Conventional digital cameras use
monochrome sensors only capable
of capturing light intensity. Because
these sensors do not capture color
data, a color filter with a mosaic of
pixels for the three primary colors
– red, blue and green (RGB) – is
mounted on top so that color data
can be represented. But each light-
sensing photodiode has a one-color
filter, which means that each pixel
can only capture one color, and data
for the other two colors is discarded.
So, the full RGB complement is
restored by a color interpolation
process known as demosaicing,
performed in the latter stage
of the image processing.
The DP1’s integral 14 megapixel
direct image sensor utilizes the
special features of silicon, which
is penetrated to different depths
by different wavelengths of light,
to successfully achieve full-color
capture for the first time ever in
a single-pixel location. Just like the
three photosensitive layers of film,
each photodiode captures all the
RGB data at the outset, so no final-
stage demosaicing is required, and
exquisite, nuanced color expression
can be handled in pixel-location
units. Because it does not need a
color filter, the DP1’s direct image
sensor does not generate the color
artifacts that color filters produce,
and therefore does not need an
optical low-pass filter either. In
other words, it can take in full
complement of RGB data, along
with finely-detailed subject data,
without any modification. The high
color resolution achieved by this
full-color capture system delivers
the "emotional image quality" that
only a direct image sensor can
provide.
The
Bayer filter Image Sensor
A conventional Bayer-filter image sensors
capture only 25% of the R(red) and B(blue),
and just 50% of the G(green).
R: 100% G: 100% B: 100%
R: 25% G: 50% B: 25%
The
Foveon X3® Sensor
Only the Foveon X3® image sensor
captures 100% of the R(red), G(green), and
B (blue) light at every pixel location.
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