sensors

Update: I fixed a math error in the shutter description.

Nikon's D3 and D300 SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras, announced Wednesday, are complicated and expensive beasts, so few people outside a repair center or Canon's competitive intelligence unit are going to be cracking them open.

Happily, Nikon has provided a number of views into its new $5,000 D3 and $1,800 D300 cameras. Forthwith, a tour of what I find most notable.… Read more

Update: I added a tidbit about Nikon not manufacturing its own sensors.

Steve Hoffenberg, a camera analyst at Lyra Research, had a ready response to news that Nikon now has an SLR, the D3, whose sensor matches the full size of a frame of 35mm film: "I think it's about time."

Indeed, Canon has a five-year head start in the market and, unlike Nikon, has spread the technology down from professional-level models to the enthusiast category. But it's not simple to add full-frame sensors alongside the more common SLRs with smaller sensors.

One big reason is … Read more

Sony announced a 12.7-megapixel sensor Monday for SLR cameras, the IMX021 built with a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) manufacturing process.

The company will sell the sensor to others as well as "promoting its use within Sony," so don't be surprised to see some 12.7-megapixel SLRs coming soon. Sony has promised an advanced amateur SLR this year and a professional model next year, and there are indications that Sony's advanced amateur model will arrive soon.

The sensor can produce up to 10.4 frames per second, a high rate indeed, assuming that camera makers … Read more

Even those of us at Crave who aren't huge gamers discovered long ago that we would lust after just about any design to come out of Razer's equipment labs. And though it's difficult to get us worked up over a mouse these days, but the company has managed to accomplish that too, once again.

Razer just outfitted its ambidextrous "Diamondback" gaming mouse with a 3G infrared sensor, a technology that was first embedded in its "DeathAdder" model. Available next month for $60, the 1800-dpi Diamondback will be available in "Frost Blue," &… Read more

Eastman Kodak just sold its first CMOS image sensor for digital cameras. The customer? Eastman Kodak.

OK, that's being a little flippant. Kodak's camera division is separate from its sensor division, and the latter must compete with other suppliers for the camera business, so the deal is a significant achievement in the company's attempt to transform its sensor business.

Kodak will use its new KAC-05011 sensor in the new Easyshare C513, a $99 model with a 3X optical zoom lens and 2.4-inch LCD screen. It's due to ship this month, Kodak plans to announce Tuesday. … Read more

Canon plans to build a new factory south of Tokyo to build image sensors for its SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras and some video cameras, the company told The Wall Street Journal.

The company will invest 55 billion yen, or about $450 million, in the new factory, which is scheduled to open in July 2008, according to the report Wednesday. Its capacity will be about 3 million sensors per year.

The company will build the sensors using the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing process that's also used in the mainstream processor and memory chip market. Many digital cameras, including Canon'… Read more

Talk about the world turned upside-down. The last thing we thought we'd ever see is people clamoring to make their bathrooms more like public loos, but that's apparently what's happening in our increasingly fixture-fixated consumer market.

We knew the trend had become mainstream (no pun, honest) after witnessing the overwhelming popularity of Dyson's "Airblade" hand-drying machine. But that product is aimed at the business market--we think. The "EZ Touchless Infrared Sensor Faucet," however, is clearly destined for the household at $50, according to GadgetGrid.

And why not? It's at the perfect … Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Sophisticated motion sensors are part of an Intel project to help couch potatoes monitor their physical activity from the, um, couch.

Beverly Harrison, a senior research scientist at Intel, did a lot of jogging in place Wednesday at Research@Intel Day, the company's science fair of ongoing projects inside its labs. She was demonstrating how someday sensors could be used inside mobile devices to measure the frequency and intensity of a person's daily physical activity as part of a weight-loss program or to help someone rehabilitate an injury.

Sure, gyms these days have all kinds … Read more

In-Q-Tel, a private investment firm launched by the CIA to support U.S. intelligence agencies, has invested in image sensor maker Pixim, the company said Wednesday.

The investment was part of a $15 million funding round announced in March that also included Tallwood Venture Capital, Ridgewood Capital and the Mayfield Fund.

Pixim sells digital image sensors and associated software used in surveillance cameras. The technology is geared to work in particular with difficult lighting conditions. The company's Orca chips are used in more than 100 camera models available today.

"In-Q-Tel invested in Pixim because it offers government and … Read more