Foveon is a company that produces the foveon digital camera sensor. This sensor works a little differently than typical sensors. It is used in Sigma cameras, including the DP1 and DP2 series.
In normal sensors, red, green and blue colors are captured by adjacent but separate sensor that together form a single image pixel. In this arrangement, a block of 4 sensors are grouped together - typically 2 green, 1 red and 1 blue. The 4 sensor outputs are summed together into a dithered single pixel. Green must be adjusted because it is twice as luminous as it should be.
The Foveon sensor on the other hand has 3 stacked sensors and the material of the sensor itself filter light into its separate colors. In this sensor each pixel location captures all light frequencies and are summed together to form the final color output.
Common sense would seem to tell us that capturing a single pixel of information at a single point would produce sharper detail that blending adjacent pixels into a dithered mess. And it does, but there is a catch. Although the DP2 is advertised as a 14MP camera, they could each color sensor so its actually 14/4 or about 4.7 MP. Let's just call it 5MP. Most people will agree that the Sigma's 5MP output captures about as much detail as a typical 12MP camera.
But its an apples to oranges comparison, and Sigma DP1/2 supporters will rave about the sensors superior colors and dynamic range. Without getting nit-picky, most reviewers do see the appeal.
At any rate, the Foveon sensor is a fascinating technology. It may or may not be for you, but real choice is always welcome.
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