Sony with Active Pixel Colour Sampling (394 views)

Well.......this is worth keeping an eye on as far as imaging technologies go.... we wait to see the real world implementation with baited breath. I am sure all Phantom Owners are doing this even more so.

This following article made the most sense to me from all the rather vague articles available: (....there is very little real fact in it about the inner workings of this technology)

Please ignore the writer s indiscretion where he refers to the Phantom 4K as an "Arri Phantom Flex" this does always call into question the integrity of the information supplied overall!!! ;-)

Every single pixel can take the full color info with the help of an electrified moving color filter!
How this works in detail is yet not described on that paper. But basically instead of having four pixels “RGBG” interpolated into one single pixel information (as it happens on usual Bayer sensors) every pixel on the APCS sensor grabs the full color information. On paper there is no need of interpolation (we still don’t know exactly how this works). But please keep in mind that in real world the difference may be much smaller (current RGB sensors indeed also uses all sort of interpolations to increase resolution).
This is a more advanced solution than Sigmas Foveon sensor used on DP cameras. Sigma uses three vertically ordered R-G-B layers. But also here you need to merge three pixel information into one and you also struggle with noise level because electrons get absorbed (or lost) on each layer.

Positive effects of such a sensor design are:
– Bigger pixels compared to same resolution Bayer sensor. This means more electrons captured and therefore higher dynamic range and lower noise (crazy ISO possible…even crazier than those of the Sony A7s).
– No moire issues anymore. No Anti Aliasing filter needed (increases per pixel sharpness).
– That tech also allows to make crazy high megapixel sensor. For example if you keep an Sony’s APCS pixel size same as the current Sony A7r 36MP RGB pixel size sensor you could in theory make a much higher resolution sensor with same noise level.
– Less pixels to read means also faster processing and readout.
– You actually can have a “full-monochrome” sensor

Other key features of the new APCS sensor:
– Electronic Global shutter. No more “jello” effect on videos!
– Records 2K with 16,000 frames per second (processor doesn’t have to be interpolate between RGBG pixels and therefore can use full power to read out more frames per second!). Note that the current Arri Phantom Flex shoots 4K at 1,000 frames per second.