Kodak Announces 39-megapixel CCD Image Sensor

October 21, 2005

Eastman Kodak Company has set the quality standard for digital imaging with new high-resolution image sensors that allow commercial, studio, and other professional photographers to capture digital images with the most life-like detail possible.

Already the world's leading supplier of image sensors for medium-format professional photography, Kodak is expanding its product line with the introduction of the world's highest-resolution sensors for professional photography. The KODAK KAF-39000 Image Sensor, featuring 39 million pixels, and the KODAK KAF-31600 Image Sensor, with 31.6 million pixels, offer professional camera and camera back manufacturers resolution and image detail that was once unimaginable for digital cameras, allowing photographers to experience a new level of image quality for portrait, wedding, landscape, fashion, studio, and commercial photography. These new CCD image sensors have already been selected for use by Phase One A/S for use in their upcoming P45 and P30 digital camera backs.

"Our new image sensors nearly double the resolution available for professional photography - helping bring images to life in a way never before possible," said Chris McNiffe, general manager of Kodak's Image Sensor Solutions operations. "Kodak offers the broadest image sensor portfolio with the highest resolutions for medium-format photography, providing camera and camera back manufacturers great flexibility to meet the varied demands and requirements of their users. These products are further examples of Kodak's ability to leverage our legacy of innovation to provide products that uniquely meet our customers' needs - whatever market they may serve."

A pioneer in imaging science, Kodak develops and supplies both CCD and CMOS image sensors for applications ranging from medical and industrial imaging to digital cameras and mobile phones for consumer markets. Earlier this year, Kodak announced the first CMOS image sensors to arise from its manufacturing alliance with IBM (the KAC-5000 and KAC-3100 Image Sensors), and an agreement to license key CMOS Image Sensor manufacturing technology to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry. When combined with the CCD announcements made today, Kodak is again demonstrating its ability to continue as a leading supplier of high-performance CCD image sensors while also providing innovative image sensors for mass-market consumer applications.

With 39 million imaging pixels in a 36 mm x 48 mm imaging area, the KAF-39000 sets a new standard for image resolution in professional photography, while the 31.6 million pixel KAF-31600 deploys this same high-performance pixel in a smaller, 33 mm x 44 mm imaging area. At the heart of these imagers is a newly designed 6.8 micron CCD pixel that enables higher sensor resolutions while still retaining the performance required by professional photographers for sensitivity, dynamic range, and color fidelity.

These image sensors join three other KODAK image sensors targeted to the medium-format market - the KAF-16802, which provides 16 million pixels in a square optical configuration; the 22 million pixel KAF-22000, which set the previous high-resolution benchmark for this market; and the KAF-18000, a new 18 million pixel image sensor that offers a unique combination of sensitivity, resolution, and frame rate. This portfolio has been widely adopted by the leading manufacturers of cameras and camera backs for medium format photography.

Source: Kodak