What is CMOS in SLR camera?

Question

I regularly come across this term "Dual Pixel CMOS AF" or "APS HD CMOS" when reading about cameras. So what is this CMOS term? What does it describe about the camera? Is it telling something that it is cropped sensor or full frame?

I have read some articles but none explains clearly these beginner points.

@MattGrum I thought of that, but that question pretty much assumes you already know that "CMOS" is a specific means of manufacturing a sensor - this is the more basic question which is just "errr... what does CMOS mean at all?" — Philip Kendall, Oct 08 '14 at 15:02
See the definition of CMOS. However, this question is off-topic then here... — TFuto, Oct 08 '14 at 15:50

godfatherofpolka · Answer 1 · 2014-10-08T13:21:53.023

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I'm sure somebody more knowledgeable than me will give an extensive answer, but the short answer is: It refers to the technology of the image sensor, see active pixel sensor on Wikipedia.

Roughly speaking, there are two kinds of image sensor technologies used in most digital cameras: CCD or CMOS. The former stands for charge-coupled device, the latter stems from complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor which is a technology for constructing integrated circuits, more details can be found on the Wikipedia links provided.

For a comparison between these two technologies, see for example CCD vs. CMOS.

edited Oct 08 '14 at 13:21

answered Oct 08 '14 at 13:16

godfatherofpolka

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Or for an in-network comparision, see What's the difference between CCD and CMOS image sensors? – Philip Kendall Oct 08 '14 at 13:23

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 08 '14 at 13:25

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CMOS is just a type of sensor. The other possible sensor type is CCD, though CCDs are very rarely used in digital still cameras these days. APS refers to APS-c which is the crop sensor. Dual Pixel AF refers to the fact that the sensor has some micro-lensed pixels that perform both an image sensing and a phased detect auto focus role, thus allowing for PDAF while in live view which wasn't possible prior to dual pixel technology. (Phase detect auto focus is an alternative to contrast based auto focus and is faster and better at dealing with moving targets, but used to require an entirely separate sensor and a mirror to redirect the optical path.)

answered Oct 08 '14 at 13:25

AJ Henderson

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ok. How do know that a sensor is full frame? – Amrit Oct 09 '14 at 05:57
@Amritpal Because the sensor measures approximately 36x24 millimeters. – Michael C Oct 09 '14 at 06:15
Generally it will be called full frame or 35mm. – AJ Henderson Oct 09 '14 at 06:31
@MichaelClark Right, actually I mean when I the read the description of a camera it will say so and so CMOS sensor. but the size won't be mentioned. In that case how do I know whether that camera is full or cropped sensor? – Amrit Oct 09 '14 at 06:34
You look at the camera's specifications and see what the size, in millimeters, of the sensor is. – Michael C Oct 09 '14 at 06:46

What is CMOS in SLR camera?

2 Answers2