Mark
Sun, 16 Mar 2008 20:03:56 EDT
 |  Re: CCD and CMOS sensors?
True, both technologies are currently being used in everything from cell-phone cameras to pro SLRs.
Historically, CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensors preceded CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) because they offered the best image quality using early fabrication techniques.
However, CMOS allows higher integration (adding sense amps and noise control at each pixel on the chip) and improved fab technologies have brought it into the mainstream, competing with CCD at most levels.
The two sensor types are close enough in most performance categories as to be interchangeable, though each has specific advantages. CCD, for example, can be digitally "shuttered" (which allows for a higher flash-sync speed in DSLRs) and has generally lower noise. CMOS offers higher chip complexity (which can easily mitigate the inherent noise advantage of CCD), and greater overall system speed (favoring higher resolution and capture rates).
In the final analysis, there is MUCH more to a camera's performance than just the sensor technology used, so CCD or CMOS shouldn't influence your choice of digital camera in any way.
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