Canon has revealed a brand-new 410MP full-frame sensor that breaks all prior resolution records. In terms of pixels, it has 24,592 × 16,704 pixels or about 24K resolution.
As stated in its worldwide announcement, Canon claims that 24K resolution “enables users to crop any area of a picture captured by this sensor and expand it significantly while maintaining high resolution.” It is 12 times the resolution of 8K and 198 times the resolution of HD.
Shooting those 410MP stills at up to 8 frames per second is achievable with the recently invented back-illuminated stacked sensor’s breakneck 3,280MP p/s readout speed. Choosing a pixel binning function that lowers resolution to 100MP may increase the rate to 24 frames per second.
Even though a trickle-down effect from its technology is possible, this startling and presumably extremely expensive sensor is unlikely ever to reach consumers. Canon has positioned this lens for surveillance, medical, and industrial applications where the ability to heavily crop into extremely detailed images is crucial.
In the era of upscaling, is it still necessary?
We were amazed at Sony’s new 247MP medium-format sensor in 2024, which provides significantly more information than any sensor in a consumer camera. But that’s a lot fewer pixels in a much larger sensor format, and Canon’s recently created wonder has already eclipsed Sony’s sensor.
Furthermore, 61MP is the best-in-class resolution for full-frame cameras that consumers may purchase; the Leica SL3 and Sony A7R V both use this sensor. The readout speed is slower and less detailed because this sensor isn’t layered like Canon’s. Simply put, sensor technology has never been this advanced.
Canon has been pushing the boundaries of camera technology lately. Its new in-camera upscale feature, which can enlarge images by 400%, was something we adored. Both the Canon EOS R5 Mark II and the Canon EOS R1 introduced upscaling, which in the case of the EOS R5 Mark II raises resolution from 45MP to 180MP with remarkable effects.
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