Canon Develops A New CMOS Sensor With High Dynamic Range and Able To Shoot Images In Harsh Settings

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Canon press release:

Canon Announces Development of New CMOS Sensor with High Dynamic Range and Ability to Capture Images Under Harsh Conditions

MELVILLE, NY, June 20, 2019 – The high demands of complex lighting and harsh environments require sensors capable of delivering high-dynamic range (HDR) and high-image quality in adverse temperature conditions. To answer this application need, Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is pleased to announce that its parent company Canon Inc. is pursuing development of the 3U3MRXSAAC, a 2.8-megapixel, 1/2.32-inch CMOS sensor ideal for HDR imaging.

“As Canon evolves in the sensor market, we are dedicated to utilizing our expertise to develop products built to meet current growing market trends,” said Kazuto Ogawa, president and chief operating officer, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “The 3U3MRXSAAC CMOS sensor under development reflects the continuation of our business strategy that leverages the high-quality imaging technology Canon is able to achieve.”

The 3U3MRXSAAC CMOS sensor being developed will be equipped with an HDR drive function that can achieve a wide range of 120 dB at low noise levels. This HDR function will reflect a greater ability to extract usable information even when there is a substantial difference between the lightest and darkest parts of an image. Even during normal drive operation, the sensor can achieve a dynamic range of 75 dB—greater than the sensors on many conventional digital cameras. 

Additionally, the 3U3MRXSAAC CMOS sensor will also be capable of operating in environments with extreme temperatures ranging from -40 degrees Celsius to 105 degrees Celsius. Typically, in high-temperature conditions, the increase in dark current noise (noise that occurs due to heat, even when no light reaches the sensor) can affect the quality of the image. However, the 3U3MRXSAAC CMOS sensor will be equipped with functionality that helps correct black levels (the luminance level of the darkest portion of an image) in real-time to help maintain high image quality. 

With a diagonal size of 1/2.32 inches (7.75 mm), the 3U3MRXSAAC CMOS sensor will feature approximately 2.8 million effective pixels (1936 x 1456), a pixel size of 3.2 μm x 3.2 μm and a frame rate of up to 60 fps (30 fps during HDR drive operation). The sensor will be compatible with the MIPI CSI-2 interface used by consumer-oriented cameras for a wide variety of purposes.

For more information on Canon sensors, please visit canon-cmos-sensors.com.

Canon RF Lens Technology Explained

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Neat, short video by Canon Imaging Plaza introducing the innovative features of Canon RF lenses and how they open up new possibilities in photographic expression.

Canon RF lenses:

America: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Canon EOS R full frame mirrorless system:

America: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Can Panasonic DFD (Depth from Defocus) Hold Up To Canon Dual Pixel Autofocus?

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Panasonic’s proprietary autofocusing technology, Panasonic DFD (Depth from Defocus), is not everyone’s darling.

Panasonic DFD is a technology that calculates the direction and the amount to move the focus lens at a single movement by predicting it with 2 images that have different depth of field (more here).

Canon’s Dual Pixel AF is an established technology and the reference in the industry. The next iteration of this autofocusing technology has already by filed as patent application.

The video below by DPReview TV, Chris and Jordan discuss Panasonic DFD and how it compares to Canon Dual Pixel AF.

Industry News: Samsung Announces 64MP Smartphons Sensor With 21fps

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The industry is scared by the increasing popularity of smartphones, and for a good reason. The technology evolves at a fast pace.

Now Samsung announced a new, 64MP sensor for smartphones doing 21fps. You can already get smartphones with sensors around 40MP (as the excellent Huawei P30 Pro, which seems to be gold standard for smartphone photography for the time being), and it seems the next generation of smartphones might raise the resolution to 64MP. As crazy as it sounds (at least to me) this is the future, along with computational photography algorithms getting always better. Why should people buy a dedicated camera when

Samsung press release:

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today introduced two new 0.8-micrometer (μm) pixel image sensors – the 64-megapixel (Mp) Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 and 48Mp ISOCELL Bright GM2. With the addition, Samsung expands its 0.8μm image sensor lineup, the smallest pixel size currently available in the market, from existing 20Mp to ultra-high 64Mp resolutions.

“Over the past few years, mobile phone cameras have become the main instrument for recording and sharing our everyday moments,” said Yongin Park, executive vice president of sensor business at Samsung Electronics. “With more pixels and advanced pixel technologies, Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 and GM2 will bring a new level of photography to today’s sleekest mobile devices that will enhance and help change the way we record our daily lives.”

ISOCELL Bright GW1 is a 64Mp image sensor that features the highest resolution in Samsung’s 0.8μm-pixel image sensor lineup. With pixel-merging Tetracell technology** and remosaic algorithm***, GW1 can produce bright 16Mp images in low-light environments and highly-detailed 64Mp shots in brighter settings. To take pictures resembling the way the human eye perceives its surroundings in a mixed light environment, GW1 supports real-time high dynamic range (HDR) of up to 100-decibels (dB) that provides richer hues. In comparison, the dynamic range of a conventional image sensor is at around 60dB, while that of the human eye is typically considered to be around 120dB.

GW1 is equipped with a Dual Conversion Gain (DCG) that converts the received light into an electric signal according to the illumination of the environment. This allows the sensor to optimize its full well capacity (FWC), utilizing the collected light more efficiently especially in bright environments. Sharper results can be delivered through Super PD, a high-performance phase detection auto-focus technology, and full HD recording at 480 frames-per-second (fps) is supported for smooth cinematic slow motion videos.

ISOCELL Bright GM2 is a 48Mp image sensor that also adopts Tetracell technology in low-light environments and a remosaic algorithm in well-lit settings, bringing highly-detailed pictures with natural and vivid colors. GM2, like GW1, adopts DCG as well for added performance and Super PD for fast autofocus.

Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 and GM2 are currently sampling and are expected to be in mass production in the second half of this year.

[via Image Sensors World]

Smartphones Might Have 64MP and 108MP Sensors Soon, Credit Suisse Predicts

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A technology and market analysis paper by Credit Suisse predicts smartphones with image sensors of over 100MP to be appear soon.

Excerpt from the report:

  • Demand from Huawei (32MP CIS mass production) and Xiaomi (long-term contract) has helped Samsung to gain market share in CIS.
  • Multi-camera smartphones are expected to comprise 65–70% of all models in 2019, up from 40% in 2018. Triple-camera models are expected to account for as much as 20% of all smartphone handsets (up from 1.5% in 2018).
  • The multi-camera percentage for Samsung Mobile is expected to reach 70% in 2019 (up from 21% in 2018).
  • Demand for 5MP CIS is booming due to the trend toward multi-camera smartphones (the 5MP CIS is an essential component of triple-camera handsets).
  • The CIS technology roadmap calls for further evolution towards higher megapixels, with development expected to bring 64MP in 2H 2019 and 100MP in 2020. The trend will increase the number of lenses required (though weight is an issue), demanding higher levels of cooperation between lens, module and AP manufacturers to achieve incremental improvements in image resolution.
  • With Line 11 undergoing conversion, Samsung is planning to boost the total monthly capacity of its CIS 300mm production lines to 75,000 units by end-2019 and 85,000 units by end-2020. No decision has been taken yet on whether to convert Line 13 to CIS production, but the general plan is to continue expanding capacity steadily.
  • CIS 300mm line development is underway at SK Hynix.
[via Image Sensors World]

Canon Working On Global Shutter Sensor With Dual Memory Pixels, Research Paper

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Canon published a research paper in the Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, named “A 3.4 μm pixel pitch global shutter CMOS image sensor with dual in-pixel charge domain memory” (by Masahiro Kobayashi, Hiroshi Sekine, Takafumi Miki, Takashi Muto, Toshiki Tsuboi, Yusuke Onuki, Yasushi Matsuno, Hidekazu Takahashi, Takeshi Ichikawa, and Shunpike Inoue).

From the paper’s abstract:

[expander_maker id=”2″ more=”Click to read the article” less=”Read less”]

In this paper, we describe a newly developed 3.4 μm pixel pitch global shutter CMOS image sensor (CIS) with dual in-pixel charge domain memories (CDMEMs) has about 5.3 M effective pixels and achieves 19 ke− full well capacity, 30 ke−/lxcenterdots sensitivity, 2.8 e- rms temporal noise, and −83 dB parasitic light sensitivity. In particular, we describe the sensor structure for improving the sensitivity and detail of the readout procedure. Furthermore, this image sensor realizes various readout with dual CDMEMs. For example, an alternate multiple-accumulation high dynamic range readout procedure achieves 60 fps operation and over 110 dB dynamic range in one-frame operation and is suitable in particular for moving object capturing. This front-side-illuminated CIS is fabricated in a 130 nm 1P4M with light shield CMOS process.

[via Image Sensors World] [/expander_maker]