Feveon+Direct+X3+Image+Sensor

= Foveon X3 Direct Image Sensor = toc Foveon Direct X3 image Sensor is an alternative to the traditional Bayer mosaic filter. Most cameras use a mosaic style sensor to capture luminance information. Each pixel is assigned to a different RGB value.With green dominating the censor because the human eye sees green luminance in the greatest concentration. . Foveon explains that the “Foveon X3 image sensors have three layers of pixels. The layers of pixels are embedded in silicon to take advantage of the fact that red, green, and blue light penetrate silicon to different depths – forming the first and only image sensor that captures full color at every point in the captured image”.

The Foveon's elegant solution theoretically gathers three times the information when compared to the Bayer filter. The Foveon captures all RGB information at one time conceivably capturing superior images because Bayer filters by their very function leaves information unrecorded. Additionally, Foveon further degrades megapixel as a identifier for digital cameras. A 14.6 megapixel Foveon sensor records three times the information because it records RGB data at every pixel. Bayer sensor only records one RGB value at each megapixel. .The Foveon sensor potentially can offer the rich color values of traditional 35mm film.

Foveon's Future
The Foveon offers an innovative new take on the digital image sensor adoption limits the potential of the sensor. The Foveon is owned by Sigma, traditionally a 3rd party lens producer, limiting its adoption by the major camera producers. The Sigma SD1 is the first with camera to feature the Feveon X3 and cost around 7,000 dollars which puts it in the full frame DLSR range and prices it out of the consumer and amateur markets. The Foveon sensor stuck in a Sigma camera with the s-mount discourages professional users because it would require them to give up their favored lenses. If the major camera manufactures could produce cameras utilizing the Foveon sensor it could change the how pictures are taken in digital cameras. Without major adoption by more camera producers the Foveon does not have much of a chance to really change the way digital cameras take pictures. When compared to Lytro’s light-field camera you see diverging ideas on how to improve digital photography. The Lytro redefines the traditional lens and sensor combination in favor of a fixed lens and a microlens array to capture the entire light array. The Foveon sensor is an evolution of the standard DLSR configuration more than a revolution. Both suffer the same problem of being propriety and only being produced by one camera manufatuer. The Foveon sensor would be ideal for digital image collections because the Foveon has the potential to take pictures that have unparalleled resolution and clarity. But, without adoption by major camera producers this seems unlikely.

**Examples**
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**References**
Anthony, S. Sigma’s Foveon sensor: What it is and how it makes megapixels obsolete. //ExtreamTech.// Retrieved from []

Dpreview.com. (2002). Foveon’s revolutionary X3 sensor. Retrieved from []Foveon. (2010). Retrieved from []

http://www.foveon.com/article.php?a=67

Johnston, M. (2010). Huge new Foveon sensor debuts in Sigma flagship SD1. //The Online Photographer//. Retrieved from []

Lyon, R.F. & Hubel, P.M. (2005). Eyeing the camera: Into the next century. Foveon.com. Retrieved from [].