Panasonic Unveils 35MP Organic Super35 CMOS Sensor with Global Shutter and Great Dynamic Range

The organic sensor has reached a mythical status.

In fact, 8 year after the joint Panasonic and Fujifilm announcement, where the organic sensor was first unveiled to the masses with great optimism and claims of glorious performances and dynamic range, we haven’t seen anything coming to the market, expect for a camcorder prototype shown by Panasonic back in 2019.

Probably like many of you, I just stopped hoping that such a sensor would ever see the light of the day.

And yet, today we have to add another chapter to the organic sensor novel.

In fact, Panasonic has just announced the first 4k/8K Super35 global shutter organic CMOS sensor during the “4th 4K / 8K Video Technology Exhibition”

Here are Panasonic’s claims (google translated):

  • replaces the silicon photodiode that has been used as the light receiving part of the conventional CMOS sensor with an organic thin film that has a larger light absorption coefficient
  • wide dynamic range and global shutter
  • In a general back-illuminated CMOS sensor, if a high resolution and a wide dynamic range are realized, a global shutter cannot be installed, and if a global shutter is installed, the resolution and the dynamic range are reduced, which is a trade-off
  • The organic CMOS sensor has a dynamic range four times that of a general CMOS sensor
  • the global shutter also adjusts the voltage applied to the organic thin film to control the photoelectric conversion efficiency
  • technological development for practical use is making great progress
  • color reproducibility is high
  • As a next-generation technology for organic CMOS sensors, there is an ultra-WDR technology in which two sensitivity detection cells, a high-sensitivity cell and a high-saturation cell, are provided in one pixel.
  • With this, the dynamic range can be 100 times that of an organic CMOS sensor and 400 times that of a general CMOS sensor.

Well, we knew about all the dynamic range claims and the global shutter already. Today we got a bit more insights on how it works and especially one sentence revived my hopes after all these years:

technological development for practical use is making great progress

So let’s hope that we will soon see the first cameras with such a sensor and that they were able to sort out the main problems with this sensor: heat generation and battery drain.

Will this be the sensor of the Fujifilm X-H2?

I don’t know, but I don’t think so.

Maybe it will initially find its way into larger bodies of camcorders, which can handle heat generation better. At a later stage maybe also mirrorless cameras will feature this sensor.

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The Organic Sensor Novel – A Summary:

  • June 2013: Fujifilm and Panasonic announced the organic sensor development
  • December 2014: Our sources told us here, that there is a crucial problem to be solved with the organic sensor: heat generation (and battery drain)
  • December 2014: Top Fujifilm Managers confirmed, that the organic sensor is “still well ahead of us.”
  • October 2015: 43rumors broke the rumor here, that it will still take a 2 or 3 years before the organic sensor will be ready for mass production.
  • February 2016: Panasonic announced that, along with Fujifilm, they are developing an organic sensor with global shutter and impressive 123dB (!!!) dynamic range.
  • February 2016: Fujifilm management says: “We don’t have any specific plans of incorporating an organic sensor into our products at the moment, but yes we are observing the progress of this technology. As of today, there would be No benefits to using an organic sensor. Our X-Trans III sensor is superior to the currently available organic sensor.”
  • February 2017: Panasonic announces the world’s first organic CMOS image sensor with electrically controllable near-infrared light sensitivity. However, unlike in previous press-releases, this time Fujifilm isn’t mentioned.
  • February 2017: Fujifilm Announces Development of World’s fastest Organic CMOS Circuit For Multi-bit flexible Temperature Sensor
  • August 2017: Development of Wide Dynamic Range and Global Shutter Technology for Organic Photoconductive Film Image Sensor (Panasonic)
  • Febraury 2018: Panasonic Announces 8K 36 Megapixel Global Shutter Organic Sensor… and Time To Stop Sony’s Sensor Hegemony
  • October 2018: Panasonic Says Organic Sensor Cooperation with Fujifilm Continues. Mass Production Will Take a Bit more Time
  • September 2019: Panasonic shows first Camcorder featuring 8K organic sensor

via digicame-info via monoist

Panasonic Announces First Organic Sensor 8K Camera for Summer 2020 – Coming to Fujifilm X and GFX too?

Organic Sensor

Panasonic has recently announced the launch of the first 8K organic sensor camera for the 2020 Olmypic Games in Tokyo.

By putting an organic layer on top of the CMOS sensor, Panasonic promises three advantages:

  1. Wide dynamic range
    Additional 2 stops of dynamic range, from the current 14 stops to a target of 15/16 stops
  2. Global shutter
  3. Build-in Variable ND filters
    The use of conductive film allows to control the light amount coming to the sensor. You can control lights without changing aperture. You can maintain depth of field

After the Tokyo Olmypic games, Panasonic will put this sensor also into cinema, studio and consumer cameras, including the Lumix line-up. Full interview in the video below.

And Fujifilm?

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

Organic Sensor to be Used in This Panasonic Camcorder in Early 2019

Organic Sensor

L-rumors.com just shared the image of the first Panasonic 8K camcorder featuring an organic sensor and they also shared some specs:

  • Camcorder coming in late 2019, as Panasonic officially said here
  • Global Shutter (exposes all pixels at the same time and read the data all at once). This will at last kill the distortion caused by rolling shutters.
  • 88 at 60fps
  • Panasonic said the sensor has “high sensitivity” and “wide dynamic range” but did not share exact numbers
  • It has a step less electronic ND filter (Panasonic said it does NOT chabge color balance when using it)
  • Sensor can switch between “high-sensitivity” mode and “high-saturation” mode

I remind you that just recently here, Panasonic said that the development of the organic sensor with Fujifilm continues. This could be the first application in a digital camera for this sensor.

In December 2014 our sources told us here, that there is a crucial problem to be solved with the organic sensor: heat generation (and battery drain).

The Fujifilm/Panasonic organic sensor cooperation itself was officially announced back in June 2013 here.

Let’s hope this good thing will finally be mirrorless camera fit. Sony needs some competition in the sensor business ;).

 

Panasonic Says Organic Sensor Cooperation with Fujifilm Continues. Mass Production Will Take a Bit more Time

Organic Sensor

Over 5 years ago, Fujifilm and Panasonic announced the development of the organic sensor.

Now Panasonic Manager Mr. Uematsu said to personal-view here, that the organic sensor is still in development with Fujifilm, but it takes more time than expected:

“As you know, since its initial announcement in 2016, there is a continuous cooperation between Panasonic and FujiFilm in development of the organic sensor technology.

The recent results are very promising. The mass production of this kind of sensor, however, will take a little bit more time, and today I cannot say when we can use this kind of sensor.”

I remind you that in December 2014, our sources told us here, that the crucial problems to be solved with the organic sensor are heat generation and battery drain.

As Panasonic officially said in February 2016 the organic sensor (with global shutter) has 123dB dynamic range.

DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW and JOIN:

Organic sensor announcements timeline:

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **

Fujifilm Announces Development of World’s fastest Organic CMOS Circuit For Multi-bit flexible Temperature Sensor

Fujifilm just published a press-release about world’s fastest organic CMOS circuit. They say they made “great strides towards mass production for a wide range of applications“.

I’m not sure if “wide range of applications” includes also digital cameras. The press release says something about “smart devices” – “high-speed organic CMOS [that allows to] build sophisticated integrated circuits using more than a few thousand transistors and enable direct communication between the temperature management electronic tag and the smart device”.

It also says that “digital signal processing with a large amount of data becomes possible“.

Fujifilm also talks about “temperature management“, which eventually might indicate that they could have fixed the overheating issue (if this press-release is really about the mythical organic sensor).

The press release is google translated, so if there is any Japanese speaking FR-reader willing to help to translate it better, feel free to share it in the comments.

But before I share the press-release (you can see it below – click READ MORE), here is a short organic sensor recap:

  • June 2013: Fujifilm and Panasonic announced the organic sensor development
  • June 2013: X-guru Rico Pfirstinger expected “actual digital cameras to feature this sensor design within 18-24 months from now”
  • December 2014: Our sources told us here, that there is a crucial problem to be solved with the organic sensor: heat generation (and battery drain)
  • December 2014: Top Fujifilm Managers confirmed, that the organic sensor is “still well ahead of us.”
  • October 2015: 43rumors broke the rumor here, that it will still take a 2 or 3 years before the organic sensor will be ready for mass production.
  • February 2016: Panasonic announced that, along with Fujifilm, they are developing an organic sensor with global shutter and impressive 123dB (!!!) dynamic range.
  • February 2016: Fujifilm managment says: “We don’t have any specific plans of incorporating an organic sensor into our products at the moment, but yes we are observing the progress of this technology. As of today, there would be No benefits to using an organic sensor. Our X-Trans III sensor is superior to the currently available organic sensor.”
  • March 2016: a source told us in March 2016 here, that the Global Shutter should find its way in the first cameras in 2018. But note that the source only said something about the global shutter, and not about the organic sensor.
  • February 2017: Panasonic announces the world’s first organic CMOS image sensor with electrically controllable near-infrared light sensitivity. However, unlike in previous press-releases, this time Fujifilm isn’t mentioned.

Full Press Release (google translated) – Push READ MORE

** CLICK HERE to Read the Rest of the Article **