On RVC2, the firmware has to have sensor configuration in order to support the given camera sensor. Currently, we support sensor configurations out-of-the-box (in firmware) for the camera sensors listed below.
Driver/tuning available but not yet tested/integrated:
Sensor
Status
Shutter
Resolution
IMX334
Not tested
rolling
3840x2160
IMX390
Not tested
rolling
1937x1217
IMX412
Not tested
rolling
4056x3040
SC2232H
Not tested
rolling
1936x1086
OV2735
Not tested
rolling
1920x1080
SC5335
Not tested
rolling
2592x1944
SC8238
Not tested
rolling
3840x2160
Interested in a "Not tested" sensor, or a sensor not listed above? Please send an email to support@luxonis.com.
Camera characteristics
Sensor size
Sensor size is the length of the diagonal of the sensor. The larger sensors can capture more light and can consequently produce better image quality: better low light performance and higher resolution.
Mono(chrome) and color sensor
Mono sensors capture light intensity information without any color information. They measure the amount of light falling in each pixel and produce black-and-white images.Color sensors capture color information using a color filter array (CFA). Color filter array is a grid of red, green and blue filters, which are placed over the sensor's pixels, as seen in the image below. Depending on which color filter is placed over a specific pixel, only the light of that color's wavelengths gets through the filter and is captured by the sensor at that pixel posiotion.After that, the color information is interpolated, so that the final image consists of the red, green and blue (RGB) color information at each pixel position.If we have an image with the size 1920x1200 pixels, the whole information of the image would be saved in an array with the size 1920x1200x3, as each pixel would consist of the red, green and blue color information.
Comparison of the spectral sensitivity of mono and color sensors
In the image below we can see the spectral sensitivity of a standard monochrome and color sensor. The spectral sensitivity tells us how sensitive the sensors are to light of different wavelengths. The monochrome sensor has higher sensitivity to light across all wavelengths compared to the color sensor.The relative response refers to the relative spectral sensitivity of the sensor at different wavelengths, normalized to the wavelength at which the sensor has the highest sensitivity.Quantum efficiency is a measure of how well a sensor converts incoming photons into electrons. The quantum efficiency of a monochrome sensor is higher compared to that of a color sensor because the color filter array present in the color sensor reduces the amount of light reaching the photodetectors.Mono sensors can reach the maximal quantum efficiency of around 80%, while color sensors can have maximal quantum efficiency of around 40%.
Low light performcance
The lowlight performance of the monochrome sensors is in general superior compared to the color sensors. This is a consequence of a color filter array, which filters out some of the incoming light in the color sensors. As the result, less light reaches the color sensors, compared to the mono sensors. In low light conditions this can be crucial, which is why mono sensors can be preferred in such environments.On the image below we compared low-light performance of a few sensors (from left to right, top to bottom: OV7251, OV9282, AR0234, IMX214, IMX378, IMX462, IMX582).
Low light performance
You can view full images on You can view full images on gdrive here.
