Olympus patents technology for sensor with polarizing filter

Olympus has applied for a patent on a technique that the camera manufacturer may be using for a camera sensor with a built-in polarizing filter. To realize such a sensor, the manufacturer wants to use two layers on top of each other.

The first layer of the sensor is intended for registering colors and brightness, like a regular sensor. However, the second layer, which goes below the first, is for measuring the polarization of the light reaching the camera. That writes, among others, camera site Dpreview Tuesday.

A regular polarizing filter, which must be mounted separately on a camera, can lead to light loss. With Olympus’ sensor idea, that loss would be less of an issue. On the other hand, the advantages of a normal polarizing filter are maintained. Olympus has filed the patent, but still has to wait for its application to be approved.

A polarizing filter enhances effects for a photo. For example, grass can be made greener and the sky bluer. Moreover, with such a filter the contrast can be increased. The idea of ​​combining the polarization of light with other information is not new; Sony received a patent in 2010 for a similar approach to Olympus’s, but it included storing color and polarization information in the same pixel.