Fujifilm's Axia Eyeplate highlights the incremental march toward paper-thin imaging products. How small has the Eyeplate taken the digital camera? Visualize a 6-mm-thick credit-card-size camera, and the picture is complete-literally.

A VGA-resolution CMOS image sensor from SMaL Camera (Cambridge, Mass.) is central to the Eyeplate's design. Using nonlinear sensor response curves, SMaL has addressed the vexing issue of simultaneously rendering bright backlit areas and deep shadows. Much as the human eye and (to a lesser degree) film compress light and dark to resolve detail in a range of lighting conditions, electronic image sensors are striving for broader dynamic range-and with it, broader markets.

The Eyeplate juggles the often-competing camera design challenges of image quality, sensitivity, resolution, battery life, weight, storage capacity and cost, with the emphasis on miniaturization. Its thinness hinges on both low component count and careful optomechanical design. To create a 6-mm profile, the Eyeplate uses a collapsing lens assembly; the power-on switch also serves to pop the lens assembly outward, driving the maximum thickness to 10 mm when in use. Space-saving aspects of the design derive from a metal case construction and internal extruded aluminum "rails" for structural integrity with low bulk.

The thin product profile further derives from low power consumption and a small battery. An internal 3.7-volt, 30 x 40 x 0.8-mm lithium-ion cell is layered atop the printed-circuit board, receiving fresh charge from the USB hookup during image download.

The unit's estimated 50-milliampere-hour battery capacity and claimed 500 shots per charge underscore the efficiency of CMOS imaging. Use of the host PC for image postprocessing and the lack of a flash strobe further minimize size.

Other system components include flash, SRAM and E2PROM memories from Samsung, Cypress and Microchip, respectively. A custom ASIC processor by SMaL completes the silicon content for the Eyeplate.

With five ICs and 52 other electronic parts, bill-of-materials complexity comes in at a fraction of that for high-end digital camera contemporaries (which may have 20 chips and 500-plus components). Total estimated BOM for the Eyeplate, inclusive of plastic optics, battery and other mechanical components, is below $40.

The plummeting cost structures in electronic imaging temper any disappointment with the current low-resolution sensors. Improvements in pixel efficiency will bring further advances in thin but high-quality digital cameras.

DAVID CAREY IS CEO OF PORTELLIGENT (AUSTIN, TEXAS; WWW.PORTELLIGENT.COM), WHICH DOES TEARDOWN REPORTS ON PORTABLE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS.

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