See3CAM_CU135 is the latest member of the See3CAM family of USB 3.0 camera products launched by e-con. It is based on AR1335 OnSemi Sensor and comes with fixed M12 lens holder. You may wonder why we came up another 13MP 4K USB camera with same form factor even though we already have popular and high-demand product See3CAM_CU130 which is based on AR1820 sensor. Below are the key points driving the release of See3CAM_CU135.
First, let’s look at how the sensors’ parameters stack up against each other,
| Feature | AR1820 | AR1335 |
| Sensor Size | 1/2.3’’ | 1/3.2’’ |
| Pixel Size | 1.25um | 1.1um |
| Dynamic range | 65.8 dB | 69 dB |
| iHDR | Not Supported | Supported |
| SNR | 36.3 dB | 37 dB |
| Responsitivity | 0.62 V/lux-sec | 0.76 V/lux-sec |
From the table above, we can notice that though AR1820 is a big sensor (1/2.3”) with larger pixel size of 1.25um compared to 1.1um of AR1335, the later has a clear advantage when it comes to SNR and responsitivity. This makes AR1335 a clear winner even with a compact 1/3.2” design.
The dynamic range of AR1335 is slightly higher as well which along with the iHDR capability of the sensor, gives a huge edge in high dynamic range imaging. The on-board ISP’s load when it comes to handling 18 Megapixels from AR1820, is naturally higher and hence power consumption and heat dissipation are higher as well when compared to handling 13 Megapixels from AR1335.
Low Light Performance
Taking a closer look at each of the advantages, first is the low light performance. At luminance less than 1 LUX, both the signal quality and colour reproduction is better in AR1335. Below are the images taken at ~0.4 LUX in both AR1820 & AR1335 under same sensor exposure and gain.
Dynamic Range
The Interlaced HDR (iHDR) is an inherent feature of AR1335 sensor where in different lines are exposed at different exposures and then processed by the on board ISP into a single high dynamic image. This feature of this sensor makes it an ideal choice for applications that require imaging scenes with wide dynamic range. Below are the images taken with one such scenario. One can see AR1820 struggling to with saturation at the light source and darkness inside the light box where as AR1335 balances both with ease.
Power Consumption
Owing to less load on ISP, the power consumption also is much lesser. Below is the table comparing current consumption of typical resolutions in both compressed and uncompressed formats.
| Format | Resolution | Frame Rate | Current Consumption (mA) | |
| See3CAM_CU130 | See3CAM_CU135 | |||
| YUY2 | 1920 x 1080 | 30 | 506 | 384 |
| MJPEG | 3840 x 2160 | 30 | 503 | 370 |
All the above mentioned points show a clear advantage for See3CAM_CU135 housing AR1335 as a camera ideal for high resolution imaging over See3CAM_CU130 and now you know why e-con has come up with this new camera.