[Leica] Nikon D1 Pixel Count.....

[len-1 at comcast.net (Leonard Taupier)]

Frank,

Thanks for the info. It's a very interesting interview and  
revelation. I still have and use the D1H with that same 2.7 MP  
sensor. I marvel at how good the photos are that it produces. Pixel  
count isn't everything.

Len


On Feb 28, 2008, at 5:41 PM, Frank Filippone wrote:

> The original discussion.....
>
> "Interview with Kiyoshige Shibazaki, Nikon General Manager, 1st  
> Development
> Department, Development Management Department, Imaging Company  
> (whew!):
>
> "I guess that it's now safe to reveal that the D1 image sensor, with
> specifications noting a pixel count of 2.7-million pixels, actually  
> had a
> pixel count of 10.8-million pixels.
>
> The technical reason for an actual pixel count four times greater  
> than that
> indicated publicly lies in the need to achieve high sensitivity and  
> a good
> signal-to-noise ratio.
>
> Unlike current cameras, for which final pixel counts account for  
> individual
> pixels, we had to include multiple pixels in each pixel unit with  
> the D1. In
> short, our development of an image sensor with so many pixels at  
> such an
> early stage in the history of digital cameras indicates the importance
> placed on SLR camera development at Nikon."
>
> http://nikonimaging.com/global/technology/scene/12/index.htm
>
> Further response in the thread....
>
> Hi,
>
> This was all speculated about 'in the day' after a few of us took a  
> look at
> the sensor itself under microscopes. It looked like there were far  
> more
> photosites incorporated into the structure than there were pixels.
>
> The sensor itself is a Sony device, and it made a lot of sense to  
> me that
> Sony would have leveraged their video cam sensor base technology  
> (which used
> a far smaller photosite size than Nikon was specifying for the D1)  
> when it
> came to producing the physically larger sensor for the D1. So, the  
> thought
> at the time was that they were probably using four photosites ganged
> together to make up each pixel.
>
> Not that any of us knew for sure, mind you. Neither Nikon nor Sony  
> were
> saying anything about it.
>
> Not that it matters, anyway. Like the Foveon scheme, what matters  
> is *not*
> the photosite count, but the picture element count - what we see on  
> our PC
> screens post-processing of the sensor data (regardless if it's us  
> doing the
> PP, or the camera doing it).
>
>
> So, coming out me and stating that the D1 series has a 10 MP  
> imager, when
> that's not what one gets in the photo itself would simply lead to  
> flame wars
> - just like the ones that popped up when some folks tried to use  
> the 3x math
> on the Foveon device.
>
> What *is* interesting is how, by using a different mapping scheme  
> and color
> filter layer, they made the 4 photosite per pixel (PPP) device into  
> a 2 PPP
> one to make the D1x/D1h pair out of the original D1 and extend the  
> life of
> the basic design.
>
> *That* was the clever part.
> .............
>
> So, I can see why Nikon would not want to mention the 4 photosite  
> per pixel
> trick at the time, when it would have just led to confusion about how
> digital realted to analog - as if there weren't enough confusion as  
> it was.
>
> Stan Disbrow
> _________________
> Amateur Photographer
> Professional Electronics Development Engineer
>
>
> Frank Filippone
> red735i@earthlink.net
>
>
>
>
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