Our team of talented engineers are expanding the envelope of image quality testing and frontiers of imaging science.

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Reflective Modular Test Stand Ecosystem

Transmissive Modular Test Stand Ecosystem

Benchtop Test Stand Ecosystem

Collimator Fixture Ecosystem

Charts

News

Boulder image quality lab addresses racial bias in consumer cameras

Posts

Camera Performance Simulator based on Information Theory

See Also

• 2024 Year in Review
• 2023 Year in Review
• 2022 Retrospective

The post 2025 Year In Review appeared first on Imatest.

Imaging scientist Meg Borek walked through the skin tone study she is leading at Imatest, which photographs skin tones across the Monk Skin Tone Scale with a range of consumer cameras and under different lighting, to measure how accurately each camera renders them. The stakes go beyond phone photos and webcam calls: security cameras and medical imaging also depend on representing skin tones correctly.

Read more on 9NEWS

More on Imatest’s skin tone work:

• Equity in Camera Technologies: How Consumer Cameras Perform Across Skin Tones
• Improving Image Equity: Representing diverse skin tones in photographic test charts
• Toward Fair and Accurate Camera Testing: Validation of Skin Tone Test Charts with Real Human Data
• Diverse Skin Tone Face Targets

The post Boulder image quality lab addresses racial bias in consumer cameras appeared first on Imatest.

Software

Hardware

Charts

Conferences / Exhibitions

Solutions

Posts

See Also

• 2023 Year in Review
• 2022 Retrospective

The post 2024 Year In Review appeared first on Imatest.

We are deeply grateful to all Imatest employees, including the talented engineers and imaging scientists, who have contributed to developing the standards, software, charts, and equipment that form the core of our products.

We sincerely thank our global customers for supporting us throughout this journey. We remain committed to enhancing our offerings and empowering you to continue advancing the imaging systems you create.

The post Imatest 20th Anniversary appeared first on Imatest.

Skydio presented this work along with Commercial UAV News at the webinar:

Beyond Drone Camera Specs: Looking past the gimbal and the quality factors to look for

Watch to learn:

• Key user insights that shape the development of the most advanced sensors
• Important image quality factors and performance findings from the latest Imatest study
• New applications and capabilities that are now possible from advanced aerial sensors
• Which sensors set the bar in the industry for performance and functionality

Click here to watch the webinar on demand  (Watch on YouTube)

Click here for the webinar handout

The work was performed in Imatest’s lab in Boulder, Colorado, in late 2023.  

View the post: Exploring Skydio X10: A Comprehensive Look at Image Quality

View the detailed report: Imatest Drone Comparison Report.

Learn more about Imatest Test Lab Services

View Imatest’s Drone / Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Testing Solutions.

The post Test Lab Services Drone Comparison appeared first on Imatest.

New Slanted Edge Based Measurements

• Information Capacity
• Ideal Observer Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNRi)
• Noise Power Spectrum (NPS)
• Noise Equivalent Quanta (NEQ)

Stray Light

• Added ability to normalize by a user-provided value.
• Added ability to have separate masking settings for the reference image.
• Output pixel count above a threshold.
• Switches to median aggregation in reference image normalization.
• Added ability to directly use the image processing mask method.
• Added ability to set the threshold in image processing masking via Otsu’s method.
• Added a minimum source threshold to the image processing method.
• Added other compensation factors for normalization via a reference image.
• Larger summary plots, updates to nomenclature.

Improved Settings & GUI Updates

• Improved Settings
• Imatest Database
• Image Preview Improvements

Arbitrary Charts

• Auto Exposure measurement compliant with VCX Webcam 2023
• Distortion parameter

Flatfield/EMVA 1288

• Adds calculations for row, column, and pixel noise spatial variances to Flatfield interactive and fixed modules based on EMVA 1288 Version 4.0 Linear

Improved SFRreg Detection

Tour Mode

23.2 Release

eSFR ISO 12233 2023 “Slanted Star”

• double the slanted-edge measurement regions.
• Logarithmic wedges with improved frequency distribution.
• 18 color patches similar to the industry standard 24-patch chart.
• New test chart available: Inkjet, Lightboxes, High-precision Film.

Additional linearization options for eSFR ISO & SFRplus

Dynamic Range Postprocessor

• Produces results similar to IEEE P2020 (draft) noise standard. Described in A review of IEEE P2020 noise metrics
• Now supports sensor dynamic range calculations from multi-image exposures from HDR sensors.

MacOS 14 Sonoma Support

Main Window Improvements

Stray Light

• Supports the IEEE-P2020 pre-release flare attenuation calculation. Our next-generation light source, scheduled for late 2023/early 2024, will meet the uniformity requirements for accurate calculation of flare attenuation. Imatest recommends P2020 (draft) normalized stray light calculation with our current Stray Light LED Light Source.
• Ability to normalize with a reference image of a Lambertian diffuser.
• Ability to choose output data transforms including linear, logarithmic, and decibel.
• Ability to subtract off a dark level.
• Ability to have level count summary metrics expressed as a percentage.
• Ability to select an analysis channel including: RGB, Each Channel, Mean, and Luminance.
• Improved visualization of masked pixels in colormapped metric images.
• Now includes the minimum measurable stray light in results.

Test Lab Services

• Customized service that achieves the testing objectives of your organization while working within your budget.
• Trained consultants will spend time with your team to better understand your needs and create a test plan to meet your project goals.
• Our detail-oriented engineers will test your equipment using our hardware, charts, and software to analyze images and interpret results—saving you time and resources.
• Provide consistent, repeatable, and trustworthy results through rigorous testing protocols, allowing you to build a portfolio of reports.

Service Offerings:

• Sensor evaluation
• Camera hardware design
• ISP tuning
• Benchmarking

Sample Reports:

• General Image Quality
• EMVA 1288 Sensor Evaluation
• ISO 8600 Borescope

Conferences

Photonics West 2023

 

Autosens Detroit 2023

New Test Targets

New Equipment

Updated Solutions

The post 2023 Imatest Year in Review appeared first on Imatest.

Norman Koren, founder of Imatest, presented a talk on Information Capacity.

The BTS is equipped with the Imatest Stray Light LED Source.

View this video for a virtual visit (watch on Youtube)

Watch Henry Koren’s interview with Autosens Insights (watch on Youtube)

The post Virtual Visit to Imatest’s Booth at Autosens Brussels 2023 appeared first on Imatest.

The post 2022 Retrospective appeared first on Imatest.

Stray light, also known as flare, is any light that reaches the detector (i.e., the image sensor) other than through the designed optical path. Stray light can be thought of as systematic, scene-dependent optical noise. Depending on the mechanism causing the stray light, it can produce phantom objects within the scene (i.e., ghosts/ghosting), reduce contrast over portions of the image (e.g., veiling glare), and effectively reduce system dynamic range. These factors can adversely affect the application performance of the camera in a wide variety of applications, including automotive, security, machine vision, and consumer electronics, and are addressed in the upcoming IEEE P2020 standard. The Imatest stray light testing setup allows users to measure stray light for imaging systems.

Imatest is very excited to introduce a new comprehensive stray light testing solution. Stray light degrades the performance of camera systems by limiting dynamic range. This new testing solution is one key step forward for Imatest to deliver a complete suite of IEEE P2020 tests.

The Imatest stray light (flare) testing solution consists of a motorized gimbal, which allows for automated rotational positioning of the camera, a light source either collimated or diverging, and the Imatest Stray Light (Flare) Analysis using Version 22.2.  In addition, customers can purchase a blackout/light curtain fixture, the Modular Test Stand, or an optical bench for enhancing the test setup. The full solution will be available for purchase in the Fall of 2022.

While the existing ISO 18844 standard describes a method to measure stray light, it is limited to a measurement of veiling glare using a static setup.  The IEEE P2020 Automotive Image Quality Working Group is developing a new, comprehensive stray light test method that involves capturing images of a bright light source positioned at various angles in and outside the camera field of view.  The Imatest Stray Light (Flare) Analysis is designed to provide support of this method. Users can capture stray light images using the motorized gimbal and a tunable light source. The images can then be imported into Imatest Version 22.2 for analysis. 

In addition to the new stray light software features, Imatest version 22.2 includes Auto Exposure (AE) and Auto White Balance (AWB) measurements in the Color/Tone auto analysis (which allow for tuning and quantification of temporal video performance), stereo image geometry comparison in FocusField, and Enhanced Image Preview.

The post Imatest Releases Stray Light (Flare) Analysis with Upcoming Version 22.2 appeared first on Imatest.