GH2 could be incredible!

[Rawfa]

Panasonic is developing some major sensor changes that could make the GH2 REALLY incredible. If what they are saying on the article bellow is true this could allow the micro 4/3 system to really live to it's full potential, overcoming present obstacles such as high iso and inferior dynamic range. I'm not a very technical guy but the system seems to use a similar theory to the one used with foveon sensors. Check out the article:

http://www.eoshd.com/entry.php?29-Panasonic-engineer-reveals-workings-of-GH2-dual-exposure-sensor

 

[s.agar]

Excelent news because of 2 stops high iso gain and better color accuracy.

 

[m3photo]

Re: Curved Sensor

Excelent news because of 2 stops high iso gain and better color accuracy.

The penny's dropped at last! Someone's finally realized that these cameras don't use film any more and that there's no need for the sensor to imitate its flatness. Leica sort of started on the idea by shifting the angle of the extremes of the sensor's microlenses inwards:

"Curved image sensors curve around the back of an aspherical lens element, producing huge gains in image quality and lens design. It's actually similar in design to the human retina."

 

[Rawfa]

If Panasonic plays it's cards right I really think this could be the turning point for people who were not convience by the micro 4/3 system. I keep dreaming of a little GF1/E-P1 like camera with a D90 dynamic range/iso performance.

 

[roanjoh]

Is this similar to the Sigma approach? 3 different sensors to capture a scene? If so, this would be amazing!! Dabbled with a Sigma DP1 and that camera produced the most detailed shots I ever took - more detailed than the 5D, and it's per pixel sharpness is amazing..........too bad it's only 4 megapixels.

 

[Vivek]

Re: Curved Sensor

The penny's dropped at last! Someone's finally realized that these cameras don't use film any more and that there's no need for the sensor to imitate its flatness. Leica sort of started on the idea by shifting the angle of the extremes of the sensor's microlenses inwards:

"Curved image sensors curve around the back of an aspherical lens element, producing huge gains in image quality and lens design. It's actually similar in design to the human retina."

What?? No more programmed lenses with built in corrections?

 

[pellicle]

Re: Curved Sensor

Hi

"Curved image sensors curve around the back of an aspherical lens element, producing huge gains in image quality and lens design. It's actually similar in design to the human retina."

sadly that's not something we're likely to see on the Panasonic GH2 in the next year or so

 

[Rawfa]

Is this similar to the Sigma approach? 3 different sensors to capture a scene? If so, this would be amazing!! Dabbled with a Sigma DP1 and that camera produced the most detailed shots I ever took - more detailed than the 5D, and it's per pixel sharpness is amazing..........too bad it's only 4 megapixels.

Same here. I've stated many times that I would love to see Sigma come up with a small DP1 like micro 4/3 camera.

 

[Howard]

While an improved sensor would be an excellent enhancement to the G series of camera, I will not get excited until the new camera is released and Panasonic lists the the features and specifications. Then I want to see professional and user reviews to see if the camera performance is equal to the manufacturer's hype.

 

[Vivek]

While an improved sensor would be an excellent enhancement to the G series of camera, I will not get excited until the new camera is released and Panasonic lists the the features and specifications. Then I want to see professional and user reviews to see if the camera performance is equal to the manufacturer's hype.

Tough audience!

The choice of colors and matching accessories don't have any influence?

 

[jonoslack]

Tough audience!

The choice of colors and matching accessories don't have any influence?

Sounds fab to me . . . I want a yellow one.

 

[f6cvalkyrie]

I want a yellow one.

No, no, no, the only available colour for the first year will be pink.
This was decided by the marketing division yesterday, because more than 50% of the potential buyers are women

I couldn't care less, I already have a blue G1 (goluboij = blue has a second meaning in russian, that I couldn't post here, because we are a family friendly forum)

Have fun,
Rafael

 

[m3photo]

Re: Curved Sensor

sadly that's not something we're likely to see on the Panasonic GH2 in the next year or so

I copied and pasted the penultimate paragraph of the OP's initial link, it wasn't me stating this, hence the quotation marks.

 

[Vivek]

Sounds fab to me . . . I want a yellow one.

Given the announced breakthrough in technology, a green one could become a volume seller- outselling the blue and red by wide margins.

For Pink, yellow, brown, purple, etc, they could always offer the appropriate "skins".

 

[s.agar]

Re: Curved Sensor

Flat film plane imposed a lot of design problems for the lenses. That's why we have so complicated desighs, all coming from the old film era.
With the curved sensor, it will be very easy to design lenses. These will be smaller and cheaper.

However, I'm afraid that in the near future, this will be used only for fixed lenses for P+S cameras, because all other firms have existing lines of lenses that are not suitable for curved sensors.

But in the future systems, this seems to be the natural route to take.

Seyhun

The penny's dropped at last! Someone's finally realized that these cameras don't use film any more and that there's no need for the sensor to imitate its flatness. Leica sort of started on the idea by shifting the angle of the extremes of the sensor's microlenses inwards:

"Curved image sensors curve around the back of an aspherical lens element, producing huge gains in image quality and lens design. It's actually similar in design to the human retina."

 

[CPWarner]

Having spent time in semiconductor process development, creating chips on a curved surface would be very difficult. There is a reason things have been flat, many process steps need the planar surfaces. Furthermore, one then looses the multiple chips per wafer that decreases cost. I agree that this will require yet another camera system as no legacy lenses would be suitable.

 

[Vivek]

Having spent time in semiconductor process development, creating chips on a curved surface would be very difficult. There is a reason things have been flat, many process steps need the planar surfaces. Furthermore, one then looses the multiple chips per wafer that decreases cost.

What if you forget Silicon altogether and think in terms of plastics- ie., organic semiconductors? Fabrication can be super simple and sensors can even be flexible!

It may seem far away but those OLEDs also looked very distant technology only a few years ago.

 

[CPWarner]

Scalability will still be an economic issue there with the curvature. I have heard the claims of super simple processing many times, but have yet to see that manifested in something on the order of the ground rules that we are talking about today for imaging chips. Give it another 5 to 10 years and we will see...

 

[larryk]

The two most exciting things about the Panasonic 4/3 system is that it's selling and that you can use most any lens ever made on it if you're willing to focus manually. The latter means that an awful lot of old classic lenses have been bought up around the world and whatever is left has much higher prices. Try to find a Contax G lens at KEH right now. They're all gone. The former means that if the camera sticks, then the sensors will continue to improve at a rate of every two years or so. The discussion here is about what's going on now, apparently, not about what's coming in 4 years. This sounds a bit silly, but not when you already have very high quality lenses from a variety of sources that will all work on these cameras. No wonder it's so popular already.

 

[pellicle]

Re: Curved Sensor

Hi

I copied and pasted the penultimate paragraph of the OP's initial link, it wasn't me stating this, hence the quotation marks.

yes, I know ... but I was just lamenting that its not likely to happen