SIGMA SD 9 - Manual (Page 2)

Other image sensors are no match for the SD9’s
true full - color capture system
Unlike the SIGMA SD9, other digital cameras’ image quality
is inherently compromised. Conventional image sensors use
a single layer of pixel sensors which are organized in a three-color
checkerboard mosaic. Each pixel location has one pixel sensor
and captures just one color component — red or green or blue.
Regardless of pixel count, mosaic-based image sensors capture
only one-third of the information that FOVEON ® X3 ™ full - color
image sensors capture per pixel location, and rely on complicated
time and energy- consuming processing to interpolate the two -
thirds of all the information they miss at each pixel. This leads to
color artifacts, loss of image detail, and other disadvantages.
A conventional
image sensor fea-
tures color filters
applied to a single
layer of pixel
sensors in a tiled
mosaic pattern. The filters let only one
wavelength of light —
red, green, or blue —
pass through to any given
pixel location. The pixel
location records only that
one color,so the other imfor-
mation at that site is lost. As a result, conventional
mosaic image sensors cap-
ture only 25% of the R
(red), 25% of the B (blue),
and 50% of the G (green)
light.
The FOVEON ® X3 ™
image sensor
comprises three
layers of pixel
sensors embed-
ded in silicon.
Silicon absorbs different
colors, or wavelengths,
of light at different
depth, so each layer
captures a different
color among R, G, and
B. The stack of three
layers creates a full-
color pixel. Only the FOVEON ® X3 ™
image sensor captures R,
G, and B light at every
pixel location.
[ FOVEON ® X3 ™ image sensor technology diagram ]
[ Conventional image sensor technology diagram ]
FOVEON Inc.
Founded in California in 1997, FOVEON Inc. is world - renowned for
image sensors, user interfaces, and image/digital processing technology.
D i g i t a l
Digital photos have never looked quite as good as those taken on film. Until now.
Only the SIGMA SD9 digital single-lens reflex camera makes this major breakthrough.
Using FOVEON ® X3 ™ technology with over 10.2 million pixel sensors for more accurate, efficient color
reproduction, and sharper resolution, pixel for pixel, than any conventional CCD or CMOS image sensor provides.
So you can capture more of your vision in a truer light.
Go ahead. Get more creative. The SIGMA SD9 puts the advantage of
higher technology right in your hands.
S E E a l l o f t h e l i g h t
FOVEON ® X3 ™ image sensor brings new vision to
digital imaging.
The FOVEON ® X3 ™ image sensor is the heart of the first
and only full-color capture system for digital cameras. The X3.
image sensor uses three silicon-embedded layers of
pixel sensors, stacked to take advantage of silicon’s ability to
absorb red, green and blue light at different respective depths.
A FOVEON ® X3 ™ image sensor can thereby capture full color
and detail at each and every pixel location.
The results are a revelation : better color detail, fewer color
artifacts and three times the image sharpness, compared to that
delivered by more conventional image sensors.
[ FOVEON ® X3 ™ image sensor conceptual diagram ]
[ Data ]
Lens : SIGMA MACRO 50mm F2.8 EX
Aperture : f 22
Shutter : 1/60
ISO Speed : 100
Exposure Mode : Manual
Focus Mode : Manual
Raw File Format : Hi 1,512 X 2,268