pctechguide.com

  • Home
  • Guides
  • Tutorials
  • Articles
  • Reviews
  • Glossary
  • Contact

X3 Technology

In 2002 the prospect of truly affordable film-quality digital cameras was given a massive boost when – after five years of research and development – Foveon Corporation unveiled a digital camera imaging sensor which the company claimed was capable of obviating 35mm film.

In conventional digital cameras systems colour filters are applied to a single layer of photo-detectors in a tilted mosaic pattern. The filters let only one wavelength of light – red, green or blue – pass through to any given pixel, allowing it record only one colour. As a result, typical mosaic sensors capture 50% of the green and only 25% of each of the blue and red light. The approach has inherent drawbacks, no matter how many pixels a mosaic-based image sensor might contain. Since they only capture one third of the colour, mosaic-based image sensors must rely on complex processing to interpolate the two-thirds they miss. Not only does this slow down the speed of image rendering, interpolation also leads to colour artefacts and a loss of image detail. Some cameras even intentionally blur pictures to reduce colourartefacts.

Conventional

Foveon’s new CMOS image sensor uses the company’s revolutionary X3 technology to capture up to three times more information per pixel than modern-day digital cameras at similar megapixel resolutions. The X3 image sensors accomplish this by using three layers of photodetectors embedded in silicon. The layers are positioned to take advantage of the fact that silicon absorbs different colours of light at different depths, so one layer records red, another layer records green and the remaining layer records blue. This means that for every pixel on a Foveon X3 image sensor, there’s actually a stack of three photodetectors. The result is a sensor capable of capturing red, green, and blue in each pixel location – in essence, the first full-colour digital camera image sensor.

Foveon

Foveon’s X3 technology not only leads to better pictures, but better cameras too. In fact, it opens the door to an entirely new breed of camera, one that can switch seamlessly between still photography and digital video, without sacrificing the quality of either. Because Foveon X3 image sensors capture full colour at every pixel location, those pixels can be grouped together to create larger, full-colour super pixels. This capability, called Variable Pixel Sizing (VPS), marks another first in digital photography.

With VPS, the signals from groups of pixels can be combined so the camera reads them as one. For example, a 2300×1500 image sensor contains more than 3.4 million pixels. But if VPS is used to group those pixels into 4×4 blocks, the image sensor would appear to have 575×375 pixels, each of them 16 times larger than the originals. The size and configuration of a pixel group is variable – 2×2, 4×4, 3×5, etc. – and is controlled through sophisticated circuitry integrated into Foveon X3 image sensors.

Variable

The grouping of smaller pixels into larger pixels increases the signal-to-noise ratio. This allows the camera to take full-colour pictures in low-light conditions with reduced noise. Using VPS to reduce the resolution also allows the sensor to run at higher frame rates, accelerating the rate at which pictures can be taken. These gains in speed and sensitivity offer other benefits such as an improved focusing system.

VPS also makes it possible to switch from high-quality still photography to outstanding digital video, enabling the development of the first cameras with true dual-mode functionality. Hitherto, cameras attempting to accommodate both still and video functions have had to sacrifice performance in one mode to do the other well. The unique design of Foveon X3 image sensors enables them to handle both functions without compromise.

  • What is CCD in the Context of Digital Cameras?
  • CMOS Digital Cameras
  • What Controls The Picture Quality of a Digital Camera
  • Features and Parts of a Digital Camera
  • PIM Technology
  • Digital Camera Batteries: Types and How They Work
  • Memory Storage
  • Storage of Photos and Videos on Digital Cameras
  • Digital Camera Connectivity
  • Digital Cameras vs. Film
  • X3 Technology
  • What is PictBridge and PTP?

Filed Under: Digital Cameras

Latest Articles

Motherboard CPU

As indicated above - and this is not uncommon - the motherboard upgrade is being accompanied by a switch to a new processor and main memory. In this case the CPU has been used before, and hence the need for the CPU & Heatsink Cleaner. You'll need a lint-free cloth and thermal compound as well … [Read More...]

Floppy Installation Intro

Despite the fact that it's 1.44MB capacity is minuscule by today's standards and that BIOSes have supported booting from higher capacity alternatives for several years now, most PCs continue to ship with a standard floppy disk drive. In acknowledgement of it's extraordinary longevity therefore, … [Read More...]

Cinepak technology

Cinepak is another asymmetric video compressor, developed jointly by Apple and SuperMac (a company later acquired by Radius). The format outputs 320x240 (quarter screen) at 15 fps with good quality, at a data rate that even slow … [Read More...]

Why Cross-Chain Trading Is the Future of Crypto Investing?

The rapid growth and evolution of the cryptocurrency market have opened up exciting opportunities for investors. Within this dynamic landscape, … [Read More...]

Revolutionize Your Internet Experience with Orbi 960 – The Ultimate WiFi System

In a world where seamless connectivity is essential, slow and unreliable internet connections are a major problem. Whether you are running a business, … [Read More...]

Do You Need a VPN When Trading Cryptocurrency?

There’s no doubt that the biggest global industries in 2023 are tech-driven, while there remains a significant crossover between many of these … [Read More...]

Goodbye Bitcoin: the 3 alternative cryptocurrencies that have great upside potential, according to experts

Bitcoin has been a very lucrative investment for people that got into it early. One report from The Motley Fool pointed out that $10 of bitcoin … [Read More...]

Self-driving cars face their Achilles’ heel and may be targets of hackers

The market for self-driving cars is booming. Customers spent $22.22 billion on these autonomous vehicles in 2021 and they will likely spend more in … [Read More...]

How to avoid scams with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies got a bad reputation when scams multiplied like ants on a piece of cake. Even today many people associate bitcoin and other … [Read More...]

Guides

  • Computer Communications
  • Mobile Computing
  • PC Components
  • PC Data Storage
  • PC Input-Output
  • PC Multimedia
  • Processors (CPUs)

Recent Posts

Internal Interfaces Summary

The following table summarises the various interface standards for internal host adapter cards, in use as at … [Read More...]

Palm Pilot

In 1996 Palm Computing, Inc. - then a part of US Robotics - led the resurgence of handheld computing with the … [Read More...]

Dual Channel DDR Memory

The terminology dual-channel DDR is, in fact, a misnomer. The fact is there's no such thing as dual-channel DDR memory. … [Read More...]

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2023 About | Privacy | Contact Information | Wrtie For Us | Disclaimer | Copyright License | Authors