It wasn't too long ago that Kodak announced our latest CCD image sensor targeted to applied imaging markets - the 8-megapixel KODAK KAI-08050 Image Sensor.  This device joined three other KODAK CCD Image Sensors (1-megapixel, 2-megapixel, and 1080p format) in a family of products based on the KODAK TRUESENSE 5.5 micron Interline Transfer CCD Platform - Kodak's eighth generation of Interline Transfer CCD technology.  With four products already a part of this high-performance family, there seemed only one obvious, logical next step to take.

Come out with a fifth.

Make no mistake, the KODAK KAI-04050 Image Sensor fits right in with the rest of the family.  Same new pixel, same improvements in image quality, same increase in frame rate (now at 32 frames per second for this 4-megapixel device).  It even shares the same Region of Interest (ROI) mode available in the 8-megapixel KAI-08050 that allows the center portion of the sensor to be read out at even higher speeds.  But the real news here - other than announcement of the new sensor itself - is how having an integrated portfolio of image sensors allows camera manufacturers to bring new products to their customers more quickly. 

It's been less than 24 months since we announced the first product in this family, and now we have five - all with the same pin-out connections and electrical configurations, and each responding the same way to light.  That makes it easy for camera manufacturers to extend their camera line as each new sensor comes out, because now they can support a full portfolio of cameras using a single camera design.  Essentially, they can just take a single electronics board and plug in any of these five sensors to build a camera - meaning fewer parts in inventory, faster time to market, and better control of costs.

But the real benefit is to customers, because they can start using this new sensor technology - with improvements in frame rate and image quality, and available in the resolution and optical format they need - more quickly.  Customers don't need to wait for manufacturers to design a new camera every time a sensor is announced, since that work was done once for the whole family.  So as Kodak's sensor family has expanded, manufacturers have been able to quickly extend their camera families as well, giving customers the freedom to choose from a full portfolio of products to get the best match for their imaging application.

So with sensor resolutions ranging from 1- to 8-megapixels, now we've got Five Sensors in our Family.  And, no - there's not one of them I'd swap.

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