best commercially-available medium-format sensor you can get. If medium format is what you’re looking for.
Nikon’s new D850 DSLR features an entirely Nikon designed sensor
One of the biggest pieces of D850 speculation floating around the Internet the last few days seems to be about the sensor. Specifically, who makes it. And no, it’s not Sony. Nikon have actually designed their own sensor for the D850, according to a Q&A session with Imaging Resource. Nikon also promise some pretty significant performance improvements.
This isn’t the first time Nikon have developed their own sensor. Although, many of their past cameras have used Sony and a few Toshiba sensors. But it a Nikon designed sensor is a first for the D8x0 line. The D800 and D810 both contain a 36MP Sony made sensor suspected to be the same one as that in the original Sony A7R.
This is why your 4K camera isn’t really 4K
We all harp on about the latest 4K this or 8K that. But do we really know what we’re saying? Most of the time, probably not. It all comes down to how the camera’s sensor actually records each of those pixels in the image, which is largely guesswork.
In this video Cooke Optics interview cinematographer Geoff Boyle. He explains that it’s basically all down to the nature of a Bayer pattern filter array. What’s really happening when your sensor sees an image and why your camera’s resolution is lying to you.
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