All CCD sensors "capture in analog and convert to digital"; CCD is short for "charge coupled device", which means that the exposure value for each of the sensor elements is read out as an electric charge (pedantically still digital, according to quantum physics, but effectively an analog quantity). In theory one could put an analog-to-digital converter at each sensor site, but that would be an awful lot of circuitry (and hence larger and fewer pixels, with more generated noise). In practice most sensors will shuffle the charge along row by row (or column by column) to a small number of A-to-D converters. The earliest DSLRs had one-channel readout; I believe the K-7 and K-5 have four channels.
On Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 11:44:43AM -0700, Jack Davis wrote: > I read this link on dp a day or so ago. Am very impressed and have all but > been "sold." ;) > Not recalling the exact language, do you have an understanding of the claim > of the K-5 capturing in analog and converting to digital...or something close > to that? > > Jack > > --- On Fri, 9/24/10, P N Stenquist <pnstenqu...@comcast.net> wrote: > > > From: P N Stenquist <pnstenqu...@comcast.net> > > Subject: K-5 vs. K-7 > > To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <pdml@pdml.net> > > Date: Friday, September 24, 2010, 10:50 AM > > A link from Dario. He points out that > > not only is the noise greatly reduced, but the dynamic range > > on blacks is much improved as well. > > > > > http://www.popco.net/zboard/zboard.php?id=dica_forum_pentax&page=1&sn1=&divpage=3&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=14223 > > > > --PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > > PDML@pdml.net > > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link > > directly above and follow the directions. > > > > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
