Canon announce 120MP digital camera sensor

Those among you who long for the ‘biggest numbers' when buying new hardware will be over the moon to hear that Canon have announced a 120M megapixel camera sensor.

The ‘APS-H' as it will be known can deliver a 13,280 x 9,184 pixel image and the CMOS sensor is so tightly packed that it can capture full HD video via 1:60 of the surface area. 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.

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.

With images this large we would assume that it would be painfully slow between shots, but Canon are claiming a 9.5 frames per second shooting ratio by ‘modifying the method employed to control the readout circuit timing'.

We would not expect to see this sensor incorporating into any mass retail camera body for quite some time, but we expect Canon to release a showcase model complete with several full size images on their site, to get photographers salivating.

KitGuru says: Imagine the panoramic landscape shots with this!

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