What is an OLED display?

An OLED display uses a relatively new technology called OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes). OLED displays are brighter, more efficient, thinner and feature better refresh rates and contrast than other display technologies.

OLEDs are made by placing thin films of organic (carbon based) materials between two electrodes. When an electrical current is applied, a bright light is emitted. Since the OLED materials emit light, a backlight is not required (unlike LCDs).

OLEDs for digital cameras

OLED-equipped cameras are offered by some of the biggest names in the industry. OLEDs’ major advantages seem to be especially beneficial for digital cameras - a wide color scheme, superior contrast, high refresh rates and more.

OLEDs are mostly used in electronic viewfinders (EVF) - where tiny OLED microdisplays are used as near-eye displays. In the past camera makers also adopted OLEDs as the larger (around 3-inch) main display for the camera, but in recent years most camera makers reverted back to LCD displays as OLED displays in this size range are not in standard production.

OLED cameras on the market

Click here to view our list of digital cameras with OLED displays

Latest OLED digital camera news

Samsung announces two new digital cameras with AMOLED displays

Samsung announced two new cameras today, and both of them has the same display: 3" VGA AMOLED (with PenTile). The NX20 is Samsung's flagship interchangeable lens camera. It has 20.3 mp APS-C CMOS sensor, has a built-in SVGA EVF, Wi-Fi, Full-HD video and the ISO range is up to 12,800.

The second camera, the NX210 is a minor upgrade to the NX200: it adds Wi-Fi and a tweaked image sensor. Other features stay the same - a 20.3 mp sensor, Full-HD videos and the same AMOLED display.


Read the full story Posted: Apr 19,2012

eMagin reports Q4 2011 results: revenues of $8 million and a net income of $1.2 million

eMagin reported their financial results for Q4 2011. Revenues were $8 million and net income was $1.2 million. In 2011 the company had generated revenues of $29.9 million (down from $30.5 million in 2010) and a net profit of $5 million. The company now has about $14.3 million in cash and investments.

An eMagin OLED microdisplayAn eMagin OLED microdisplay

eMagin also reported that they expect volume orders for their new digital VGA OLED microdisplay in the second half of 2012. They are developing a commercial display produce for the electronic viewfinder (EVF) market - and have already began to supply panels for a high end electronic viewfinder. eMagin also says they expect to receive funding from the US military to develop high-brightness color OLED displays that will not use color filters (which are used in eMagin's current microdisplays).

Read the full story Posted: Mar 15,2012

Sony's TX200V AMOLED camera now up for pre-order for $499.99

Sony's TX200V can now be pre-ordered for $499.99 over at Amazon. There's no official release date yet, but it should be in March. The TX200V is a waterproof and dustproof digital camera with a 18mp sensor, 5X optical zoom and a 3.3" touch AMOLED display. It has a clean glass-covered front design. The TX200V can capture Full-HD videos (and take 13mp stills while doing so) and has a built-in GPS.

Read the full story Posted: Feb 01,2012

DisplaySearch: 2011 AMOLED revenue up 169% to $3.36 billion

DisplaySearch estimates that AMOLED revenue in 2011 reached $3.36 billion on 90 million units. Revenue grew by 169% (from $1.25 in 2010) and unit shipments grew 97%. Revenue grew faster then units because the average smartphone display is getting larger. According to DisplaySearch, AMOLED share of the small/medium display market is now 12% (up 6% in 2010).

These numbers are actually lower than what DisplaySearch estimated back in August 2011. Back then they said unit shipments will be 128 million and revenue will reach $4 billion.

Read the full story Posted: Jan 06,2012

Sony announces a new 720p OLED microdisplay

Update: it turns out that the ECX332A is the same microdisplay used in Sony's HMZ-T1 HMD...

Sony released a new OLED microdisplay today, the 0.7" ECX332A which offers 1280x720 (720p) resolution. This microdisplay is aimed towards electronic viewfinder (EVF) applications and offers 97% NSTC color gamut, 0.01ms response time and 200 cd/m2 brightness. The ECX332A employs the same white OLED and color-filters architecture as Sony's 0.5" XGA ECX331A (the one used in the A77 and A65 DSLRs and the NEX-7 and NEX-5N mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras).

Read the full story Posted: Nov 04,2011

Samsung launches the 7.7" Super AMOLED tablet and the 5.3" HD Super AMOLED phone

Samsung launched three OLED products today, two of which are very exciting. The first is the Galaxy Tab 7.7, which has the world's largest mass-production OLED display at 7.7" (1280x800). It's a Super AMOLED Plus display. Other include Android v3.2, Dual-core 1.4Ghz processor, HSPA+ radio, 16GB to 64GB internal storage and a microSD slot, Wi-Fi, GPS and two cameras (3MP and 2MP).

The second exciting product is the Galaxy Note, a 5.3" Super AMOLED phone, offering the same resolution as the Tab - 1280x800. Samsung is using PenTile here. They are not using the Super AMOLED HD brand we thought they'd use, istead they simply call it a HD Super AMOLED display. It seems that Samsung will use Super AMOLED for PenTile displays and Super AMOLED Plus for non-pentile display, regardless of pixel density.

Read the full story Posted: Sep 01,2011