Questions tagged [sensor]

A sensor is the digital camera's equivalent to film. It contains millions of tiny light-detecting areas called photosites, which convert light into an electric charge. After exposing the sensor to light, this charge is read from each pixel and converted into a digital image.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
1 vote
3 answers
58 views

Is this a scratch or a smudge on the Sony A7iii sensor?

I recently bought a Sony A7iii and have been using it daily for the past 2 weeks. I noticed this on my sensor, are these scratches or can they cleaned by a camera sensor cleaning kit? I have not ...
Szymon Futyma's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
96 views

Resolution on smaller vs larger sensors

I was reading this paper which states that My question is in regards to the first paragraph. I was first imagining, that if I were to try to take the same photo on a smaller sensor as on a large ...
vannira's user avatar
  • 133
0 votes
1 answer
94 views

Wrapping my head around the signal to noise ratio

To my knowledge the signal to noise ratio when talking about shot noise, is defined as the mean signal divided by the standard deviation. In the Poisson distribution, which can be used to model shot ...
vannira's user avatar
  • 133
3 votes
4 answers
1k views

Airy disks and pixel pitch on circle of confusions?

I read in this paper by Toshiba, which is in regards to optics in machine vision, that In machine vision, which processes each pixel of an image sensor at high brightness levels, the permissible ...
vannira's user avatar
  • 133
0 votes
0 answers
53 views

How to Cut Sensor Filter Glass?

Context - I've modified my Sony A7S for astrophotography by removing LPF2. Upon doing so, I've found that my lenses no longer achieve focus at or near infinity (they're older A-mount manual lenses). I ...
G.H.'s user avatar
  • 101
1 vote
1 answer
130 views

Are there any advantages of Tetra/Nonapixels in smartphone cameras over bigger pixels?

Newer Samsung smartphones have sensors with absurd pixel counts like 108 Mpx where pixel size is 0.8 micrometers but they are grouped in 3x3 arrays of the same color making them effectively 2.4 ...
VaNa's user avatar
  • 113
1 vote
0 answers
100 views

What are these small features on the corners of a camera sensor?

These are the images, my microscope suffers from some pretty large chromatic aberration, so dont trust all of the colors completely. The sensor in question is an IMX585 sensor, from a player one ...
Topcode's user avatar
  • 163
1 vote
3 answers
219 views

Like how the chemistry in celluloid film determines it's look, can Colour Filter Arrays in digital cameras be designed to produce a particular look?

For example, a colour filter array with deeper reds, or one with warmer blues or one with a kodachrome look etc. This is of course with Color Accuracy not being a priority here.
LucaMancini's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
114 views

Would there be any deficiences of an RGB Striped Array sensor vs a Bayer CFA sensor?

In the 2000's two digital cinema cameras, namely the Panavision Genesis and Sony F35, were launched with a pretty different sensor design called the RGB striped Array sensor (only these two cameras ...
LucaMancini's user avatar
0 votes
4 answers
452 views

Is this a scratch or a smudge on the sensor?

There is this (rather discounted, but still expensive) Sony a7 III that someone is selling and it has this picture: Supposedly it works "flawlessly", but to me the bit circled in blue looks ...
Nobody's user avatar
  • 121
0 votes
3 answers
121 views

Why don't cameras have dynamic sensors

A sensor could have different pixels reset at different time, according to its brightness. It would completely remove the problem of dynamic range, wouldn't it? If a pixel exposure becomes greater ...
ihsan's user avatar
  • 109
4 votes
2 answers
385 views

What is the source of color noise?

Many articles mention color (chroma) noise. However, I cannot find proper information what is the cause of this kind of noise. It looks quite different than the luminance noise, so for this reason I ...
Holiweil's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
117 views

How can a fixed-focus lens have a focus range of 0.5 meters to infinity?

I have a Mavic Air 1 drone and I was wondering how the camera of this drone can have a shooting range as large as 0.5 meters to infinity with a fixed focus? Mavic Air 1 camera specs: Parameter Value ...
Sebastyen Laroche's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
72 views

How is the picture (image signal), acquired by the sensor, shown in a display?

Let's consider a CMOS sensor with N number of pixels. For the sake of simplicity, let's consider an hypothetical Black and White sensor. Each pixel catches the energy provided by the input luminance ...
Kinka-Byo's user avatar
  • 504
1 vote
3 answers
179 views

camera sensor size, crop factor and object "magnification"

I have been reading some things about photography and most make sense, with some exceptions. About sensor sizes, I was reading this nice article where at some point, scrolling down, it says that with ...
MirrorMirror's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
67 views

Why is the reflection of the sensor mount on the sensor having a chamfer

I always see the reflection on the camera sensor having a little chamfer: But the plane in front of the sensor does not have this chamfer, the reflection should be a right angle if it's a mirror: ...
Amarth Gûl's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
192 views

Why do phone cameras have "oil painting" like effect on human skin?

I've long noticed that phone cameras have an oil painting like effect on human skin. As phone cameras get better, the effect is less pronounced by it's still a significant difference from a bigger ...
erotsppa's user avatar
  • 3,288
1 vote
2 answers
88 views

Could a practical sensor measure time until pixel reaches threshold? [closed]

A typical digital camera sensor operates by capturing the analog state of each pixel after it has been active for some period of time. If some pixels would saturated in less time than it takes other ...
supercat's user avatar
  • 441
10 votes
6 answers
2k views

Why should we be interested at incident metering?

Everyone says that incident metering is clearly better than reflective metering because the first one measures the real light on the subject, and not that reflected by its (which depends on its ...
Irhueb's user avatar
  • 109
1 vote
3 answers
178 views

Why are dedicated light meters supposed to be independent on the sensor?

As I have understood by this question, an exposure value of a certain scenario cought from a digital sensor (CCD or CMOS) results from: the scenario luminance the sensor sensitivity the ISO, shutter ...
Kinka-Byo's user avatar
  • 504
0 votes
2 answers
172 views

Which is the link between a digital ISO value (e.g. 100) and the sensor sensitivity?

There are many questions about ISO (such as 1 and 2), but none of them answers my precise question. My doubt starts from the exposure formula (for instance let's consider it in linear scale): My ...
Kinka-Byo's user avatar
  • 504
16 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why do photos with different settings produce different spots? [duplicate]

I have an issue with my Nikon D3500 camera which I do not understand. I can show it best using two photos I took with different settings. The lens I use is a kit lens which ranges from 18 to 105 mm. ...
Steven Underhill's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
344 views

How does long exposure work on a digital camera?

I'm curious about long exposure photography and I keep taking sequences of long exposure photos. However, my mind stumbles on this question when I think about my phone camera sensor. How does long ...
Novarino Akise's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
242 views

Is it true that a camera sensor will never receive an RGB value of R 0 G 255 B 0?

I read this: https://therefractedlight.blogspot.com/2010/09/imaginary-and-impossible-colors.html "there are no green colors whatsoever which do not also stimulate your red or blue cells, or even ...
ACrypticFish's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
102 views

How to fix Canon EOS 1200D flash release hook making a click click click?

My Canon EOS 1200D was working ok until, suddenly, it stopped showing the display. People suggested to take out the SD CARD and BATTERY for some time. This was done. Now any activity on my part, ...
Sandip Chakrabarti's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
109 views

Would spectral responses of camera pixels be more "raw", more compact and superior to ICC/DCP camera color profiles? If not, why not?

Background: I'm trying to understand the function of camera color profiles (for raw output) in terms of the hardware. I have found lots of web sites that explain the function of camera profiles from a ...
Sami Liedes's user avatar
26 votes
4 answers
6k views

What causes these squiggly lines in my photos and on my sensor?

(crop showing effected area) Can anybody tell me what has happened to my sensor here? I can vaguely see this pattern on the sensor when I open the shutter and look at the sensor, but it doesn't look ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 261
1 vote
0 answers
133 views

What does the focal length of a fisheye lens mean?

Say an ordinary lens, Sigma 30mm f1.4 for example, is designed for APS-C and thus produces images that have a 35mm-equivalence of 48mm. But what about the fisheye ...
Amarth Gûl's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
93 views

Major color banding on some photos - Pentax k1 mark ii

I have been in Kenya shooting some properties and staff portraits for 2 weeks. Everything has been working as normal until yesterday when I imported my photos from the day and discovered some major ...
CALEY's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
2 answers
185 views

How do sensors "focus" on the bottom of the lens (flange distance)?

I know that when a camera sensor is used with a lens there is a specific distance between the sensor and bottom of the lens (aka "Flange distance" or "flange focal distance") in a ...
Ray's user avatar
  • 103
3 votes
1 answer
811 views

What is read noise?

I recently upgraded from a Nikon D750 to a Nikon Z6 II and came across this graph plotting the read noise (Y axis) against the ISO setting (X axis) of both cameras: As you can see, there is a big ...
Jaap Joris Vens's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
390 views

Camera sensor and sun

I'm a new photographer and yesterday someone told me that I should never point my camera (I have a mirrorless camera) toward the sun as this can damage the sensor. I went back and checked and I saw ...
chickenwingtennis's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
362 views

Sensor pixel size "pixel area" any important?

Using this camera comparison tool i got pr If you look at pixel pitch it shows 5.95 µm and 4.76 µm however for some reason difference they display is 25% when in reality its only 20% What is "...
LilBro's user avatar
  • 197
0 votes
1 answer
365 views

Canon 600D - how to correct sensor tilt and level

I have a Canon EOS 600D which I have modified for astrophotography by replacing the stock UV/IR filter with a Baader BCF filter (this extends the spectral response to >656nm so that Hydrogen-alpha ...
Adrian K-B.'s user avatar
1 vote
5 answers
266 views

Why is an overexposured-area white?

From what I understand, camera sensor photosites have 'filters' on them so that each can receive only either red, blue or green light. Example: When there is an overexposure of only pure blue light, ...
CoolCoder's user avatar
  • 255
12 votes
3 answers
2k views

What is this grid-like pattern on the sky in photos?

Some photos of the sky taken on our Nikon D5100 have a diamond-like grid pattern. I'd like to know what may be the cause. The photo was taken in RAW and the pattern appears regardless whether it was ...
Dmitry Chestnykh's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
112 views

Strange pattern on a sensor

I wanted to see if there're any stains on the sensor of my Canon 5D MK3 and I took this shot of a white surface shaking the camera with a slow shutter speed. I keep getting the same image with such a ...
GlebRed's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
511 views

Can taking up-close photos of multiple candles stacked together damage my iPhone’s camera/camera sensors?

My brother took multiple up-close pictures of a stack of burning diyas (a type of candle); to the naked eyes, the candles looked very bright. Can such up-close photography damage my iPhone’s camera, ...
Prince's user avatar
  • 19
0 votes
0 answers
102 views

What is a good explanation for clipping, how it occurs and when it is likely to happen?

Clipping causes a decrease in measured intensity when it's actually saturating. I haven't found a good source for explaining this, and when it should be looked out for, like under what expected ...
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
132 views

Why is it not yet possible to adjust exposure *TIME* in post?

Or, more technically, why can't the values of photosites be read while exposing? As that would allow a camera to store versions of a RAW with varying exposure times ("subexposures" I'll call ...
Aaron Esau's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
362 views

Random discolored pixel rows

I have recently discovered 5 instances of images where a single pixel row is discolored, kind of what you experience with hot pixels. What I find weird about it is that if I look at the position of ...
John Sørensen's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
206 views

Capturing Lightning with Pi Camera - Hard purple lines in overexposed area

Can I fix the purple lines in this image in capture processing on my Pi HQ Camera? When shooting long exposures at night, my Pi HQ Camera has purple line artefacts where the lightning strikes, or ...
Steven Wright's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
30 views

Sensor resolution and ISO performance [duplicate]

I keep hearing that less megapixels = better ISO performance, because larger pixels capture more light Suppose I shot something with a 4MP sensor and then downscale it to 1MP (4-to-1 pixel binning?)....
user2797961's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
290 views

How are focal lengths derived from camera calibration (resectioning) and pixel sensitive area related?

In camera calibration (camera resectioning process, e.g. camera calibration with OpenCV) does the result for focal lengths fx and fy depend on the photo-sensitive area inside the pixel ? If I have a ...
miquo's user avatar
  • 43
27 votes
3 answers
5k views

What's the point in covering the viewfinder?

Recently, I found out that the rubber cover on the strap of my Canon EOS camera is used to cover the viewfinder. I searched on the web to learn why should I cover the viewfinder and I read that it ...
ainnnmanir's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
1k views

confusion about the principle of on-sensor PDAF technique

There are a lot of pictures over the internet illustrating the principle of phase detection autofocus, such as this one https://www.androidauthority.com/how-pdaf-works-1102272/ The simplest way to ...
Jogging Song's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
308 views

Spots on LCD of a Blackmagic pocket cinema camera

I bought a used Blackmagic pocket cinema camera last week. It was ok then I noticed a few green spots on LCD 3 days ago(bottom part), and today I noticed it grew bigger and also I noticed a new lines ...
Emmet B's user avatar
  • 111
2 votes
1 answer
187 views

I have a white and pink line on my LCD screen

I was shooting a wedding video for a client and during the reception they had lasers where the DJ booth was for the dancing. As I was filming for around 25 minutes I realized that all of a sudden I ...
FilmsRobert's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
498 views

What is the cause of these colored dots?

I recently bought a used Canon 6D with the 24-105 f/4 L USM kit lens. After shooting some outdoor pictures at night, I noticed some colored pixels or dots in the images, especially at longer exposures ...
ADDelta's user avatar
  • 11
2 votes
4 answers
1k views

Sensor size and pixels amount impact on image quality

Digital cameras have two characteristics: sensor size and pixels amount (in MP). I know the bigger sensor is and the more pixels amount is the better for the final image quality. But what ...
Andriy Kryvtsun's user avatar

1
2 3 4 5
11