[filmscanners] RE: Newish Digital Tech

["Paul D. DeRocco" <pderocco@ix.netcom.com>]

> From: Austin Franklin
>
> I have to think about that, and thanks, it sounds interesting.  But, my
> question is, how much light actually gets through?  Certainly not
> %100...so
> as the depth increases, the light decreases, and the upper sensing "area"
> will have much more "light" to "work with", right, no matter what
> the color is you are sensing?

The Foveon chip manages to use more light than a conventional array, because
in the latter, each pixel (even if no space was wasted on interconnect) has
to discard more than half the light energy that hits it. The Foveon patent
claims that their system makes use of virtually all the visible light that
hits it, and that sounds reasonable when you consider how it works.

At this point, it's all theory, because the Foveon chip hasn't gone through
nearly as much refinement as conventional CCDs. However, it's heartening to
see that the damn thing pretty much worked on the first try, using a
standard CMOS process. After five more years of perfecting, I think it will
have a good chance of doing what it promises, which is to take over the
world of digital photography. We'll see.

However, back to the original point: I'm not sure it will automatically
become the preferred device for film scanners, because they require linear,
not 2D, sensors, and operating in low light levels isn't an issue--you can
always make the illuminant brighter.

--

Ciao,               Paul D. DeRocco
Paul                mailto:pderocco@ix.netcom.com

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