Nikon's new full-color RGB sensor?

[Admin]

Kudos to one of our forums posters, 'imagewest' for spotting US Patent 7,138,663, assigned to Nikon Corporation of Japan. This patent describes a new type of image sensor which uses three small dichroic mirrors below an opening to direct red, green and blue light to separate photodiodes. This design would provide full color detail at each photo sensing location, a bit like Foveon's X3 sensor (although this design is quite different). A single 'pixel' of light passes first through an element which reflects blue light to the blue photodiode but allows red and green light to pass, the next element reflects green light to the green photodiode but allows red light to pass and the final element reflects red light to the red photodiode but absorbs infrared. Of course this design has all of the advantages we have seen from full-color sensors including, the primary disadvantages must be the complexity of the design and the poor 'fill factor' (which is mitigated somewhat by the use of microlenses). This patent was filed in 2003 so we will have to wait and see if it ever comes to fruition.

From DPReview : More...

 

[Venomator]

Kudos to one of our forums posters, 'imagewest' for spotting US Patent 7,138,663, assigned to Nikon Corporation of Japan. This patent was filed in 2003 so we will have to wait and see if it ever comes to fruition.

From DPReview : More...

... You mean it has only take him 4 years to go through 7,138,662 other patents then ...



... Soz ... someone had to ... surely ... :shrug:

 

[Joe T]

at Ven

Looks like an interesting design there. It's four years old, so does that mean we would have seen it already if they were going to use it? Or does it mean that they might still be working on it... Hmmm....

 

[redhed17]

at Ven

Looks like an interesting design there. It's four years old, so does that mean we would have seen it already if they were going to use it? Or does it mean that they might still be working on it... Hmmm....

I think all it means is that someone at Nikon has had an idea for a new type of sensor. :shrug:

I know Nikon can be secretive, but surely we would have heard about a new type of sensor if they had got the technology to work.

I hope they can come up with something new, as the more sensor options the better. It can be a bit precarious for a lot of camera manufacturers to rely on Sony sensors for example. And hopefully someting new would be better.