CCD vs CMOS

[xiphosurus]

I was just reading this site..

http://www.dalsa.com/markets/ccd_vs_cmos.asp

which says that CCDs have higher image quality, especially at low light, compared to CMOS sensors. THis totally doesnt make sense, as we see CMOS in our dSLRS and CCDs in the compact digitals...

Anyone care to explain?

[Chucko]

As I understand it (and I may be wrong), they are talking about the qualities of the sensor elements themselves. With CMOS, you can integrate a fair bit of analog processing with each individual pixel, so you can do more with the raw signal to deal with the limitations of the sensor.

[TheObiJuan]

That's right Chuko. The thing about most CMOS sensors is that they are cheaply produced, however, canon spens a lot of money on their chip designs and construction. CCD chips don't do to well with long exposures whereas cmos chips control heat better.