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Thread: Large format digital sensors?

  1. #11

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    Re: Large format digital sensors?

    Any thoughts on very fast lenses that cover that format? A new, ultra fast, Canon LF lens might be interesting, and certainly very expensive. I'm trying to imagine what a complete system built around that sensor might look like. Fascinating!

  2. #12
    ic-racer's Avatar
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    Re: Large format digital sensors?

    Like most things in the digital marketplace it makes no sense to me. The longer lenses for that sensor will be slower than those for the smaller sensor at the same glass size.

  3. #13
    Mike Anderson's Avatar
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    Re: Large format digital sensors?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jay DeFehr View Post
    Any thoughts on very fast lenses that cover that format? A new, ultra fast, Canon LF lens might be interesting, and certainly very expensive. I'm trying to imagine what a complete system built around that sensor might look like. Fascinating!
    But if it's really 100 times more sensitive, you don't need a fast lens. The electronics might end up being economical by playing well with cheap (slow) lenses. And you save on lighting equipment too.

    ...Mike

  4. #14

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    Re: Large format digital sensors?

    Mike is right... With a larger sensor, you can make each photoreceptor site geometrically larger. More area means more light, more light means more sensitivity.

    Still, I'll take the same sensitivity and resolution as my DSLR but scaled up to 8x10. That would be a pretty nice 1 Gigapixel sensor.

  5. #15

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    Re: Large format digital sensors?

    Scale the increased 100X sensitivity to the area increase in pixel size compared to the best 35 mm full frame sensor. Since we can assume about the same CMOS technology for both, the pixel size of the 8 X 8 inch mentioned is probably about 50 um compared to about 5 um +/- for the best 35 mm.

    Production cost for a 12 inch CMOS wafer in prototype maybe 250 K$. For a mature process maybe as low as 5 K$ depending on number of levels and sophistication of the wiring and especially the wafer yield.

    Dust would be managed by a semi hermetic glass window well outside the image plane; probably coupled to a processing algorithm for analyzing and correcting for any intensity variations due to dust on the remote window.

    Nate Potter, Austin TX.

  6. #16

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    Re: Large format digital sensors?

    Nathan, interesting... I understand what this sensor is for (highly classified military and astronomy), so 50 micron pixels make sense, but no photographer in their right mind is going to buy an 8x8" sensor with only 16 megapixels. The sensitivity of existing 35mm full frame sensors is fine -- imagine being able to shoot digital LF at 1600 ISO that looks better than 400 ISO film! I say just give me more pixels.

    If we really need to increase sensitivity, 100X is too much. How about 10X? That would mean 15.8 micron pixels, for a 165 megapixel 8x8" sensor. Not too shabby. But I'd still rather take a 1.65 Gigapixel sensor with 5 micron pixels!

  7. #17

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    Re: Large format digital sensors?

    Big pixels on a large sensor are the only way to get high-resolution infra-red images.

    Sensitivity, dynamic range and noise are controllable through materials science and process engineering. Diffraction isn't, and making aberration-free fast lenses is probably the biggest challenge facing high-resolution small formats.

    So, I see a use for, even a need for, large area sensors. Whether any of them are engineered to a price point that is relevant to hobby photographers is another matter.

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