Kodak Releases a Fast HD Video CCD Sensor Array

Only two months ago, I wrote a blog entry on Kodak’s 50-Mpixel CCD still-camera sensor and the Hasselblad H3DII-50 large-format camera that first carried this sensor. Well, Kodak has just unleashed another high-end CCD optical sensor, but this time it’s for HD video and what it lacks in megapixels (relatively) it makes up in speed. (Kodak’s “marketing geek” Mike DeLuca has blogged this sensor here.)

The new device—the KODAK KAI-02150 Image Sensor—has a 1920×1080 (16:9) pixel array and meets the 1080p video standard for image capture. It performs a progressive scan (the "p" in 1080p) at 60 frames/sec: twice the frame rate of standard 1080p signals. It also has the dynamic range, imaging performance, and color fidelity needed to capture high-quality video that meet the elevated needs of the broadcast and medical-imaging markets. The sensor area matches the existing 2/3" optical format that’s common with video cameras so the new CCD array will work with existing video-camera lenses and the sensor array’s packaging is the same size as used in earlier Kodak video sensor arrays, so existing mechanical camera packaging can already accommodate this new CCD sensor array. Volume pricing is approximately $425 each. Send an email to imagers@kodak.com for more information.