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Lynx Eyes From Planet82
Max Baron - Principal Analyst
{04/10/2006}
The better cameras offer their owners the option of controlling the combination of lens aperture, exposure time, and sensitivity of film or imaging sensor. Together, they determine the brightness we see in the final picture, but their side effects are far reaching. Camera shake, its capability to freeze subject motion, depth of field, weight of camera and lens, and, ultimately, price to the end user—all these become variables affected by the trade-offs among aperture, exposure time, and sensor.
To illustrate how one parameter can affect the development of camera technology, consider film’s swan song—the recent improvements made in film sensitivity (ISO) and quality. With less light energy required to reach the film (higher ISO), a narrower-aperture, smaller, lighter lens can provide the short exposure times that minimize camera shake and image motion. The result: inexpensive, good-quality point-and-shoot pocketable cameras have taken market share away from the big heavy expensive ones. Without intending to, the point- and-shoot cameras prepared consumers for the digital cameras that gained acceptance by using the same form factors.
Planet82’s very high sensitivity Single Carrier Modulation Photo Detector (SMPD) image sensors could impact the digital still image and video cameras in the same way that film improvements affected the chemical camera.
Microprocessor Report readers can access the full story (5 pages, 4 graphics) here: www.mdronline.com/mpr/h/2006/0410/201501.html. To find out more about Microprocessor Report, please visit: www.mdronline.com.
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