Patent: Full-Frame fixed lens camera

[jolyonralph]

From what I know, security cameras have small sensors, not even m43. With the low resolution those operate (often 1080p or even 720p) they still have large pixels. The dark aperture on the other hand isn't a preoblem for security cameras, you often focus to some distance and you want the maximum DOF...

For *real* security applications, not just "I need a security camera for insurance purposes" FF sensors offer much better low-light performance of course. Recording 4K, or higher, surveillance footage may be the difference between (for example) seeing which of your warehouse staff is stealing products and just knowing that someone is doing it.

This is 100% a vertical market product.

 

[tron]

A 17-70 would be much better (for me) as it would make it a great excursion camera. I have mentioned it many times as a lens requirement but I guess it would do nice in a compact FF camera.

I guess I will wait a few (or more) years for that!

 

[Robolon]

For *real* security applications, not just "I need a security camera for insurance purposes" FF sensors offer much better low-light performance of course. Recording 4K, or higher, surveillance footage may be the difference between (for example) seeing which of your warehouse staff is stealing products and just knowing that someone is doing it.

This is 100% a vertical market product.

From my experience, Securty cameras have smaller sensors. I have installed countless of them in the last years. Due to their low resolution Low light Performance is good. And take for example the surveilance cameras from panasonic, these offer good image quality and even HDR features, making it possible for the camera to detect faces even in difficult lighting situations. I havent't seen a single FF surveilance camera yet. Not even the 4K ones from panasonic use a FF sensor as far as I know. And despite the small sensors, it was possible to Identify suspects on these images (Also here is a free fact: this was even possible with the old analog cameras, which used much lower resolution , many years ago. )
Honestly, I don't see very much potential in a FF surveilance camera. It just doesn't make sense.

 

[WoodyWindy]

It is clear from the comments that that this isn't going to appeal as an artist's tool (unless the image quality of the camera is stellar in other ways). That doesn't mean that such a camera is of no use, or even won't see significant uptake. "Security" is just one of many applications for such a device. We don't know what sensor is going to be hiding behind the lens, yet, either. Or the end-to-end performance of the system. Maybe it will be in an 8K, high speed, industrial application. Or robotic vision. Or astronomy. Or, perhaps it is just a preemptive patent as some others have suggested. Personally, I suspect we will see something that uses it, we just don't know what form it will take.

 

[Antono Refa]

The fact that security cams have traditionally had bad image quality does not mean it always has to be like that. I can imagine a demand for more resolution and low light capability to enable for instance face recognition. Even in non-totalitarian countries.

There are two reasons for the compromise: storage requirements, and the wide interest in viewing the video when something happens.

The higher the resolution (in pixels, color, and frame rate), the more disk required to store the video, multiplied by the number of cameras and the archive period. Replacing B&W (read: 8bpp) by color (read: 24bpp) triples the amount of information. Replacing 1080 by 4K quadruples it, and 4K monitors aren't mainstream yet.

I used to work for a parking lot, and management wanted to cover another spot near the exit. An additional 352x240 2.39fps greyscale camera was much cheaper than upgrading the cameras, network, and recorder to support 720 / 1080, not to mention having to buy 4K monitors for everybody so they could actually see the video in all its glorious detail. Resolution was good enough for license plates & faces, the limiting factor was the police wouldn't bother with drivers who cheated the parking lot out of <$25 parking fee.

My understanding is security camera requirements are still far away from requiring FF sensors. AFAIK, the norm is still under 1".

 

[Del Paso]

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