Page 2 of SIGMA SD10 by SIGMA Corporation of America

digital photos have never looked quite as good as those taken on film until now only the sigma sd10 digital single-lens reflex camera captureallofthelight direct ly makes this major breakthrough the foveon x3® direct image sensor with 10.2 million pixels efficiently reproduces color more accurately and offers sharper resolution pixel for pixel than any conventional ccd or cmos image sensor so you can capture more of your vision in a truer light go ahead get more creative the sigma sd10 puts the advantage of higher technology right in your hands foveon x3 ® direct image sensor brings new vision to digital imaging the foveon x3® direct image sensor is the heart of the first and only capture system that directly captures full color for digital cameras using three silicon-embedded layers of pixel sensors stacked to take advantage of silicon s ability to absorb red green and blue light at different respective depths the foveon x3 direct image sensor can thereby directly capture full color and detail at each and every pixel location without interpolation the results are a revelation better color detail fewer color artifacts and three times the image sharpness compared to that delivered by conventional image sensors that capture color indirectly through mosaic filters and color interpolation ©1998-2003 foveon inc all rights reserved foveon the stylized f logo x3 and the x3 logo are registered trademarks of foveon inc ® foveon x3 ® direct image sensor conceptual diagram other image sensors cannot match the sd10 s true full-color capture system unlike the sigma sd10 other digital cameras image quality is inherently compromised through the use of optical color filters conventional ccd and cmos image sensors have a single layer of pixels each pixel detects only one color of light which has been filtered through a single red or green or blue color filter as a result two-thirds of the color at each pixel is blocked out to compensate the missing color is estimated through a complicated process of color interpolation leading to color errors color artifacts and loss of image detail foveon x3® direct image sensors however capture all three colors at every pixel location insuring the capture of full complete color foveon x3® direct image sensor technology diagram the foveon x3® direct image sensor comprises three layers of pixel sensors embed ded in silicon silicon absorbs different colors or wavelengths of light at different depth so each layer captures a different color among r red g green and b blue full color is directly captured at each pixel location only the foveon x3® image sensor captures 100 of the r red g green and b blue light at every pixel location conventional image sensor technology diagram a conventional image sensor features color filters applied to a single layer of pixel sensors in a tiled mosaic pattern the filters let only one wavelength of light r red g green or b blue pass through to any given pixel location the pixel location records only that one color,so the other information at that site is lost as a result conventional mosaic image sensors capture only 25 of the r red 25 of the b blue and 50 of the g green light digital foveon inc founded in california in 1997 foveon inc is world-renowned for direct image sensor development and technology.

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