It is interesting to see that
Leica AG decided to forego the industry standard manufacturers of digital image
sensors and go with a relatively unknown, European company instead. The new sensor is made by CMOSIS, a renowned
European specialist for advanced CMOS image sensors. They developed a
high-resolution, high-dynamic-range CMOS image sensor exclusively for Leica
Camera AG. The new “Leica M” digital
camera launched at Photokina 2012 incorporates the full-custom CMOSIS “Leica
MAX 24MP CMOS Sensor” featuring 24 Megapixels across an active sensor area of
36 x 24 mm, corresponding to the full-frame 35mm format. The sensor is the
first milestone in a long term, strategic cooperation between Leica Camera AG
and CMOSIS.
Guy Meynants, CTO at CMOSIS,
Antwerp, Belgium, said "This is the first time that a CMOS image sensor
for a 35mm high-end camera was designed, and is manufactured, in Europe for a
European customer. Apart from the
ceramic IC package the Leica MAX 24MP CMOS Sensor is a 100-percent European
product."
The new custom-designed
sensor chip is made by STMicroelectronics (STM) in Grenoble, France, using
300mm wafers in their IMG175 CIS technology. The pixel count is 6,000 x 4,000 pixels on a 6
x 6 µm² grid across the active area of 36 x 24 mm.
The sensor for the “Leica M”
is based on a 6 x 6 µm² pixel size, resulting in an impressive linear dynamic
range close to 76dB. Pixel data are
digitized by patented low-power, high-speed 14-bit column AD converters. The
sensor features an electronic rolling shutter with global reset and noise
cancellation through both analog as well as digital correlated double sampling
(CDS) resulting in low temporal and spatial noise and non-uniformities.
STMicroelectronics took
special care to reduce crosstalk between neighboring pixels for a wide range of
incident light angles. The sensor reduces spatial crosstalk by its very small
distance between color filters and photodiodes.
Microlenses with a strong curvature and high top height focus the
incoming light rays in the center of each pixel's photodiode. This allows the
“Leica M” to accept the full range of high-quality lenses in the camera system.
The pixel size of 6x6µm² and a
full frame rate of 5fps are state of the art.
The 24MP CMOS Sensor also allows Leica to offer full HDTV video
recording and a live preview on an M-model camera.
Leica CEO Alfred Schopf said “With
CMOSIS, we are very pleased to have found a partner who made it possible for us
to design and construct a sensor especially for Leica. Thanks to the special
sensor technology and wide pixel aperture from CMOSIS, we can now, and for the
first time, offer a digital system camera that is perfectly optimized for use
with both M- and R-Lenses”, said Alfred Schopf, Chairman of the Executive Board
of Leica Camera AG. Leica is particularly proud of the fact that the “Leica M”
employs a sensor “Made in Europe”, as a large proportion of the sensor is
manufactured in France and Germany. “At the same time, the extremely low power
consumption of the sensor brings added benefits for both image quality and
battery life.”
Thanks for posting this. From the diagram it appears that the new Leica CMOS sensor is more sensitive to light than conventional sensors.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't any more sensitive, but the new design, especially the design of the micro lenses, makes the sensor more efficient. While the old design simply doesn't take advantage of all the light coming from the lens, the new design allows more of the incoming light to reach the photo diodes and thus achieves higher exposure levels. I guess one could refer to it as a passive increase in sensitivity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your explanation. Either way, it is a great step forward.
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