Image: Canon Canon has developed a 410MP full-frame sensor, which it says is primarily designed for markets such as surveillance, medicine and industrial applications. Canon doesn't typically disclose details of sensors it plans to use in its cameras prior to those cameras being announced, which is another strong hint that this won't be the basis of the next R-series model.
Still, it gives and insight into where Canon's sensor design and technology has got to.
The 410MP chip is a Stacked CMOS design with some signal processing circuitry built into one of the layers of that stack. This design allows it to read all its pixels at a rate of 3,280 megapixels per second. This is sufficient to let it deliver 24K 'video' at up to eight frames per second.
Alternatively, Canon says a monochrome version of the chip can bin the output of four neighboring pixels to deliver "100MP" video at up to 24 fps. These numbers suggest the company is talking about full-sensor, 'open-gate' 12K footage from the full 3:2 sensor region. Given this is its maximum output rate, it's reasonable to assume it would have a rolling shutter rate not much quicker than 1/24 sec (ie: around 40ms), which wouldn't be optimal as the basis of a cinema camera.
Thiose frame rates suggest a sensor that would be well-suited to machine-vision tasks that prioritize resolution over speed, such as checking detailed circuit boards during production, rather than on high-speed production lines where global shutter's ability to freeze movement might be more valued.
The use of the 3:2, 36x24mm 'full-frame' format means the sensor could be used with the vast range of lenses designed for that format, rather than having to specify something custom or very low-volume, by adopting a larger, medium-format size.
. dpreview.com2025-1-23 17:00
