IN PRAISE OF CCD SENSORS

In Praise of CCD Colours: Why Old Sensors Still Feel Alive

There is something about photographs taken with the LUMIX LX5 that keeps pulling me back. On paper, it is an old camera. Small sensor. Limited dynamic range by today’s standards. Slower. Less forgiving. And yet, when I look at images made with its CCD sensor, I feel something that many modern cameras struggle to give me: character.

This photograph is a good example.

The colours are gentle but confident. Skin tones feel warm without being exaggerated. The straw hats glow with a soft, organic yellow. Reds are lively but not aggressive. Nothing feels overly sharp or clinically perfect. The image breathes.

That is the quiet magic of CCD.

CCD vs Modern Sensors: Not Better, Just Different

Modern cameras—especially smartphones and mirrorless systems—use CMOS sensors paired with powerful image processing. They are incredible tools:

• Higher resolution

• Wider dynamic range

• Better low-light performance

• Faster autofocus

• Computational photography doing heavy lifting behind the scenes

They aim for technical perfection.

CCD sensors, like the one in the LX5, come from a different philosophy. They prioritise tonal continuity over raw performance. The way CCD handles light often results in:

• Smoother tonal transitions

• More natural colour separation

• A subtle “film-like” roll-off in highlights

• Colours that feel interpreted, not optimised

CCD doesn’t shout. It whispers.

Colour That Feels Human

What I love most about CCD colours is how human they feel.

In this image, the scene is simple: two people exchanging something, framed by urban architecture. But the colours elevate the moment. The pink dress doesn’t dominate the frame—it complements it. The building behind them feels structured but not cold. Greens remain calm, not neon.

Modern sensors often push colours toward clarity and contrast. Blues get bluer. Greens get greener. Skin tones are corrected, smoothed, and standardised. The result is clean—but sometimes emotionally flat.

CCD colours feel slightly imperfect, and that imperfection is exactly what makes them memorable.

Less Dynamic Range, More Discipline

CCD sensors don’t forgive sloppy exposure. Highlights clip faster. Shadows demand attention. But this limitation forces a different way of shooting:

• You pay more attention to light

• You slow down

• You accept contrast instead of fighting it

Ironically, this restraint often produces images with more soul.

Modern sensors give us safety nets. CCD asks us to commit.

Why Old Cameras Still Matter

This is not nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. It is about intentional tools. Just as some photographers still shoot film, some of us return to CCD cameras not because they are better—but because they make us see differently.

The LX5 doesn’t try to impress.

It simply renders what it sees with honesty and grace.

In a world of ever-increasing megapixels and AI-driven enhancements, CCD images remind me that photography is not a race. It is a conversation between light, sensor, and photographer.

Sometimes, older voices still have the most interesting things to say.

And sometimes, the colours that linger longest are the ones that don’t try too hard to be perfect.