…Canon goes ahead and announces an 120 MP sensor.
I mean, really. Don’t you want a sensor that you can only take three pictures on an 8 GB card? (NOTE: That figure was pulled completely out of my butt and bears no basis in reality. This is commentary, not news, people.) I know I do. Man, I’ll be able to fill up my hard drives nearly ten times as fast as before.
Of course, this is all labwork at the moment. Don’t expect to see this in the new 5D Mk III, whenever that gets announced. But they’ve proved it can be done, and more important, proved that they’re still chasing after bigger and bigger files. Okay, that’s great for some people. Me? Can we start chasing ISO the other way? 50, maybe? 25? I love shooting at midnight, but most of my pictures are at noon.
Here’s the official release from Canon:
Back HomeOKYO, August 24, 2010—Canon Inc. announced today that it has successfully developed anAPS-H-size*1 CMOS image sensor that delivers an image resolution of approximately 120 megapixels (13,280 x 9,184 pixels), the world’s highest level*2 of resolution for its size.
Compared with Canon’s highest-resolution commercial CMOS sensor of the same size, comprising approximately 16.1 million pixels, the newly developed sensor features a pixel count that, at approximately 120 million pixels, is nearly 7.5 times larger and offers a 2.4-fold improvement in resolution.*3
With CMOS sensors, while high-speed readout for high pixel counts is achieved through parallel processing, an increase in parallel-processing signal counts can result in such problems as signal delays and minor deviations in timing. By modifying the method employed to control the readout circuit timing, Canon successfully achieved the high-speed readout of sensor signals. As a result, the new CMOS sensor makes possible a maximum output speed of approximately 9.5 frames per second, supporting the continuous shooting of ultra-high-resolution images.
Canon’s newly developed CMOS sensor also incorporates a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) video output capability. The sensor can output Full HD video from any approximately one-sixtieth-sized section of its total surface area.
Images captured with Canon’s newly developed approximately 120-megapixel CMOS image sensor, even when cropped or digitally magnified, maintain higher levels of definition and clarity than ever before. Additionally, the sensor enables image confirmation across a wide image area, with Full HD video viewing of a select portion of the overall frame.
Through the further development of CMOS image sensors, Canon will break new ground in the world of image expression, targeting new still images that largely surpass those made possible with film, and video movies that capitalize on the unique merits of SLR cameras, namely their high mobility and the expressive power offered through interchangeable lenses.
*1 The imaging area of the newly developed sensor measures approx. 29.2 x 20.2 mm. *2 As of August 20, 2010. Based on a Canon study. *3 Canon’s highest-resolution commercial CMOS sensor, employed in the company’s EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR cameras, is equivalent to the full-frame size of the 35 mm film format and incorporates approximately 21.1 million pixels. In 2007, the company successfully developed an APS-H-size sensor with approximately 50 million pixels.
2 Comments at "Just When You Thought The MP War Was Over"
I couldn’t agree with you more about chasing ISO in reverse.
In the film days we used the low ISO for the pure results that they delivered but it would also enable us to do things creatively ie shoot flash in broad daylight without relying on neutral density filters to achieve the same effect.
+1 for ISO in reverse and
+2 for ISO forward.
I’d gladly give up some megapixels on my 5d2 in exchange for even higher usable ISOs.
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