22/06/10Binning is the grouping of camera pixels to increase sensitivity, in exchange for reduced resolution. For example, 2x2 binning combines camera pixels into 2-row by 2-column groups, with one combined intensity value outputted by the camera. Some cameras are capable of further binning ratios, such as 3x3 or 4x4 groupings of pixels.
Figure 1: Binning principle
Combining signals in this way can increase the signal-to-noise ratio, enabling detection of weaker signals, higher image quality, or reduced exposure times. The data output of the camera is also significantly reduced due to the reduced effective pixel count, e.g. by a factor of 4 in 2x2 binning, which can be beneficial for data transmission, processing and storage. However, the effective pixel size of the camera is increased by the binning factor, which can reduce the camera’s detail resolving power for some optical setups[link to pixel size].
