New Kodak sensors help digital cameras see in the dark

Rochester (NY) - Kodak says it has developed a new technology that will make dark, blurry digital photos shot under low-light conditions a thing of the past.

Taking images under low-light conditions, whether it is inside buildings or early or late in the outside remains one of the big challenges for photographers to turn out decent pictures : Slower shutter speeds typically require tripods to keep a camera stable and to avoid blurry picturea.

Kodak now says that it has found a way to make image sensors in digital cameras two to three times more sensitive to light and therefore capture more light in less time - which ultimately increases the shutter speed. The firm’s new sensor adds panchromatic, or "clear" pixels to the red, green, and blue elements that form the image sensor array today. According to Kodak, these panchromatic sensors are sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light and can collect a significantly higher proportion of available light.
 
Kodak said that the technology will be compatible with CMOS and CCD image sensors and can be applied across all digital camera devices ranging from cell phone cameras to consumer cameras as well as high-end digital SLR cameras. The first Kodak sensor to use this technology is expected to be available for sampling in the first quarter of 2008.