“The camera is my tool. Through it I give a reason to everything around me.” — André Kertész
I’m pretty sure all of you must have held sand in your hands many a times. Have you tried to focus on one tiny grain of sand? That must have been quite stressful for your eyes, isn’t it? What if I say that there exists a camera which is of the size of a grain of sand? Wooh, mind boggling, isn’t it?
OmniVision OV6948 is the smallest camera in the world, and it has been a life saving device for surgeons across the world. With a size of just 0.65 x 0.65 x 1.158 mm, it has made its way to the Guinness Book of Records. It is the camera’s tiny sensor that is actually being entered into the world-famous record book, for being the smallest commercially available image sensor.
Specifications
Resolution: 40,000 pixels (200 x 200 pixels)
Sensor type: Backside illuminated Bayer RGB
Diagonal field of view: 120°
Focal length: 0.175 mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Frame rate: 30fps
Shutter type: Rolling shutter
Power requirement: 25 mW
Operating temperature: -20°C — +70°C
Camera size: 0.65 x 0.65 x 1.158 mm
Weight: 0.87 gm
Medical imaging has taken our care to advanced levels, maximizing patient safety and minimizing discomfort, increasing doctors’ productivity. This ridiculously small camera produces color images using an RGB Bayer back-side-illuminating chip.The resolution may seem low, but the OV6948 camera can access even the narrowest and the smallest veins of the human body, giving surgeons a massive relief as it can help them in diagnosis and with surgical procedures. Previously surgeons would carry out these operations without the use of a camera, or use a much lower-resolution fiber optic feed. It offers a compact, high quality solution for disposable guidewires, catheters and endoscopes, which are experiencing growing demand because of their ability to reduce cross-contamination risks, downtime inefficiencies and costs associated with the repairs, pre-procedural testing and sterilization of reusable endoscopes.
Manufactured by California-based OmniVision Technologies Inc, the camera’s analog output can be transmitted over distances of up to 4 m with minimal noise. It offers a 120° super-wide angle of view — so something like a 14 mm on a full-frame camera. It gives a depth of field range from 3 mm to 30 mm.
