http://petapixel.com/2015/08/18/mit-created-a-camera-that-will-never-overexpose-a-photograph/
Feast your eyes DRones ;-) How cool is this?!
Feast your eyes DRones ;-) How cool is this?!
Unlimited DR Camera invented by students at MIT...
- Thread starter PureClassA
- Start date
I'm hoping this can be implemented soon. So many of the technologies that work in the lab don't work or aren't economical enough to work in the end product that consumers use.
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I am glad we have smart people researching this. Who knows what this may result in after a while.
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I like this , very smart indeed and extremely simple.
I believe this is something that had been used for very long time in math, encryption and numbers hashing.
Just applied to completely different domain.
Actually this is method of compressing big numbers to much smaller ones.
I remember that from very very long time back when I was a student.
More interesting that is does not seem to be very difficult to implement.
Just add reset counter for each pixel and use its data for further signal processing.
Circuit diagram is very simple.
Reset counter before ADC and DSP using its values to recalculate number at the output of ADC.
Kind of forward signal correction.
For BSI sensor and especially for stacked BSI one this would be very easy as there could be enough 3D space behind photocell to add additional circuitry for that.
Could be implemented for next sensors generation next year.
Will see who will do this first.
I believe this is something that had been used for very long time in math, encryption and numbers hashing.
Just applied to completely different domain.
Actually this is method of compressing big numbers to much smaller ones.
I remember that from very very long time back when I was a student.
More interesting that is does not seem to be very difficult to implement.
Just add reset counter for each pixel and use its data for further signal processing.
Circuit diagram is very simple.
Reset counter before ADC and DSP using its values to recalculate number at the output of ADC.
Kind of forward signal correction.
For BSI sensor and especially for stacked BSI one this would be very easy as there could be enough 3D space behind photocell to add additional circuitry for that.
Could be implemented for next sensors generation next year.
Will see who will do this first.
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To me it seems so simple an idea it's almost silly no one has tried it before. Then again, I don't know the feasability of mass manufacturing. This is the sort of thing a company like Canon should be writing a blank check to MIT to buy the rights to even if just to keep it out of competitor's hands until they can figure out a way to produce it for consumer uses.
Just imagine setting the perfect exposure for the shadows with total disregard for the highlights as they can be infinitely blown out and still fully recoverable. Holy cow.
Just imagine setting the perfect exposure for the shadows with total disregard for the highlights as they can be infinitely blown out and still fully recoverable. Holy cow.
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Well, our screens and printers are LDR, so even if this technology manages to perfectly capture all the HDR of a scene, it would require tonemapping to bring it down to a usable LDR. It will take much more than a cool new sensor technology before we can stop worrying about exposure (although I do agree that having the extra room in pp is a big deal).
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It's not about what you can print. It's about what you can capture and RECOVER and make into a print. Exposing for shadows properly can sometimes mean clipping highlights and therefore you have totally lost some image data. This new method prevents data clipping and you can recover in post everything that was there. That's something we can't do right now with any camera made by anyone.
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Looks good, hopefully someone implements it soon. This would pretty much erase any advantage from one sensor to the next.
It's also interesting to think that this gives infinite DR at any ISO, and at any pixel size.
I think cell phones will be one of the first to take advantage.
It's also interesting to think that this gives infinite DR at any ISO, and at any pixel size.
I think cell phones will be one of the first to take advantage.
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But...but...given how some people on here describe the Exmor I thought it did this anyway ?
Seriously though, that really is an improvement in practical DR !
Seriously though, that really is an improvement in practical DR !
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This does not provide for infinite dynamic range in the final image.
The camera system includes a defined file format. This device allows for a theoretical measurement of infinity, but computers have no conception of infinity. That pesky file definition will limit the dynamic range.
Then, what this seems to do is expand the dynamic range at the high end. I see no enhancement of the signal when noise becomes the limiting factor. That is where there's the most opportunity to improve things, IMHO.
Finally, the "bucket emptying" process must take some time. For the extreme example, I wish to photograph a prickly pear blossom backlit by a nuclear blast. I really doubt the emptying process can keep up with the microsecond pace. Seriously, highlight regions equal high rates of bucket filling, thus a need for fast dumps. I could read the paper to maybe assess, but I won't. Shadows know why.
The camera system includes a defined file format. This device allows for a theoretical measurement of infinity, but computers have no conception of infinity. That pesky file definition will limit the dynamic range.
Then, what this seems to do is expand the dynamic range at the high end. I see no enhancement of the signal when noise becomes the limiting factor. That is where there's the most opportunity to improve things, IMHO.
Finally, the "bucket emptying" process must take some time. For the extreme example, I wish to photograph a prickly pear blossom backlit by a nuclear blast. I really doubt the emptying process can keep up with the microsecond pace. Seriously, highlight regions equal high rates of bucket filling, thus a need for fast dumps. I could read the paper to maybe assess, but I won't. Shadows know why.
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So what is the difference between this and adding extra bits to the ADC, when each "bucketful" means another step? Or to decrease the photo site gain (dynamic gain) down with each "bucketful" advance?
Description may be fancy, but concept is not original.
-r
Description may be fancy, but concept is not original.
-r
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lion rock said:
they don't increase the range, or include all information, if a pixel is full it is reset, meaning it records less data.
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