IP Camera Image Sensor Guide: CCD & CMOS

The world of IP surveillance cameras can be tricky to navigate. With so many technical aspects and such variety in choice, it’s hard to decide which camera is best for you. This post is going to make your job a little easier. 

With a CCD image sensor, the light hitting the sensor is converted into an electrical signal and held in each photo sensor on the chip. These charges are transferred pixel by pixel through an output node to an image processor, where they are converted to voltage. 

CCD image sensors use external hardware to convert the analog signal to a digital signal, which is an additional step over a CMOS image sensor.
A CMOS image sensor already has circuitry at the pixel level, so every pixel on the sensor is read and transmitted simultaneously. The chip of the CMOS then uses amplifiers, A/D-converters, and other technology to convert the voltage directly into digital data.

CCD image sensors are generally the more popular choice in surveillance cameras because they offer less image noise and higher light sensitivity to create higher resolution images. A camera with a CCD image sensor will also offer a much better low light performance compared to a CMOS image sensor.

The circuitry and analog components of a CCD image sensor is located outside the chip, which makes a CCD camera more expensive to produce. This can also lead to the camera overheating because the exterior circuitry requires up to 10－ more power than a CMOS image sensor.