CCD or CMOS, which camera is better for your Business?

Do you need a camera for your business? You may be wondering whether it is better to invest in a CCD or in a CMOS camera to serve your business needs.

Here are some guidelines about the main features of both types of sensors, their price and pros, and cons which will hopefully help you make the right decision to purchase a camera which will meet your needs and expectations and will offer an optimal ROI for your business.

The price

Naturally, when it comes to buying a business camera, you want to make the best choice which will offer a better ROI.

Pricewise, cameras with CMOS sensors are quite less expensive than those with the older CCD sensors.

The reason is that when CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensors for digital cameras where invented, they were based on the same production process as that for making the widely popular microprocessors, microcontrollers and other integrated chip technology-based products, which is much cheaper and faster than that of the CCD (charged-coupled devices) sensors.

Thus, today digital cameras are much more affordable than they used to when they were first introduced. Still, even at a lower price, CMOS cameras provide high quality which is sufficient for many different business needs.

CCD sensors are the more expensive variant because of the more complicated, slow and expensive production process. The production of CCD involves creating sensors with the ability to transport charge across the chip without any distortion. They provide much higher quality images and have a much greater light sensitivity and fidelity than CMOS sensors.

A CCD camera is a choice to make if your business or industry needs a very high-quality imaging device for crisp clear images without any distortion. In this case, the price will be higher but the end results will be more detailed, clear images with low or no noise.

Therefore, you must decide whether it is essential that your camera provides you with top quality images like a CCD camera does, or you can do with a very easy to use CMOS camera which creates high-quality images which may result with some noise or distortion.

CCD sensors vs CMOS sensors

CCD sensors are more expensive, but the technology used for their production allows them to create top quality images, with low noise and have unmatched light sensitivity and consistency in the quality of the images they provide.

CMOS chips are quite cheaper than CCD, and while they too can provide high-quality images, they are more inclined to produce results with noise and distortion and are not as reliable or as light sensitive as the CCD sensors.

CMOS sensors which are also known as systems on a chip integrate all of the functional parts on one single chip including the array of pixel sections, separate light sensors for each and active amplifiers for each as well as the digital to analog converter and digital controller. This allows for the immediate real-time conversion of an object into a digital image. These CMOS sensors are much faster and easier to use.

On the other hand, CCD sensors are much more complicated and the analog to digital conversion occurs outside of the sensor via a 16 bit analog to digital converter which converts every single pixel at the same amplification.  This results in superb reproducibility and pixel to pixel linearity, but the process is much slower than CMOS.

The fact that CCD relies on a larger number of external circuitry for functioning, this allows for much better control and optimization of the settings and makes it perfect for low light imaging.

As for the power consumed by both these sensors, CMOS sensors use about 100 times less power than the power consuming CCD sensors due to the simpler process included in the image capturing in the former.

CCDs usually provide more pixels and better quality and CMOS have a lower resolution, lower quality, and lower sensitivity

So, which is better – CMOS or CCD?

The answer to this question depends on what you need the camera for. Will you be using it to perform very detailed inspections of your products, or do you simply need a camera to take shots of your ready products for your own needs?

Here are the pros and cons of both types of camera sensors, so you make your choice depending on your needs and preferences:

CCD sensors

Pros

• CCD cameras have exceptionally high output uniformity and a pixel to pixel reproducibility
• They offer top quality analog to digital conversion
• They use bining for pixel size modification
• Very little noise due to a signal from other circuits

Cons

• CCD is the more expensive option
• The readout process is quite slower
• Uses about 100 times more power as compared to CMOS

CMOS sensors

Pros

• Very high readout speed
• Much more affordable than CCD
• Use less power and have a smaller system usage
• The read noise is low in high gain settings
• Easier to use

Cons

• Lower output uniformity
• The linearity and sensitivity of the pixels can vary
• Prone to noise or distortion
• Amp glow

Final verdict

When choosing which type of sensor is better for a camera for your business, you need to consider a few things. What the camera will be used for is first and foremost on the list. Also, what do you expect from your business camera?

If you are ready to invest more in a camera for perfectly clean images with low noise and no distortion even when the light is low, you should get a CCD camera.

If you are looking for a less expensive camera which has low power consumption, is easier to use and has a higher speed and you don’t expect crisp clean images every time.

So, every business is different, and your needs and expectations for a digital camera are different, so make sure you keep all of these characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses in order to make the right choice and get a camera which will provide a higher ROI.