What is the difference between CCD and MOS?

Question

I'm looking at these digital cameras on Newegg.com and the only difference I really see in these is CCD and MOS. I have no clue what they are, so could anyone help me out?

Check them out here...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?Category=7&N=2070070012+50001000+1063107629&Submit=ENE&Nty=1&Manufactory=1000&SubCategory=12&CompareItemList=N82E16830111010%2CN82E16830111013

That's a comparison of the two. Anyone able to help me out here?

Answer 1

CCD, or Charge-Coupled Device image sensors, were invented at the end of the 1960s by scientists at Bell Labs, and were originally conceived not as a method of capturing photographic images, but as a way of storing computer data. Obviously this idea didn't catch on; today we instead have RAM (Random Access Memory) chips in our computers which are, ironically enough, manufactured using the CMOS process.

Where CCDs did catch on, however was recording images — by 1975 CCDs were appearing in television cameras and flatbed scanners. The mid 80s saw CCDs appearing in the first "filmless" still cameras… CCDs rapidly attained great image quality, but they weren't perfect. Perhaps most significantly, CCDs required a manufacturing process which was different to that used for manufacturing other computer chips such as processors and RAM. This means that specialized CCD fabs have to be constructed, and they cannot be used for making other components, making CCDs inherently more expensive.

Interline Transfer CCDs consist of many MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) capacitors arranged in a pattern, usually in a square grid, which can capture and convert light photons to electrical charge, storing this charge before transferring it for processing by supporting chips. To record color information, colored filters are placed over each individual light receptor making it sensitive to only one light color (generally, Red, Green and Blue filters are used, but this is not always the case). This gives a value for one color at each pixel, and the surrounding pixels can provide eight more values, four each of the two remaining colors from which they may be interpolated for our original pixel.

I would personally choose the E-330, but either camera is good for the money.

Answer 2

The difference between CMOS and CCD has been covered by now. What hasn't, is that both the E330 and the E500 are poor choices. These links go into that:
E330 review: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse330/page27.asp
E500 review: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse500/page26.asp
Please note the bit about them both having a tiny viewfinder. What use is a camera where you have to squint to see what your framing (never mind checking the details).
For the price, I'd chose the Nikon D50, D70s or the Canon 350D over the E330, and the Nikon D80, Canon 400D, or Pentax K10D over the E500. Even if I had a ton of Olympus lenses.

Answer 3

CMOS are greater good value to make even although are noisey except circuits are designed to restrict the noise. CCDs are greater costly yet have inherently much less noise. CMOS is finding use in severe end cameras, even although they're designed with unique noise circuits. Cameras like the Canon rebellion XT.

Answer 4

MOS is a third type of sensor different to CCD and CMOS all I know so far is that MOS apparently is able to match CCD's quality and has good light sensitivity and matches the low power consumption of CMOS

Answer 5

This'll help:

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Camera_System/sensors_01.htm

Answer 6

Here's Canon's biased viewpoint, but it's an informative article.

www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D30/D30A4.HTM