Sensors & Digital Capture — 9 Terms Defined

Sensor Cleaning Sensors & Digital Capture Removing dust from the sensor's cover glass, either by the camera's own vibrating filter or manually with a blower or swab.

Sensor Cover Glass Sensors & Digital Capture mm The protective glass stack in front of the sensor, incorporating the infrared cut and any low-pass filtering.

Sensor Crop Mode Sensors & Digital Capture × crop A setting that records only part of the sensor's area, producing a smaller file with a narrower angle of view.

Sensor Dust Sensors & Digital Capture Particles settling on the sensor's cover glass, which appear as dark spots in the image at small apertures.

Sensor Saturation Sensors & Digital Capture The condition in which a photosite has reached its full-well capacity and can record no additional light.

Shot Noise Sensors & Digital Capture e⁻ (electrons) The unavoidable randomness in the arrival of photons, which produces grain even from a perfect sensor. SNR = √N

Signal-to-noise Ratio Sensors & Digital Capture dB or ratio The ratio between the useful signal recorded and the noise accompanying it, which determines apparent image cleanliness. SNR = signal / noise

Stacked Sensor Sensors & Digital Capture A design in which the sensor is bonded directly to a separate processing and memory layer beneath it.

Stuck Pixel Sensors & Digital Capture count A photosite permanently reporting its maximum value, appearing as a fixed bright dot regardless of exposure.