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02-01-2013, 10:48 PM   #1
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Fujifilm X100 EXR Processor "reconfigurable processor" an FPGA?

Fujifilm claims that its EXR Processor used in the X100 contains a "reconfigurable processor":



Is this "reconfigurable processor" an FPGA, and what implications does this have?

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02-02-2013, 09:37 AM   #2
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I read it, but being an old guy with a low tech mind, my question is "What this mean?"

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02-02-2013, 10:00 AM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Rupert Quote
I read it, but being an old guy with a low tech mind, my question is "What this mean?"

Regards!
FPGA - Field Programmable Gate Array chips are processor chips that are designed to allow end-users to reconfigure the hardware as required (within limits), using hardware programming language. This is done by reconfiguring logic-blocks within the FPGA to generate the result you want.

That being said, I doubt it's an FPGA, probably just a marketing phrase.
02-02-2013, 10:46 AM - 1 Like   #4
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Thanks! So I might be able to brew coffee with the X100? How handy!

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02-02-2013, 08:45 PM   #5
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The EXR Processor looks like a system on a chip (SoC) containing an FPGA component, given that it consists of several different components on one die. SoCs aren't new in camera equipment--Canon's DIGIC 5 is a SoC containing an ARM core--but is this what the EXR Processor is?

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07-20-2013, 12:08 PM   #6
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Sorry if I'm reviving an old thread, but I've got a feeling that the EXR Processor is something along the lines of a Xilinx Zynq-7000. What do you think? I'd like to see someone experienced with electronics design respond to this thread.

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11-28-2013, 09:00 PM   #7
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After another look at this on this page:
QuoteQuote:
[...]the EXR processor incorporates a reconfigurable processor. This processor that can [sic] dynamically adapt with rewritable circuits gives the EXR processor ample capacity to perform complex correction and processing tasks.
Definitely an FPGA of some sort, likely part of an SoC. From the description, it's probably used to accelerate post-processing operations.

I'm not sure how an FPGA would help in performing these operations. FPGAs are very expensive, so how is this more cost-effective than an additional processor core? How is this better then, say, just using a Snapdragon as the image processor?

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Last edited by bwDraco; 11-28-2013 at 09:07 PM.
11-30-2013, 10:10 AM   #8
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Probably is used for parallel operations involving processing images. It's hard to say exactly what it's used for, since FPGAs can be configured to do nearly anything. Could this be reprogrammed to do something else? Sure. Wouldn't try it though.

For historical perspective, consider what Canon was using back in the day -- ASICs. An FPGA coupled with some ARM cores could easily handle all the things that the old ASICs could do, but all on one die, from one company.
11-30-2013, 10:29 PM   #9
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The more I think about this, the more I see this as a custom-designed SoC, not simply an off-the-shelf part like a Fujitsu Milbeaut image processor.

Here's what I think each of the parts are used for.
  • CPUs: ARM cores (either ARM11 MPCore or Cortex-A5 MPCore) used for basic operations
  • EXR Core: a purpose-built processor core that performs the most basic image processing operations (sensor data decoding, demosiacing, etc.)
  • Reconfigurable processor: an FPGA used to accelerate certain post-processing operations
  • Vector graphics accelerator: a GPU used to accelerate menu and UI rendering
--DragonLord

Last edited by bwDraco; 11-30-2013 at 10:37 PM.
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