Pixel binning and square sensor

Dear all,
Just out of curosity, why is there no pixel binning implemented in stills camera sensors, as it is for example with high-speed video cameras? This would of course reduce the pixel count but increase light sensitivity when needed. Second, why do companies producing small format sensors stick with a 3x2 aspect ratio and not provide a square sensor? This would allow the photographer to crop later to any aspect ratio, without turning the camera to switch between landscape/ portrait orientation...
Any thoughts appreciated.
 
D

Deleted member 381342

Guest
For your second question, you just get more rectangles on a wafer than squares. Eventually you get one 'free' rectangle on the wafer(vs the room squares take-up), and a lot of these will be DOA so there is a real success per square mm cost factor.

zQOBz.png please also refer to this image I found answering a similar question on stack overflow where is shows you can squeeze rectangles in even more as the edges on a circle wafer.
 
Upvote 0
Jan 5, 2016
211
133
Second, why do companies producing small format sensors stick with a 3x2 aspect ratio and not provide a square sensor?

Part of it is technical. E.g. the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM mkI had a 3:2 rectangle in the back to protect against internal reflections when working against bright light. That means any square sensor the lens could work with would be necessarily smaller than than the 3:2 FF sensor.

If a camera is handheld, its easy to rotate it 90 degrees, even more so with a grip. For tripods, one can either buy a head which can rotate 90 degrees sideways or an L plate. Personally, I remove the L plate from my camera only if I want to use a grip.
 
Upvote 0
Apr 25, 2011
2,509
1,884
Just out of curosity, why is there no pixel binning implemented in stills camera sensors, as it is for example with high-speed video cameras? This would of course reduce the pixel count but increase light sensitivity when needed.
Can be done later (for example, in Photoshop).

Pixel binning before debayering is not easy.

Second, why do companies producing small format sensors stick with a 3x2 aspect ratio and not provide a square sensor? This would allow the photographer to crop later to any aspect ratio, without turning the camera to switch between landscape/ portrait orientation...
Would be nice, but it's more expensive, requires larger (slower) shutter, and not all lenses are compatible with it.
 
Upvote 0