The Hazards of CMOS Sensors

SENSOR ARTIFACTS AND CMOS ROLLING SHUTTER
An interesting write-up at DVX user on artifacts from CMOS sensors. All camcorders have traditionally used a CCD as the image sensor, but CMOS is making some serious in-roads. Sony in particular has really jumped on the CMOS bandwagon for its new prosumer/low-end pro cameras, like the V1 and the new PMW-EX1. Panasonic's offering on the other hand are sticking with CCD's. It's not surprising that the DVX forum, devoted to Panasonic's HVX-200 and the DVX-100, would have a few nasty words about the CMOS.

The CMOS artifacts they point out are smear, wobble, and partial flash. I've run into problems with fluorescent lights on CCD shots in stuff shot abroad. Nasty flickering in the video. With CCD's adjusting the shutter speed can help (see this previous post). But even this tip may not help if you are using a CMOS chip and get the partial flash artifact. In CMOS, the flicker will only affect certain parts of the frame at certain times. Similarly, flashes of light (e.g., from photographs) often only appear in parts of the frame. Read the article to understand why and see some scary examples.

The other scenarios where CMOS can be a serious problem are aerial shoot and shoots from a shaky platform, like a moving car.

[via FreshDV]