I’ve been watching Foveon and their X3 sensor for some time, trying not to get too excited about lest it ultimately proved to be a mirage. Well it’s finally really real — the first camera to use it is now available — and I’m confident that my next digital camera is going to use Foveon’s technology.

The CCDs in today’s digital camera are tiny, and can’t capture more than one color per pixel — this effectively means that your fancy-schmancy digital camera has 1/3 the pixels that you think it does. In contrast, the X3 sensor is huge in comparison (closer in size to 35mm film), and every pixel in the sensor captures red, green and blue. This is the holy grail of digital photography/video/film, gentle readers. I believe that the X3 is the stake in the heart of analog photography and, eventually, film. | Discover story | Foveon