HDR Imaging with Quanta Image Sensors: Theoretical Limits and Optimal Reconstruction
High dynamic range (HDR) imaging is one of the biggest achievements in modern photography. Traditional solutions to HDR imaging are designed for and applied to CMOS image sensors (CIS). However, the mainstream one-micron CIS cameras today generally have a high read noise and low frame-rate. These, in turn, limit the acquisition speed and quality, making the cameras slow in the HDR mode. In this paper, we propose a new computational photography technique for HDR imaging. Recognizing the limitations of CIS, we use the Quanta Image Sensor (QIS) to trade the spatial-temporal resolution with bit-depth. QIS is a single-photon image sensor that has comparable pixel pitch to CIS but substantially lower dark current and read noise. We provide a complete theoretical characterization of the sensor in the context of HDR imaging, by proving the fundamental limits in the dynamic range that QIS can offer and the trade-offs with noise and speed. In addition, we derive an optimal reconstruction algorithm for single-bit and multi-bit QIS. Our algorithm is theoretically optimal for \emph{all} linear reconstruction schemes based on exposure bracketing. Experimental results confirm the validity of the theory and algorithm, based on synthetic and real QIS data.
Code (0)
등록된 구현이 없습니다.
Similar Papers 제목 키워드 기반
Quanta Diffusion
We present Quanta Diffusion (QuDi), a powerful generative video reconstruction method for single-photon imaging. QuDi is an algorithm supporting the latest Quanta Image Sensors (QIS) and Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (S…
Motion EstimationVideo ReconstructionQuanta Video Restoration
The proliferation of single-photon image sensors has opened the door to a plethora of high-speed and low-light imaging applications. However, data collected by these sensors are often 1-bit or few-bit, and corrupted by n…
Video RestorationDynamic Low-light Imaging with Quanta Image Sensors
Imaging in low light is difficult because the number of photons arriving at the sensor is low. Imaging dynamic scenes in low-light environments is even more difficult because as the scene moves, pixels in adjacent frames…
DenoisingImage ReconstructionDynamic Low-light Imaging with Quanta Image Sensors
Imaging in low light is difficult because the number of photons arriving at the sensor is low. Imaging dynamic scenes in low-light environments is even more difficult because as the scene moves, pixels in adjacent frames…
DenoisingImage ReconstructionQuanta Burst Photography
Single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) are an emerging sensor technology capable of detecting individual incident photons, and capturing their time-of-arrival with high timing precision. While these sensors were limited …