120 megapixels? yes please!

LeVeL

LeVeL

Forum Addict
Joined
Jun 16, 2007
Messages
13,246
http://www.canon.com/news/2010/aug24e.html

Canon successfully develops world's first APS-H-size CMOS image sensor to realize record-high resolution of 120 megapixels


p2010aug24a.jpg

Canon's newly developed CMOS sensor,
featuring approx. 120 megapixels



TOKYO, August 24, 2010?Canon Inc. announced today that it has successfully developed an APS-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.
Click to expand...
 
Later: Canon unveils the first digital camera with a built in hard disk, a massive 2 TB unit capable of holding an incredible 100 pictures!
 
I don't want to see the noise that produces at ISO 102,400! :lol:
 
6mp, 8mp, 10mp, 12mp, 15mp, 18mp, 24mp ... and, now, we suddenly jump to 120mp? I'll believe it when I see it an image that it has produced.
 
Last edited:
How does this compare to the one made by Kodak for Hasselblad, the 60mpx one? Besides the resolution, obviously :p
 
Uh... Kodak's sensor (if it's the KAF sensor you're talking about, here) was ~200 cm sq. APS-H is only ~55cm sq. The Canon sensor has a far greater pixel density.
 
epp_b said:
Uh... Kodak's sensor (if it's the KAF sensor you're talking about, here) was ~200 cm sq. APS-H is only ~55cm sq. The Canon sensor has a far greater pixel density.
Click to expand...

So they're going for pixel density. I wonder how this affects noise levels at high ISO.

Dr_Q said:
I wonder how hot that gets :eek:.
Click to expand...

Probably very hot indeed. Hasselblad cameras have heat-pipes connected from the sensor to the camera's alloy metal body. Canon should use something similar if they decide to put this into production
 
maxtortheone said:
So they're going for pixel density. I wonder how this affects noise levels at high ISO.
Click to expand...
As far as I can understand and guesstimate, there should be a decent amount of noise at really high ISO because the sensor is so dense... right?
 
LeVeL said:
As far as I can understand and guesstimate, there should be a decent amount of noise at really high ISO because the sensor is so dense... right?
Click to expand...

That's also my impression. I always thought higher pixel density was not that good for camera sensors
 
That's also my impression. I always thought higher pixel density was not that good for camera sensors
Click to expand...
Yes. The curves of pixel density and quality are divergent.
 
Those pixels are about the same size as on a 12 megapixel compact camera and we all know how crappy those look. The signal/noise ratio will be a lot larger, but you can't do anything with that anyway, you need a larger surface area for the lens errors to dissipate. The only sort of company capable of creating lenses of that quality at the moment is Nikon, when they do the large format lenses, but those cost about 5 - 10x as much as Schneider or Rodenstock.

This just isn't viable to me, the current form is just right for signal to noise ratio and to keep lens errors in check. 120 MP should be medium format territory. A 120 MP sensor of 6x7cm would have the same pixel pitch as the Nikon D3x.
 
the Interceptor said:
I don't want to see the noise that produces at ISO 102,400! :lol:
Click to expand...

maxtortheone said:
So they're going for pixel density. I wonder how this affects noise levels at high ISO.
Click to expand...

IceBone said:
Those pixels are about the same size as on a 12 megapixel compact camera and we all know how crappy those look. The signal/noise ratio will be a lot larger, but you can't do anything with that anyway, you need a larger surface area for the lens errors to dissipate. The only sort of company capable of creating lenses of that quality at the moment is Nikon, when they do the large format lenses, but those cost about 5 - 10x as much as Schneider or Rodenstock.

This just isn't viable to me, the current form is just right for signal to noise ratio and to keep lens errors in check. 120 MP should be medium format territory. A 120 MP sensor of 6x7cm would have the same pixel pitch as the Nikon D3x.
Click to expand...

Agree with all of these, how the hell is a sensor that small NOT going to product horrible noise even at moderate ISOs much less high ISOs. That's fantastic you get images that are too large to fit on a standard memory card and look awful in anything but bright light. Agreed also this kind of resolution should be reserved for medium format digitals only.

Way to go Canon! :thumbsup:
 
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.
 
Not really a breakthrough. They just took a bunch of compact camera sensors and put them side by side to fill the required area. :p
 
IceBone said:
The only sort of company capable of creating lenses of that quality at the moment is Nikon, when they do the large format lenses, but those cost about 5 - 10x as much as Schneider or Rodenstock.
Click to expand...

Nikon hasn't made an LF lens in almost half a decade. They were excellent lenses, but even the W-series plasmat designs won't pull the detail that a G-claron (cheap, old) or a Schneider XXL Fine Art (expensive, new) will. Nikon never made a "halo" series LF lens like Schneider (XL, XXL, XXLFA) or Rodenstock (APO-S). The 150mm APO-S is considered by many to be the sharpest LF lens of all time. (That said, I'd stack my 150mm G-Claron against it any day.)

But, while we're talking about using LF lenses on sub-35mm sensors, the comparison begins to blur. LF lenses are designed to cover larger areas, rather than reproduce fine detail on tiny pieces of film. You'll find that if used on 35mm film (or a digital sensor of DSLR size) that an LF lens will provide little improvement over a good 35mm lens - indeed, it may actually be less detailed due to the design compromises inherent in covering a large film format.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top