Binning
The sensitivity of a CMOS sensor or CCD sensor depends, amongst other factors, on the pixels' size. The larger it is, the more light it is able to "capture". From another point of view, smaller pixels are more suitable.
Some CMOS cameras and CCD cameras allow the adjustment of the size of their pixels by software. This method is based on the merging of pixels directly on the chip - called binning. The resolution of the CCD or CMOS sensor decreases accordingly.
Usually, the binning process merges 2x2 or 4x4 pixels. Thus, theoretically the sensitivity increases by 4 and 16 respectively, while the resolution decreases by the same factor. In practice, however, the sensitivity increases 3 to 10 times.
In the case of color cameras, binning does not always lead to satisfying results. Depending on the object's position and color there may be more or fewer jagged edges in the image.
In the context of CCD sensors, binning is quite a complex process and thus the corresponding industrial cameras are expensive. In contrast to this, binning is part of the nature of CMOS sensors. Thus, meanwhile CMOS cameras, which provide a binning feature are available for an amazingly low price. This is especially true for The Imaging Source One4all cameras.
