CMOS vs CCD

[cameramad]

Hi guys,

New to this. I'm sure this has been discussed at length but my concern is buying either an 8mp CMOS Canon 30D or a 10mp CCD Nikon D200.

I have looked into the web and found some interesting articles but all the tech talk has left me back at square one.

I need advice on which is better, CCD or CMOS. I understand that CMOS is better but the Nikon has a higher pixal count. The Canon on the other hand, has a CMOS sensor but a lower pixal count.

From the little I understand, CCD is better for beginners as the on board computer has more involvement in the image processing whilst the CMOS sensor gives more 'raw' images.

I also understand that at the end of the day, it is a matter of brand preference but can anybody shed light on this CCD vs CMOS?

 

[JediForce4ever]

Buy a D200.

 

[cameramad]

Just read in the Nikon section that a new camera is expected from Nikon. Probably a replacement for the D70s... Maybe wait until after the announcement.....

Please advise....

 

[theRBK]

a camera is more than the imaging chip...the chip captures the image, but it is the onboard image processing chip that processes the data from the chip and converts it into one file format or another, and which controls the colour, contrast, sharpness, etc...

for the current state of technology, CMOS is more power efficient, but other than that, it has no intrinsic advantages over CCDs...Canon CMOS chips produce images with low moise because they put money into the development, not because CMOS is itself less noisy (I did read somewhere that CMOS is actually noisier but the noise is more easy to predict)...and the really top end medium format digital systems do use CCD chips...

at the end of the day, it is NOT about brand preference...it is about which camera you feel most comfortable handling and suits your needs and budget...so go to a shop and try them out...or borrow from friends or CS forumers

 

[jdredd]

Hi guys,

New to this. I'm sure this has been discussed at length but my concern is buying either an 8mp CMOS Canon 30D or a 10mp CCD Nikon D200.

I have looked into the web and found some interesting articles but all the tech talk has left me back at square one.

I need advice on which is better, CCD or CMOS. I understand that CMOS is better but the Nikon has a higher pixal count. The Canon on the other hand, has a CMOS sensor but a lower pixal count.

From the little I understand, CCD is better for beginners as the on board computer has more involvement in the image processing whilst the CMOS sensor gives more 'raw' images.

I also understand that at the end of the day, it is a matter of brand preference but can anybody shed light on this CCD vs CMOS?

in terms of resolution, there really isnt much difference between 8mp and 10mp. and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference in a shootout between both cameras. really.
but dont take my word for it. can see dpreview comparision, and that was with a 20D.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond200/page26.asp

your decision should be more driven by other factors.. like easy of use, functionality, lens choices, etc

 

[Big Kahuna]

It is a race, CCD has a head start but we are seeing CMOS picking up momentum with more and more high end fitted with it :sweat:

In earlier day CMOS use to be much inferior than CCD prior to Canon D300 era :lovegrin: It has more noise but it was cheap and uses less current therefore was widely use in lower end imaging device such as CCTV, video conference camera and mobile device because of lower res and lower bandwidth requirement...but of coz when Canon demonstrated and proven everyone wrong with a jaw dropping image and sharpness in their DSLR line up :lovegrin:

But as what other said, sensor is just part of the system :thumbsup:

 

[ExplorerZ]

Hi guys,

New to this. I'm sure this has been discussed at length but my concern is buying either an 8mp CMOS Canon 30D or a 10mp CCD Nikon D200.

I have looked into the web and found some interesting articles but all the tech talk has left me back at square one.

I need advice on which is better, CCD or CMOS. I understand that CMOS is better but the Nikon has a higher pixal count. The Canon on the other hand, has a CMOS sensor but a lower pixal count.

From the little I understand, CCD is better for beginners as the on board computer has more involvement in the image processing whilst the CMOS sensor gives more 'raw' images.

I also understand that at the end of the day, it is a matter of brand preference but can anybody shed light on this CCD vs CMOS?

does it matter so much? just choose one that offer the best image quality. even if you got a 20MP ccd/cmos but on a camera/lens that sucks, it still pretty pointless.

my advise would be to look for a camera that suit you and don worry so much about different between the 2 (unless you wanna be a researcher and dig out those ccd/cmos in a camera to examinate)

 

[daveheng]

Hi guys,

New to this. I'm sure this has been discussed at length but my concern is buying either an 8mp CMOS Canon 30D or a 10mp CCD Nikon D200.

I have looked into the web and found some interesting articles but all the tech talk has left me back at square one.

I need advice on which is better, CCD or CMOS. I understand that CMOS is better but the Nikon has a higher pixal count. The Canon on the other hand, has a CMOS sensor but a lower pixal count.

From the little I understand, CCD is better for beginners as the on board computer has more involvement in the image processing whilst the CMOS sensor gives more 'raw' images.

I also understand that at the end of the day, it is a matter of brand preference but can anybody shed light on this CCD vs CMOS?

While Megapixel plays some part in competition today,

Various sensors used are also another factors,

CCD colors are more vibrant but expensive in production. Whereas CMOS is relatively cheap to produce but suffer from limited dynamic color range.

While that makes up complicated stories from different camera vendors

In short, Nikon (Or Sony) CCD colors are more vibrant and have more color dynamic range.

Canon makes up the advantages by having better noise control, But Color Dynamic Range is smaller.

Rest are marketing gimmicks from vendors..

My Conslusion to you is..

Either brand of camera is fine, Its the knowledge and skills that produce the winning picture.

 

[photoconceptz]

Just read in the Nikon section that a new camera is expected from Nikon. Probably a replacement for the D70s... Maybe wait until after the announcement.....

Please advise....

Very true that both systems are just as good and the extras are just marketing gimmicks. As for the new replacement from Nikon, won't be that soon I guess. It may say 18 days more to go but it will most probably be much more longer before you can actually get your hands on testing the new model. Why not get yourself to one of the shops and get a hands on feel of the available models, after all CCD or CMOS, you have to be comfortable with the handling first.

 

[Deadpoet]

Hi guys,

New to this. I'm sure this has been discussed at length but my concern is buying either an 8mp CMOS Canon 30D or a 10mp CCD Nikon D200.

I have looked into the web and found some interesting articles but all the tech talk has left me back at square one.

I need advice on which is better, CCD or CMOS. I understand that CMOS is better but the Nikon has a higher pixal count. The Canon on the other hand, has a CMOS sensor but a lower pixal count.

From the little I understand, CCD is better for beginners as the on board computer has more involvement in the image processing whilst the CMOS sensor gives more 'raw' images.

I also understand that at the end of the day, it is a matter of brand preference but can anybody shed light on this CCD vs CMOS?

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I guess at the end of the day, marketing departments won.

Then, I read the statement, "CCD is better for beginners as the on board computer has more involvement in the image processing whilst the CMOS sensor gives more 'raw' images". Well, misinformation won too, actually worse, half truth is even worse.

 

[seanlim]

Buy a D200.

:bigeyes: :bigeyes: :bigeyes: i thought youre a big time canongrapher?...get the Nikon...no doubt about it

 

[yanyewkay]

There must be a reason why even top range D2 series are also CMOS based (JFETs included). If there's no obvious advantage they would have retained the CCDs ;p

edit: if you still believe in the mega pixel race and is still choosing based in pixel count then I would really suggest Canon's 1DsMk2. Biggest megapixel count in the DSLR market now. Up till now, I feel that anything more than 6mpix is overkill (actually 6 is a little too much for 8R prints)

 

[Hacker]

Don't forget Olympus' NMOS. CCD + CMOS.

 

[Cikgu101]

IMHO , CCD or CMOS are merely tools of the Photographer to produce whatever he wants. In terms of who did the better technology is much to be said, even an old Mustang Propellered Fighter Plane can shoot down a First Generation Jet Fighter.

Just my Two Pence ;p

 

[JediForce4ever]

IMHO ,even an old Mustang Propellered Fighter Plane can shoot down a First Generation Jet Fighter.

haha....very unlikely now...
even considering the two being in an all-guns dogfight....;p

 

[theRBK]

There must be a reason why even top range D2 series are also CMOS based (JFETs included). If there's no obvious advantage they would have retained the CCDs

That's quite interesting actually...the supposedly cheaper to produce CMOS is used in the high end D2 series while everything else below it uses CCDs...is it because it is currently more expensive to develop high quality CMOS and so can only be used for more expensive cameras (not counting the C camp who have shifted their entire development and production to CMOS and would have economies of scale) :think: well, from what I heard from a visiting Phase One sales engineer chap, the main reason manufacturers (at least those who don't produce their own chips) choose one over the other is according to availability of sensors that match their price/performance criteria...and they don't really have any preference...at least he claims that's true for his company (which uses CCDs at the moment)...moral of the story, just get the camera that fits your price/performance criteria regardless of technology

edit: if you still believe in the mega pixel race and is still choosing based in pixel count then I would really suggest Canon's 1DsMk2. Biggest megapixel count in the DSLR market now. Up till now, I feel that anything more than 6mpix is overkill (actually 6 is a little too much for 8R prints)

I heard rumours of a 20+Mpixel model coming up later this year...:think:

 

[Ah Pao]

Tech talk is just...well, tech talk!
Find out your needs and your budget, then go down and feel which camera works for you. As much as I would like to say CCD and CMOS makes no difference, there are differences between the two, BUT the fact is the difference is pretty insignificant for non-engineers like us - we're photographers.

I had Canon only because my first AF SLR I used was a Canon, and it makes no sense for me to switch over to other brands and subject myself to a new learning curve.

 

[Cikgu101]

haha....very unlikely now...
even considering the two being in an all-guns dogfight....;p

On the contrary ... I watched discovery channel GREATEST EVER ... The P51 Mustang was the greatest fighter plane ever and It downed many russian made Mig-15 jet fighters in a gun to gun confrontation during the korean war. So the point is, its not the tools that count but also the people that use em :thumbsup:

 

[jdredd]

theres a big difference between a Mig 15, and a modern day fighter jet.

 

[Cikgu101]

As I said 1st generation Jet fighter ...

if the tools are almost the same level ...then It will depend on the user to make it :thumbsup: