CCD v. CMOS – Battle of the Acronyms

If you spend any time at all reading the vision-related press instead of working, at some point you’ll have come across the whole “which is the better sensor” debate. Now while this might be a great interest to a few of our – dare I say it – “geekier” brethren, I suggest that the vast majority of vision users don’t give a damn. All they want is a camera that produces an image they can work with, and doesn’t break the bank.

So does it really matter? Well sometimes, yes. This article from Dalsa gives a good overview of the pros and cons of each technology, so I’m not going to plagiarize it here. Suffice to say, lower cost and higher speed cameras often come with CMOS sensors and a prudent buyer makes sure he understands what he’s getting and whether or not it’s appropriate to his task.

Caveat emptor.