What an image sensor actually is An image sensor is a grid of tiny wells that catch light and turn it into numbers. Resolution, format, and shutter are just ways of describing those wells. Image sensors 12 Sept 2026
Optical format is not an inch you can measure Optical format is the size of the sensor. The inch label is a nickname from old tubes. The millimetres are what decide the lens. Image sensors 12 Sept 2026
Megapixels vs pixel size Megapixels count the wells. Pixel size says how much light each one can hold. People buy the first number and miss the second. Image sensors 12 Sept 2026
Rolling shutter vs global shutter Rolling shutter reads the chip in rows. Global shutter takes the whole frame at once. Fast motion and blinking lights decide which one you need. Image sensors 12 Sept 2026
Colour filter arrays: RGB, mono, and the rest Colour cameras wear a mosaic of filters. Mono cameras keep the light. The CFA line on the sensor page is that decision. Image sensors 12 Sept 2026
Low light, QE, and SNR Low light is a photon budget. Pixel size, QE, CFA, and F-number decide it. Megapixels do not. Image sensors 12 Sept 2026
Frame rate, interface, and bandwidth A sensor can make a frame you cannot move. Frame rate, bit depth, and interface are one pipe. Image sensors 12 Sept 2026
BSI, FSI, and stacked sensors BSI usually keeps more photons. Stacked usually buys speed or HDR. Neither is a substitute for a larger well. Image sensors 12 Sept 2026
Sensor CRA: why the corners go magenta Pixels have a preferred incoming angle. If the lens disagrees, the centre of the picture is a liar. Image sensors 12 Sept 2026
Package, die, and module The die is the image. The package and the module change height, glass, PCB, and firmware. The nickname is not the specification. Image sensors 12 Sept 2026
RAW vs YUV, and who owns the ISP RAW is the wells. YUV is someone else's opinion of those wells. Output format is who owns the picture. Image sensors 12 Sept 2026
How to select an image sensor Write the scene down. Then filter shutter, format, CFA, pixel size, and interface. Megapixels and brand come last. Image sensors Machine vision 12 Sept 2026