Capturing An Image

"Some people say, 'I don't need 16 million pixels,' " Zarakov concedes. "But 16 million gives the ability to have a larger reproduction size and more cropping flexibility. Because I have so many pixels, I can crop it out and still have a file with integrity."

Foveon's new chip is ready to go, Zarakov adds, for any company that wants to put a camera around it. Although Foveon does offer a digital camera for its two mega-pixel CMOS sensor, he says the company is looking to partner with other developers to find a house for the 16.8 darling. And he's not limiting the possibilities to just digital camera vendors, but considers the field open to all forms of digital image capture.