Do you remember the musical "Fiddler on the Roof"? At one point in the second act, the village is all excited about a newly-married couple's "New Arrival," with everyone stopping by their home to offer congratulations. By the end of the scene, however, you realize that the "New Arrival" in the family isn't a child - but a sewing machine (which can be pretty important if you are trying to set up shop as a tailor, like Motel was).

It's always exciting to welcome a new member of the family - even if that new member isn't a person. And lately, we've been popping some champagne of our own.

Last year, Kodak announced the KODAK KAI-01050 Image Sensor - a 1-megapixel image sensor based on a completely new technology - the KODAK TRUESENSE 5.5 micron Interline Transfer CCD Platform. In September, we announced the KODAK KAI-02150 Image Sensor, extending the use of this platform to a 1080p format device. Now, just a few months later, we are announcing another "New Arrival" to this family - a new 2-megapixel sensor targeted to industrial and applied imaging applications.

Of course, the performance of this new device - the KODAK KAI-02050 Image Sensor -is excellent, providing high-resolution and high-frame rate in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio. But what's really interesting is how all three members of this family share common features that help camera manufacturers bring their products to market more quickly.

KODAK KAI-01050, KAI-02050, and KAI-02150 Image Sensors

Since all of these devices share the same technology platform, their performance is very similar - they all basically respond the same way to light, require the same circuits to operate, and interface into a camera design the same way. That means that before we even ship out the first sample of this new sensor to camera manufacturers, they already have a really good idea of how it is going to perform. And they also know that they will be able to leverage electronics from cameras using the first two sensors in this family to build a camera using the third. 

We even took this a step further by using the same mounting package for all three sensors, standardizing the assignment of the electrical pins, and putting those pins in the same physical locations for each of these devices. That means that a camera designer can build a single electronics board to support all three sensors in this family - the pins from the sensors all line up, the sensor package is the same size, and the circuits will be already in place. And since we reserved one of the pins on the sensor as an "ID" pin, the camera can actually "read" which sensor is plugged in so it can load the right firmware (to drive that particular sensor) when the camera is turned on.

In the end, this is really all about doing a job faster and better. Because we used a common design for this sensor family, it makes it a lot easier for manufacturers to build cameras that use the new devices. That makes cameras available more quickly - so that customers can start taking advantage of the higher resolution, frame rate, and performance these new sensors provide to increase the productivity and efficiency of their work.

Having something new is great. But having it as part of the family is even better.

Just ask Motel, the tailor.

Regardless of the field, there always seems to be at least one name that represents "the best" - a person, or a company, or something else that provides the highest level of quality and performance that others strive to meet.

For automobiles, it's names like Rolls-Royce and Ferrari. For timepieces, Rolex. For jewelry, Tiffany.

In sports, you can talk about Ruth and Gehrig. Or Jordon and Dr. J. Or now, Phelps.

For fashion, it's Gucci or Armani (unless it's Project Runway). Violins? Stradivarius. Paintings? Picasso (although personally, I'm partial to Seurat).

Of course for imaging, it's Kodak.

But since imaging is such a broad area, there are other names that take on a special significance here as well. In the manufacture of cameras, for example, there is one name that has stood out for over 80 years as representing the highest levels of quality and craftsmanship - helping to make photography not just a science, but an art.

Leica.

Leica I camera

Leica actually invented the 35mm camera with the introduction of the Leica I, a handheld camera that was compact, convenient to use, and very reliable. Instead of working with bulky equipment, photographers now had the freedom to carry a high-quality camera with them almost anywhere, completely changing photojournalism and bringing stories to life in a way not possible before. In the 1950's, Leica introduced the M3, the first in a series of M cameras that are famous for their simplicity, and that work with a series of lenses legendary for their sharpness and quality. Leica cameras essentially become an "extension" of the photographer's hand and eye, allowing them the freedom to capture what they saw, rather than worry about how to actually take the picture.

LEICA M8.2 camera

In 2006, Leica brought their flagship M-series cameras into the digital age with the launch of the M8 - a digital rangefinder camera compatible with almost every M-series lens ever manufactured. And to make sure the image quality from this camera lived up to the demanding expectations of their customers, Leica built it around the best image sensor they could get.

One from Kodak.

Two years later, Leica has now made another breakthrough announcement - a new flagship product that is helping to establish a new era for the company.

Want to guess whose image sensor they are using?

KODAK KAF-37500 Image Sensor

The new KODAK KAF-37500 Image Sensor was developed specifically for use with the new Leica S2. Incorporating Kodak's latest CCD advancements (the same core technology that was used to develop our new 50 million pixel image sensor), the sensor clearly provides outstanding image quality, excellent color, and superb performance. But we added a few other things too - like microlenses to increase the sensor's light sensitivity, and an IR-absorbing glass in the sensor package. To say nothing of laying the pixels out in a completely new optical format for photography - one that is over 50% larger than traditional 35mm film.

As Leica moves to develop a new generation of digital products, there is one thing they can't afford to compromise - the quality that has been their hallmark for years. For the M8, they protected that legacy by working with KODAK Image Sensors, resulting in a camera that provides the image quality for which Leica has become famous. And for the S2, we were happy - and honored - to be able to work with them again.

Leica is known as being one of the best, a reputation they got over many years by working with the best.

Especially for their image sensors.

Remember when watching TV meant leaving time to let tubes warm up, banging the side of the set to make sure everything was working right, and then adding some aluminum foil to the antenna to try to make the picture a little better? When I was growing up in Buffalo, NY, if you used just the right amount of aluminum foil, shaped just the right way, on a day with just the right weather, you might be able to get Channel 12 in Erie, PA - so you could watch the Bills play at home on a Sunday (because back then, all home games were blacked out).

We've come a long way - aluminum foil has been replaced by cable, satellite dishes, and DVDs (and Blu-Ray); the tubes are all integrated circuits; and screens have grown from standard definition to 1080p, 16:9 widescreen displays. All in the search for better pictures - more natural, more lifelike, more realistic.

The move to HD resolutions has been a big part of that change - at 1080p resolution, televisions now have about 6 times the screen resolution of a standard resolution sets That's one of the reasons TV pictures look so much better today, especially on large screen sets - with so many more pixels on the screen, details in the image are sharper and more realistic. Just image how fast Golden Wheels Dubenion would have looked in HD.

But just having more pixels isn't enough - it's also important to know how each of those pixels perform. For a display, that's things like contrast ratio and refresh rate. But for the image sensor used to capture the image, it's understanding things like dynamic range, frame rate, image smear, and color fidelity. The specific requirements will vary by application - what's needed in a professional camera is more than what's needed in a consumer camcorder. But understanding these requirements up front is really important - otherwise, you end up with a sensor that has the right number of pixels, but the wrong overall performance.

The easiest way to deal with this is to develop the best technology you can - to meet the needs of the most demanding markets, and exceed expectations in others.

Last year, Kodak introduced a new technology platform for Interline Transfer CCDs that incorporates Kodak's best practices in image sensor design. This new platform reduces pixel size by almost 50%, doubles frame rate, and significantly improves image quality compared to the previous generation of technology. At that time, we also announced the first product to use this new technology - a 1k x 1k sensor targeted to industrial markets. Now, we're announcing the second - aimed right at HD applications.

The new device - the KODAK KAI-02150 Image Sensor - fully meets the 1080p standard for image capture: 1920 x 1080 pixels, progressive scan (that's the "p" in 1080p), and 60 frame per second readout (which is actually twice the frame rate of standard 1080p signals). Plus, it has the dynamic range, imaging performance, and color fidelity needed for high quality video - whether for broadcast or applied markets like medical imaging or traffic monitoring. And all at a size (2/3" optical format) that matches with lenses commonly used in these applications.

Developing the right technology base at the start makes it easy to leverage it across a number of markets. We've now announced two products based on this new technology platform, and might even have some more news about it before too long. But for now, we're pretty excited about being able to bring this new technology to HD markets.

And keeping the aluminum foil in the kitchen where it belongs

What have you gotten done over the last three years?

Do you have a new job, or new friends? Are you still living in the same place, or have you moved? Did you finally get to those projects you keep putting off, or are they still waiting for you?

Three years ago, YouTube went online for the first time. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope, and John Roberts was named Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. And over the past three years, they have each done some pretty big things.

Me? I'm still trying to get my basement cleaned up.

NASA/JPL

There's something else that started three years ago - the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter left earth on a mission to study Mars. After a seven month trip and another six months of aerobraking to enter science orbit, the orbiter has been hard at work collecting information and making new discoveries about this planet.

And guess what - Kodak Imaging Technology is playing a key part in the success of the mission.

Two of the main imaging cameras on the orbiter - the Mars Color Imager and the Context Camera - are based on KODAK CCD Image Sensors that are also used for applications here on earth.

NASA/JPL-CalTech/Malin Space Science Systems

The Mars Color Imager looks at the planet in seven different wavelengths - 5 visible and 2 ultraviolet - to produce daily weather reports for the planet. What to know what the weather's like on Mars? Go check it out - it's updated every week. Pretty soon, this camera will have captured a full Martian-year's worth of pictures - giving scientists information on the spring, summer, fall and winter of the planet.

NASA/JPL-CalTech/Malin Space Science Systems

The Context Camera provides black & white images of the planet's surface at 6 meters per pixel (enough to detect a large pickup truck) over a swath 30 km wide, and is used to provide a context (get it?) for high-resolution analysis of key locations of the planet. So far, this system has mapped out over one-third of the planet's entire surface (that's over 1 trillion data points), and is also being used to evaluate potential landing sites for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory rover mission (we wouldn't want it to land on a big boulder - especially since that mission will have four cameras based on KODAK CCD Image Sensors).

So while I've been watching boxes pile up in my basement, KODAK Image Sensors have been helping to unlock the secrets of Mars, giving scientists information about the planet that was never available before. Which isn't bad for a couple of pieces of silicon.

I wonder how well they would do moving boxes?

PS - Today (Tuesday) is "Mars Day". In English, the name Tuesday comes from the Nordic god Tyr who, like the Roman god Mars, was the god of war. In Latin, Tuesday is Martis Dies -"Mars Day" - which then serves as the root for the name of this day in several Romance languages, such as Mardi in French, Martes in Spanish, or Martedi in Italian.

PPS - Today (July 29) is also the 50th anniversary of the founding of NASA, which officially began when President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. Happy Birthday, NASA!

Fifty million of almost anything is a whole lot. Fifty million inches is almost 800 miles - about the distance from Chicago to Dallas. Fifty million people is more than the population of Spain. And fifty million grains of sand? Around half a ton.

In a camera, fifty million pixels is a pretty impressive number, too. That's enough to see something the size of a small notebook computer in a field 1.5 miles wide. Or resolve every individual hair in a portrait of a model. Or take your professional photography business to a whole new level.

Yesterday, Kodak announced the new KODAK KAF-50100 Image Sensor - at fifty megapixels, it's the highest resolution available for professional photography. Today, the current state of the art is at 39 million pixels (with the KODAK KAF-39000 Image Sensor). But in this market, image is everything - so having the pixels and the performance you need is critical to capturing exactly the shot you want. So now, 50 is the new 39.

The new sensor design - the KODAK TRUESENSE 6.0 micron Full Frame CCD Technology Platform - includes several new features that make possible the performance available from the new sensor. Pixel size has been reduced by almost 30% (from 6.8 micron to 6.0 micron) to enable the increase in resolution. A new four-output architecture was designed to manage the quantity of data available from the sensor - so even though there's so much more data, the frame rate has actually gone up compared to the current 39 MPix device. A new red color pigment provides a subtle but important improvement to color accuracy and fidelity available from the sensor. And a new global reset capability allows the entire sensor to be cleared using a single pulse - shortening the amount of time the sensor needs to be ready to take the next shot, and helping to reduce power (by not needing to clock out the entire sensor before each shot).

Developing a new sensor - and especially one that uses an entirely new technology platform, like the one used here - isn't something that happens overnight. To develop this technology, there was a lot of hard work done to not only come up with the concepts for the new pixel designs and structures, but also to run these new designs through our manufacturing facility in Rochester, test the prototype sensors that are manufactured, understand what is going on, and then make modifications to both the underlying design as well as the manufacturing process to optimize the final result. A lot of work, but also a lot of fun (how often do you get to trick physics to let you do something everyone said wasn't even possible?).

Fifty million is a lot - in seconds, it's about how long Kodak spent developing this new technology. So our fifty million (in time) made possible a new fifty million (in pixels) for professional photographers. And who knows what fifty million that will produce in the future?

What's your fifty million?

Jules Verne and H. G. Wells both wrote about it.  The first science fiction movie ever made was made about it.  Ralph yelled to Alice about it.  Sinatra sang about it.

Finally, in 1969, we did it - we went to the moon.  In total, astronauts landed on the moon on six separate occasions, the last time in 1972.  And while we've talked about going back since then, there haven't been any real plans - until now.

NASA has begun work on a new program to safely return astronauts to the moon by 2020 - and then travel to Mars and beyond.  The first mission in this program - the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) - is scheduled to launch at the end of this year to find safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology that can be used on future missions. 

Pretty cool.  But wouldn't it be even better if there was a way to get involved yourself?  Guess what - there is.

While you and I may not be able to make it to the moon in person, NASA is giving everyone the opportunity to send their name to the moon - as part of the LRO mission.  It's actually pretty easy -

1. Go to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter web site before June 27, 2008 (that's the last day to enter a name)
2. Click on the "Send Your Name To The Moon" link on the right side of the page
3. Enter your name and click "Add Name" - then download your certificate
4. You're going to the moon!

According to NASA, all the names will be collected and entered into a database that will taken on board the LRO and will remain with it for the duration of the mission. 

So head on over and get signed up, space cowboy - and know that you (or at least your name) will be on board when the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter blasts off.  Just be sure to sign up before June 27, or it'll be too late.

BTW - you know those high-resolution images the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will be taking of the lunar surface?  Just guess whose image sensors they will be using in those cameras...