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Increasing pixels in an image sensor is often done by decreasing the size of ...
Omnivision launches 16-megapixel image sensor
Peter Clarke
5/28/2012 10:34 AM EDT
LONDON – Omnivision Technologies Inc. has launched the OV16820 and OV16825 images sensors, which provide 16-megapixel resolution, for use in digital still and video cameras.
The sensors support something called "burst mode" photography and can capture 4K by 2K resolution video at 60 frames per second. The sensors are made using a 1.34-micron back-side illuminated manufacturing process.
The OV16820 and OV16825 were developed to support emerging standards in high-resolution video recording for the digital still and video camera markets and the high-end smartphone market, respectively.
"It was an industry-wide assumption that smartphones would cut into DSC/DVC sales; but at higher resolutions, we're seeing a very distinct divide between the two markets and both remain strong," said Devang Patel, senior product marketing manager at OmniVision (Santa Clara, Calif.), in a statement.
The 1-inch by 2.3-inch OV16820 and OV16825 image sensors are capable of operating in full resolution 4608 by 3456 video at 30 frames per second and 1080p HD video at 60 FPS with extra pixels for electronic image stabilization.
Image processing functions, including defective pixel and noise canceling, RAW scaling, image size, frame rate, exposure, gain, cropping and orientation are programmable through the serial camera control bus (SCCB) interface.
The sensors are offered with up to 8-lane MIPI and LVDS output interfaces for high data transfer rates. The OV16820 is available for sampling in a ceramic land grid array (CLGA) package while the OV16825 will be available in die form. Both are expected to enter volume production by the fourth quarter of 2012.
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www.ovt.com
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Dr DSP
5/28/2012 1:48 PM EDT
What is the limit to the number of megapixels going to be? Is there no end?
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TingLu
5/28/2012 7:18 PM EDT
To me 1080p60 is good enough for video. Anything beyond is big waste to me.
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Alxx123
5/28/2012 10:49 PM EDT
Do yourself a favour and go and look at red.com
4k and 5k movie/still cameras , 4k video projector
http://www.red.com/products/red-ray
http://www.red.com/products/epic
Being used by Peter Jackson to film the hobbit in 48fps 4k. Also for the great gatsby http://www.red.com/news/the-great-gatsbys-first-trailer
make sure to have a look at their red reels (if your pc can handle them)
http://www.red.com/shot-on-red/cinema
Doesn't nokia have a phone with 48Mpixel camera ?
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elctrnx_lyf
5/29/2012 5:21 AM EDT
This kind of technology will help more disease diagnosis with clear images. I appreciate the efforts of omnivision to develop the small and feature rich image sensors.
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agk
5/29/2012 8:32 AM EDT
In year 2012 the industrial cameras will reach 30 mega pixels range.
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GREAT-Terry
5/29/2012 10:54 AM EDT
I wonder if the HD video is already going beyond what human being really can resolve with bare eyes! Maybe such high resolution is good for machine vision but that is a limited market which I wonder Omnivision has any interest on.
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pixies
5/29/2012 4:15 PM EDT
Just like in optical lithography, sub resolution features on a masks still enhance the quality of the printed feature. I think more pixels will render better images and better zooming capabilities, but at reduced return on investment.
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Robotics Developer
5/29/2012 11:37 AM EDT
I would think that the increased pixel counts and resolution will be helpful for large format displays like movie theaters and large print posters. At some point I do wonder about the need for more pixels, but having a higher frame rate is always welcomed!
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jeremybirch
5/29/2012 3:28 PM EDT
The Apple iPad is meant to have a "retina" display ie at the expected viewing distance its resolution is the same or better than that of the human retina. That display is roughly 2 mega pixel. Now I know that with print systems you need a bit more resolution than this, but it would still imply that unless you are so close to the image that you cannot see the whole image, then 16 mega pixels is rather excessive.
In photography of course you might crop away a lot of the image after taking it, hence reducing the total number of pixels used. The Nokia phone has a lot of pixels but most of the time it is either averaging them together, or is only giving the user part of the image - this saves on having an expensive zoom lens, you just crop the image to smaller part of the sensor and blow that up for display. However the more pixels, the less light per sensor cell and the grainier the results are likely to be unless the sensor is so big as to be uneconomic.
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chanj
5/29/2012 4:45 PM EDT
iPhone 3 of screen size 3.5" has resolution of 320x480. iPhone 4 has 640x960, doubling the resolution of the predecessor. iPhone 4 is talking about 326 pixel per inch. For a 40 inches TV, the pixel per inch is roughly 54. The distance between viewer and TV shall be taken in to account as well. Nonetheless, the industry may likely push the resolution further because, soon, the current HDTV will have very little profit margin.
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any1
5/29/2012 6:13 PM EDT
Increasing pixels in an image sensor is often done by decreasing the size of each pixel. You increase resolution but you usually also decrease sensitivity and increase noise. Finding the balance between resolution and sensitivity for a given application is important.
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BOMBOVA
6/20/2012 4:30 PM EDT
"i" am camera-ing up and going to the Olympics. What? a guy can't have fun. it is going to be memorable, and i am making movies of it. i would like as much slow mo, stop action as i can get.
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