120 megapixels? yes please!

[hansvonaxion]

If you read it though it says Canon made an APS-H 50mp sensor in 2007; those aren't in any of their cameras yet either. They're just announcing their breakthroughs as they come across them; it isn't necessarily anything they can use. The biggest problem I can see is that the higher the pixel density the larger the minimum aperture you can shoot without risking defraction - i.e. on my 7D there is a risk at any aperture smaller than f/5.6 of diffraction because of the 18mp sensor.

Agree. R&D and bragging rights. etc.

 

[Chambers]

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.

woah, I actually like that idea. You can get some serious stabilized footage with video!

 

[Thomas93]

I'm going to be proved wrong no doubt but doesn't medium format film offer similar sizes like what a 120mp sensor would produce?

 

[IceBone]

Yes, but the size of sensor plays a large part in the composition, DOF, etc...

 

[Dr_Q]

I believe that the largest medium format sensors are about the same size as you'd get when shooting 645. The biggest standard 120 size is 6x9 (not counting 6x17 for panoramic uses). With a decent film scanner working at 4000dpi you can get a scan of over 120MP at home, much more if you get it done elsewhere on a drum scanner. With that said, most modern 35mm lenses will shit on the majority of their medium and large format counterparts.

 

[Ramseus]

With that said, most modern 35mm lenses will shit on the majority of their medium and large format counterparts.

Fuck yeah, technological and engineering progress!

lol @ any assumptions that this was anything but an R&D project for the sake of R&D and bragging. Sounds like the only real difficulty (because it's really just an overgrown compact sensor) was getting the readout even across the frame.

 

[Ramseus]

You thought Canon was being silly with their silly high res little sensor? YOU KNOW NOTHING.

Canon's ultra-large-scale CMOS sensor (left) alongside a 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor


TOKYO, August 31, 2010?Canon Inc. announced today that it has successfully developed the world's largest*1 CMOS image sensor, with a chip size measuring 202 x 205 mm. Because its expanded size enables greater light-gathering capability, the sensor is capable of capturing images in one one-hundredth the amount of light required by a professional-model digital SLR camera.

At 202 x 205 mm, the newly developed CMOS sensor is among the largest chips that can be produced from a 12-inch (300 mm) wafer, and is approximately 40 times the size of Canon's largest commercial CMOS sensor.*2

In the past, enlarging the size of the sensor resulted in an increase in the amount of time required between the receiving and transmission of data signals, which posed a challenge to achieving high-speed readout. Canon, however, solved this problem through an innovative circuit design, making possible the realization of a massive video-compatible CMOS sensor. Additionally, by ensuring the cleanest of cleanroom environments during the production process, the sensor minimizes image imperfections and dust.

Because the increased size of the new CMOS sensor allows more light to be gathered, it enables shooting in low-light environments. The sensor makes possible the image capture in one one-hundredth the amount of light required by a 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor, facilitating the shooting of 60 frame-per-second video with a mere 0.3 lux of illumination.*3

Potential applications for the new high-sensitivity CMOS sensor include the video recording of stars in the night sky and nocturnal animal behavior.

Through the further development of distinctive CMOS image sensors, Canon will break new ground in the world of new image expression, in the area of still images as well as video.

*1 As of August 27, 2010. Based on a Canon study.
*2 The approximately 21.1 megapixel 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor employed in the company's EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR cameras.
*3 Approximately one-half the brightness of a moonlit night.

http://dpreview.com/news/1008/10083101canonlargestsensor.asp

 

[Top Geek]

...the sensor is capable of capturing images in one one-hundredth the amount of light required by a professional-model digital SLR camera.

This is why I hate (crappy) reporters.

Right... professional DSLRs will do ISO 102,400 these days (D3x, 1DIV). So, by that measure, this large sensor can do ISO 129,807,421,463,370,690,000,000,000,000,000,000 :lol:

That's 129 decillion, 807 nonillion, 421 octillion, 463 septillion, 370 sextillion, 690 quintillion

Sure

 

[IceBone]

No, no, no. The sensor has silicon diodes that are 100x the surface area of those in a normal FF DSLR, which means that each pixels gathers 100x more photons, which will bring the light sensitivity at optimal operation up by 6.7 stops. The article didn't say that it was 100 stops better, only 100x, which means basically that at a default setting of ISO 100, this would gather as much light as a DSLR would @ somewhere around ISO 10k. It doesn't however state how much you can wind the ISO up, which I believe can't be that much as it would cause serious overheating issues on a scale of that magnitude. Take Hasselblad for example. At ISO 640 it's already completely useless in terms of noise.

 

[Ramseus]

This is why I hate (crappy) reporters.

When did reporters start writing companies' press releases?

It's a pretty crappy press release for sure, but based on what it does mention you've got 60 fps at 0.3 lux illumination, so take that as 1/60s shutter speed. A sunny day is supposed to be around 100 000 lux. One exposure chart says moonlight is -3EV, bright sunlight is +15EV, so umm... on a sunny day this sensor would need to be shot at 1/15728640 apparently... wut? By my na?ve (lol, accent mark, I'm a douche) calculations, and assuming an f5.6 lens (I have no clue how "fast" LF lenses come *shrug*), this sensor runs at ISO 819 200, and according to their 100x claim that would mean a 35mm sensor would be at ISO 12800. I bet if you had two they would make a mean panini press!

Then again, my math is just grasping at straws, they didn't really give enough information. It's sort of like Leica's "lol our f0.95 gathers more light than the human eye!" Yes, yes it does, Leica, the human eye is a mere f3.2 lens (apparently), but aperture alone is meaningless without sensor/receptor sensitivity levels.

 

[Top Geek]

Fair enough. You can't say it wasn't misleading, though.

 

[Cold Fussion]

This is why I hate (crappy) reporters.

Right... professional DSLRs will do ISO 102,400 these days (D3x, 1DIV).

No they don't. They do iso 12800 and then push it 3 stops in post.

Fair enough. You can't say it wasn't misleading, though.

Not really, we had this discussion last night in IRC and no one misunderstood in the way you did.