[filmscanners] Re: Newish Digital Tech

["Arthur Entlich" <artistic-1@shaw.ca>]

 From the sample images I have seen on the web, the Foveon X3 chip is a
tremendous improvement over the artifact ridden and slow to capture
bayer pattern CCD for digital camera capture.  Whether this technology
will end up working for very high resolution film to digital capture is
to be seen.  In principal, it seems feasible.

However, film scanners, as mentioned, already capture each pixel in all
three (RGB) separation, because, as mentioned, they can do so with
separate sensor lines or lighting for each of these colors.  This cannot
be easily accomplished with cameras due to the length of time a scan of
this nature takes to capture an image.  Scanning type camera backs do
exist, but they are mainly used for non-moving objects.

The X3 chip has numerous advantages in digital image capture use.  Since
no interpolation is required, the capture is very fast.  Changing
resolution allows for direct translation of the image at lower res since
each pixel is complete for all colors, and artifacting is pretty much
eliminated.  Further color accuracy is superior.  I'm waiting for the
technology to trickle into the smaller and lighter digital cameras,
since it is now only available in one SLR product, and a few medium
format products.  If Sony and Kodak allow it to happen, this technology
can literally alter the nature of digital capture.

Art

Robert Meier wrote:

> Scanners often use either three rows of CCDs each sensitive to a different
> color or three different light sources. Therefore you will get the full
> color information for each pixel. While a few digital (video) cameras also
> use a three CCD approach most of them use just one CCD with a color pattern.
> Therefore, you won't get the full color information for each spatial
> location. This is different with the X3 sensor. Nevertheless, it is
> questionable how well that approach works. I would think there might be some
> serious problems with color seperation, sensitivity, noise, etc. I wish
> these guys good 'luck' though because if they can solve these problems it
> might be a great solution for all of us.
>
> Robert
>


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