VE6AB Technical
Sensor Wars
The two camera bodies seen here are equipped with two different types of sensors, and the argument amongst photographers rages on as to which sensor is better.
The Canon DSLR body uses a Bayer sensor that not long ago was almost universally found in consumer cameras, with the sensor incorporating an anti-aliasing (AA) filter. This is typically a thin layer directly in front of the sensor, and works by effectively blurring any potentially problematic details that are finer than the resolution of the sensor.
One of the issues with the Bayer sensor if not equipped with an anti-aliasing filter is Moiré (pronounced “more-ay”). Moiré patterns occur when a scene or an object that is being photographed contains repetitive details (such as lines, dots, etc) that exceed the sensor resolution. As a result, the camera produces a strange-looking wavy pattern.
The Fujifilm mirrorless body seen here is equipped with an X-Trans sensor that provides better resistance to Moiré than the Bayer filter, and as such Fujifilm X-Trans sensors are made without a anti-aliasing filter. This in turn allows cameras using the X-Trans sensor to achieve a higher resolution with the same megapixel count. Also, the design is claimed to reduce the incidence of false colors, by having red, blue and green pixels in each line. The arrangement of these pixels is also said to provide grain more like film.
Today more and more Bayer sensor equipped cameras with high mega-pixel counts are being supplied without the anti-aliasing filter, or camera manufacturers offering two different bodies, one with a anti-aliasing filter, the other offered without depending on the photographers need.
There is a lot more that can be said in the exploration of Bayer versus X-Trans sensors that I won't get in to here, however that being said, I believe my two Fujifilm mirrorless cameras equipped with X-Trans sensors outperform my Canon DSLR camera equipped with a Bayer sensor when it comes to sharpness and dynamic range.
