American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 68
An analysis of the sensors used in today’s digital-imaging systems.
By Christopher Probst •|•
Decoding Digital Imagers: Part 2
L
ast month we established the two dominant forms of imaging sensors in use today. In this article, we will examine how these sensors are applied in specific digital-imaging platforms, and how their image data is processed and delivered to various recording mechanisms. Solutions for Color Though a photosite on a typical imager can produce a range of analog electrical signal strength (representing the brightness at a given point in an object-image being projected onto the sensor), the photosite itself cannot differentiate between the color wavelengths of the light being collected. Camera engineers have therefore devised some clever ways of capturing and interpreting this color information. The first of such strategies is using three separate imagers attached to a prism, with each imager filtered for sensitivity to a separate R (red), G (green) and B (blue) color exposure. Thanks to recent advances in color demosaic
68 June 2011
processing and CMOS-imager fabrication techniques, singleimager systems that add color filters over the sensor’s individual photosites in various patterns, or “arrays,” have also emerged. Tri-Imager Systems Three-chip digital-imaging systems evolved out of the 2⁄3"-video market of the 1970s. Those cameras used various vacuum tubes as their photosensitive image pickup devices. Because CCDs dominated in early digital-video camera systems, they were the first sensors to be incorporated into this camera architecture. With three-CCD cameras, an object-image passing through a lens is directed through a beam-splitting prism that separates its red, green and blue light components (through the use of various interference filters) before focusing each onto a separate 2⁄3" CCD sensor. Each sensor then captures full-resolution data for the corresponding color-filtered channel.
American Cinematographer
American Cinematographer - June 2011
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - June 2011
American Cinematographer - June 2011
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: TV on the Radio’s “Will Do”
Production Slate: The Mill & The Cross • Last Man Standing
Scalawags in Stereo
Hammer of the Gods
Tortured Souls
Decoding Digital Imagers: Part 2
Post Focus: Highlights from NAB
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
ASC Membership Roster
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Dean Semler
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - American Cinematographer - June 2011
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 1
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 2
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Contents
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 4
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 5
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 6
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 7
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 9
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 11
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Short Takes: TV on the Radio’s “Will Do”
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 13
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 14
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 15
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Production Slate: The Mill & The Cross • Last Man Standing
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 17
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 18
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 19
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 20
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 21
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 22
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 23
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 24
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 25
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Scalawags in Stereo
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 27
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 28
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 29
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 30
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 31
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 32
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 33
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 34
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 35
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 36
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 37
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 38
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 39
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Hammer of the Gods
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 41
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 42
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 43
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 44
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 45
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 46
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 47
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 48
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 49
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 50
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 51
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 52
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 53
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 54
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 55
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Tortured Souls
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 57
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 58
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 59
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 60
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 61
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 62
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 63
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 64
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 65
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 66
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 67
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Decoding Digital Imagers: Part 2
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 69
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 70
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 71
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 72
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 73
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 74
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 75
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 76
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 77
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 78
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 79
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Post Focus: Highlights from NAB
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 81
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 82
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 83
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 84
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 85
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 86
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 87
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 89
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 90
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 91
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 92
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 93
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 94
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 95
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 96
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 97
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 98
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 99
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 103
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - ASC Membership Roster
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 105
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - 107
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - ASC Close-Up: Dean Semler
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - June 2011 - Cover4
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