# CCD

Digicam sensor · 2000s

A 2000s point-and-shoot didn't see like film or a phone. Its small CCD sensor let bright light bloom and bleed, pulled a stripe down from every lamp, fringed edges purple and turned out cool, punchy, slightly-off color. CCD is that sensor, for the digicam look people chase now.

## Controls

### Highlights

- **Bleed** (hero knob, 0 to 100, rests at 50). The hero. How far bright areas bloom out into their surroundings.
- **Threshold** (Knob, 0 to 100, rests at 60). How bright something has to be before it blooms and smears.
- **Smear** (Knob, 0 to 100, rests at 30). The stripe a bright light pulls down its column, top to bottom.
- **Purple fringe** (Knob, 0 to 100, rests at 25). Purple edges where something bright meets something dark.

### Color

- **Color** (Select: Neutral / Cool / Green-magenta / Tungsten). The camera's color. **Neutral**, **Cool** (cyan skies, cool shadows), **Green-magenta** (green shadows, magenta highlights), or **Tungsten** (warm indoor light the camera never corrected).
- **Saturation** (Fader, -100 to +100, rests at +20). From flat to punchy.
- **White balance** (Fader, -100 to +100, rests at 0). Pushes the whole picture cooler or warmer.

### Tone

- **Short range** (Knob, 0 to 100, rests at 45). How short the tonal range is. Higher crushes the shadows and clips the highlights sooner.
- **Black lift** (Knob, 0 to 100, rests at 15). Raises the deepest blacks a little, like a cheap sensor.

### Noise

- **Noise** (Knob, 0 to 100, rests at 30). Fine grain, a new pattern every frame.
- **Color noise** (Knob, 0 to 100, rests at 35). Blotchy color noise in the shadows.

### Camera

- **Sensor** (Select: 2 MP / 3 MP / 5 MP / 8 MP). The sensor size. **2 MP** is softest, **8 MP** is crisp.
- **Sharpening** (Knob, 0 to 100, rests at 35). In-camera sharpening, with the halos it leaves on edges.
- **JPEG** (Knob, 0 to 100, rests at 30). Compression: flat areas settle into blocks and color goes coarse.

### Mix

- **Mix** (Knob, 0 to 100, rests at 100). How much of the CCD look shows over the picture.

### Buttons

- **Shutter** (Pulse button). Press for the shutter: a quick dark blink and a flash of white.

## Presets

- **Daylight 2004**: Bright day on a pocket camera: cool punchy color, skies that blow out and bleed.
- **Night Out**: Party lights that bloom and smear down the frame, chunky color noise, everything a bit too sharp.
- **Tungsten Indoors**: Living-room lamps the camera never corrected: warm, orange skin, soft glow.
- **Pocket 2 MP**: An early two-megapixel camera: soft, crunchy JPEG blocks, blotchy color in the shadows.
- **Clean 8 MP**: A late, good compact: crisp, a gentle bloom and only a hint of fringe.
- **Smear Lights**: Every bright light pulls a stripe down its column, the way a CCD did at night.
- **CCD Daylight**: A bright day on a pocket camera, no flash: cool punchy color and skies that bleed white.
- **Low Battery**: An early two-megapixel camera in a warm room: soft, crunchy JPEG blocks, orange lamps, noisy shadows.