III. PERFORMANCEAND RELIABILITY 7
Remarkable New
Full-Frame 12.8 Megapixel
CMOSSensor
The heartof the Canon EOS 5D Digital SLR is
itsextraordinary new, Canon-designed and
–manufactured, full-frame, single-plate 12.8
megapixelsensor. This is enough resolution
for a double page spread in a magazine, a
large printof the bride and groom, facial
detailin group shots or a landscape of
impressive dimensions. The sensor’s35.8mm
x23.9mm size means that each pixel can be a
generous8.2µm, resulting in exceptionally low shadow noise. The sensor’s low power
consumption extendsbattery life and also lowers noise. A finer CMOS production
processand optimized photodiode construction increase the light-sensitive area of each
pixeland improve dynamic range as well.
The full-size sensor maximizesthe performance of EF lenses, the world’s largest
selection ofautofocus lenses. With the full-size sensor, EF lenses — even wide-angle
lenses— have the same look and feel that they have with conventional SLR cameras,
preserving their opticalsignatures.
The anti-aliasing filter, which also functionsas the
CMOSsensor package’s cover glass, consists of an
infrared-blocking filter, a primarylow-pass filter, a
phase plate and a secondarylow-pass filter. While
other cameras, such asthe EOS 20D camera, have
three crystalplates, the EOS 5D model’s filter has one
independentcr ystalplate doing double duty as the
cover glass. Thisreduces cost without affecting the
filter’sperformance.
Also significantare the large microlens array that
gatherslight for the photodiodes with great efficiency
and the second-generation, on-chip, noise reduction
circuitthat effectively minimizes random noise and
eliminatesfixed-pattern noise. A wide standard ISO
range ispossible, 100 to 1,600, extendable to 50 and
3,200. Further, 4-channelreading is performed per
line, so shooting can continue at3 fps, even at 12.8 megapixels per frame resolution.
The resultis very high resolution and exceptionally low image noise, on the same level
III. PERFORMANCE ANDRELIABILITY
35.8mm
23.9mm
CMOSsensor (actual size)
Low-pass filter
(Separates image in
vertical direction)
Low-pass filter
(Separates image in horizontal
direction)
Phaser layer
(Converts linear polarized
light into circular polarized light)
Dichroic mirror
(Reflects infrared rays)
Infrared-absorbing glass
CMOS
sensor
Crosssection of infrared cut, low-pass filter