Digital Imaging Core
(usually referred to as DIGIC
, sometimes rendered as DiG!C
) is Canon Inc.
's name for a family of signal processing
and control units
for digital cameras
. DIGIC units are made by Canon and used in its own digital imagery products<!--and others on license? Not that I know of.-->.
Technically, a DIGIC unit is a proprietary application-specific integrated circuit
designed to perform high speed signal processing as well as the control operations incorporated in the respective product. There are several generations of DIGICs distinguished by name appendix.
An open/free firmware for these units has been developed under the CHDK project. It allows users to non-destructively augment the original firmware and write custom programs with new features.
The original DIGIC
was used on the A520
, Canon S1 IS
, and other cameras. It consists of three separate chips: a video processing IC
, an image processing IC and a camera control IC.
is a single chip (unlike the first DIGIC). This led to a more compact design by reducing the parts. DIGIC II also improved upon the original DIGIC by adding a larger buffer and faster processing speed. It uses high-speed DDR-SDRAM
, which improves startup time and AF
speed. Canon claims DIGIC II improves color, sharpness, and automatic white balance with its CMOS
sensor in its digital SLR
camera line. It is used in some advanced consumer-level cameras and many digital SLRs... Read More