Question:
Difference between CCD and CMOS image sensor?
Spyker
2014-07-09 02:18:49 UTC
I have heard that the CCD senor is best for it's quality and light sensitivity but consumes more power and vice versa for CMOS.

But i have seen a page on a camera selecting guide suggesting a CMOS camera over CCD for some reason. What's the real difference between these two? And which one to chose on account for what?? Thank You.
Three answers:
Andi
2014-07-09 11:03:52 UTC
They are different technologies without a winner, if you compare. But for consumer oriented cameras, CMOS has been adopted by all sensor manufacturers. So, CMOS delivers definitely better performance, especially in low light, compared to CCD.

On the other hand, there are many other applications, like photogrammetry, where CCD imaging devices are used professionally.

More on this at the source below.
anonymous
2014-07-09 03:32:13 UTC
Here's the answer: (Terms, paragraphs, and other sentence come from the link below)



"Digital cameras have become extremely common as the prices have come down. One of the drivers behind the falling prices has been the introduction of CMOS image sensors. CMOS sensors are much less expensive to manufacture than CCD sensors.



CCDs use a special manufacturing process to create the ability to transport charge across the chip without distortion. This process leads to very high-quality sensors in terms of fidelity and light sensitivity. CMOS chips, on the other hand, use traditional manufacturing processes to create the chip -- the same processes used to make most microprocessors. Because of the manufacturing differences, there have been some noticeable differences between CCD and CMOS sensors.



*CCD sensors, as mentioned above, create high-quality, low-noise images.



*CMOS sensors, traditionally, are more susceptible to noise.



*Because each pixel on a CMOS sensor has several transistors located next to it, the light sensitivity of a CMOS chip tends to be lower. Many of the photons hitting the chip hit the transistors instead of the photodiode.



*CMOS traditionally consumes little power. Implementing a sensor in CMOS yields a low-power sensor.



*CCDs use a process that consumes lots of power. CCDs consume as much as 100 times more power than an equivalent CMOS sensor.



*CMOS chips can be fabricated on just about any standard silicon production line, so they tend to be extremely inexpensive compared to CCD sensors.



*CCD sensors have been mass produced for a longer period of time, so they are more mature. They tend to have higher quality and more pixels.



Based on these differences, you can see that CCDs tend to be used in cameras that focus on high-quality images with lots of pixels and excellent light sensitivity. CMOS sensors traditionally have lower quality, lower resolution and lower sensitivity. CMOS sensors are just now improving to the point where they reach near parity with CCD devices in some applications. CMOS cameras are usually less expensive and have great battery life."
retiredPhil
2014-07-09 03:49:32 UTC
This article goes deeply into the subject.

http://www.dalsa.com/corp/markets/ccd_vs_cmos.aspx



From a consumer viewpoint, it really doesn't make any difference. Both chips can get quality results.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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