Polaroid X530 point-and-shoot
digital camera
Anticipated arrival of consumer camera
with advanced technology due in 2004
LAS VEGAS, Nevada, February 9, 2004 -
Foveon Inc., a technology leader in high-quality digital image capture products, announced
today that a new Polaroid brand digital camera will incorporate the 4.5 megapixel Foveon
X3 direct image sensor. The camera is the world's first point-and-shoot digital camera to
incorporate X3 technology. Foveon X3 direct image sensors are the only image sensors that
directly capture color in three layers, just like color film. This results in richer
colors, warmer tones, and sharper images than are available through traditional image
sensors.
First introduced in 2002, the X3 image
sensor has only been available in a professional class digital camera. Now with the
introduction of the Polaroid x530, consumers are able to enjoy the many benefits of X3
technology in an affordable full-featured point-and-shoot digital camera. The Polaroid
x530 is scheduled to ship to retailers in June 2004 with a suggested retail price of $399.
The Foveon technology enables the
Polaroid x530 digital camera to produce superb 8" x 10" images ¡V the largest
print size that most consumers will print. The camera takes advantage of several key
features of the X3 direct image sensor including X3F raw file format image capture, video
clip capture at VGA resolution, and Foveon's recently introduced X3 Fill Light software.
The X3 Fill Light software tool digitally simulates the photographic method of
"dodging and burning" adding extra light to shadow regions, while preserving
highlight detail. It is a powerful method for simultaneously adjusting overexposed and
underexposed areas of a digital image with a single simple control.
Foveon has received numerous technical
awards and recognition including: Popular Science's Best of What's New Award, Time
Magazine's Best Inventions of the year, the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA)
award and the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) Award. The Polaroid brand x530
digital camera is made by World Wide License Ltd under exclusive license by Polaroid and
distributed in the United States through Uniden America Corporation. Information about the
Polaroid x530 digital camera can be found at http://www.polaroid-digital.com.
About Foveon and X3 Direct Image Sensors
Since its establishment in 1997, Foveon has focused on the development of image capture
technologies and products for digital cameras. The company's X3 direct image sensors are
the only image sensors that directly capture red, green, and blue light at every point in
an image. The design of the X3 direct image sensor leverages the natural color separation
property of silicon. When silicon is exposed to light, blue light is absorbed near the
surface, green light is absorbed deeper, and red light is absorbed deepest within the
silicon. In Foveon X3 direct image sensors, pixels are placed at these corresponding
depths in the silicon to detect the red, green, and blue light that has been absorbed.
This stacked-pixel design ensures that all of the color is captured at every point in an
image.
In contrast, the traditional CCD and CMOS
image sensors used in today's digital cameras capture only one color per pixel location
and must mathematically interpolate the two colors not detected. This interpolation
process results in false colors, reduced color resolution and color artifacts. Foveon X3
technology is highly scalable for a wide range of cameras including digital still/video
cameras, PDAs, cell phones, security cameras and scientific cameras.
