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Micron announces 5 megapixel HD sensor for consumer cams
HD video is becoming more and more prevalent, but most people are still snapping those grainy VGA flicks with their digital cameras, which might be plenty for YouTube, but it won't win you any videophile cred. We can't guarantee stuffing a HD sensor into your consumer cam is going to do much for that cred either -- maybe you and cred were never meant to be -- but it's a fun spec to have for specifications sake, and Micron is bringing just that kind of love with their new HD sensor. The new CMOS unit can handle 60fps 720p, or 30fps 1080p videos, and Micron hopes to start sampling the sensor this fall. Micron also has a new sensor with similar specs, but designed for camcorders, so hopefully we'll be seeing some price drops and spec bumps for those in '07. We're guessing this first wave of such consumer "TrueHD" tech might leave a bit to be desired in the quality department, but it's a good step towards putting a whole lot more pixels in every pocket.
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]
