Sony working on 60fps CMOS for high-res stills

In a move that promises to minimize the trade-off between digital still and video cameras, Sony announced today that it is working on a CMOS chip capable of capturing images from every pixel at a blazing 60fps. The problem with current imaging devices is that consumers must sacrifice image quality when they are recording video, but risk missing important shots due to shutter lag and the general non-continuous nature of still photography. Along with a new digital signal processing chip also being developed by Sony's engineers, the sensor should allow cameras to be used strictly in video mode, with high-res stills capable of being extracted later. No word on when we'll see actual products sporting the new tech (regular CMOS sensors are only starting to replace CCDs in consumer devices), but it's nice to know that camera manufacturers are finally throttling back on the megapixel race and instead focusing on improving the imaging experience.

[Via Digital Camera Info]

[Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Apr 21st 2006 5:06PM]

"it's nice to know that camera manufacturers are finally throttling back on the megapixel race and instead focusing on improving the imaging experience."

Well said. Next up: increasing the standard zoom on digicams from 3x to at least 5x!

[Sean @ Apr 21st 2006 5:22PM]

Looks like they're using something similar to this to increase resolution and reduce noise:

http://registax.astronomy.net/

I've used that to clean up webcam pictures. Save a few seconds of grainy, noisy, low light images to an AVI (you need to be still of course), then layer them to get a superior image.

[Twist @ Apr 21st 2006 5:22PM]

I forget what it was called but I remember using a program under Mac OS 9 that could do what it called pixel averaging in order to produce a higher resolution still image from video frames.

The next big digital camera feature I am looking forward to is HDR chips. Also be nice to see more capture chips like the Foveon X3 used in still and motion cameras. There is this small part of me that still wishes I had went with the Sigma DSLR instead of the Canon one just because of this chip.

[js @ Apr 21st 2006 5:52PM]

"it's nice to know that camera manufacturers are finally throttling back on the megapixel race and instead focusing on improving the imaging experience."

Wrong. This CMOS chip is exclusively developed for camcorders so that the resolution and picture quality will be improved for still images while at the same time the camcorder is recording video. Eventually, the megapixel race will resume.

[Torontoguy @ Apr 21st 2006 9:25PM]

This si the first step of the inevitable convergence of digital still and digital video. Soon, those photographers who limit themselves to digital still images only will be the ones looked upon as the dinosaurs.
This is only natural since the ancestors of the digital still camera was the video camera...the CCD was originally developed for video, original digital camera lenses were video lenses and they are still lumbered with video terminology like measuring zoom factors in multiples instead of focal length.

[TZK @ Apr 22nd 2006 9:12AM]

Don't worry about it because no one did anything ever about nearly nothing.

[checkmate91 @ Apr 22nd 2006 12:53PM]

I just helped a friend order a Canon S3 IS which has 60 fps video already! Comes out the 1st part of May for around $500.

[Steve @ Apr 23rd 2006 10:23PM]

What I'd like to see is 60fps video with Macro. I've always wanted to shoot highspeed footage of bugs for that Godzilla effect. Are there highspeed consumer video cameras yet?

[seamus @ Apr 24th 2006 1:54AM]

60fps on the Canon S3 IS? I don't have one, but are you sure?

http://www.dcresource.com/search.php
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_s3is.asp

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I've only been able to find 15/30fps at 640x480 on it. But if you're right, then I'm regretting just buying a digital camera last week and not getting the S3 IS.