Full HD resolution video comes out to about 2-megapixels per frame. 4K UHD-1 closer to 8.3MP. Even 8K UHD, which hasn’t really hit the mainstream in any way yet, still only scratches the surface at about 33.2MP. Given all that, can you image capturing video at 120MP? Because Canon can, and has… sort of.
Canon’s 120MXS sensor—first introduced at CES in January—is a 120MP APS-H CMOS sensor that can capture “video” at 9.4fps. Of course, 9.4fps isn’t strictly video, but that hasn’t stopped Canon from showing off what this sensor can do in a side-by-side “video” test up top.
The video was published to YouTube earlier today, and it demonstrates this camera’s capability as a security or industrial cam. The ability to capture 120MP at 9.4fps might not make for smooth footage for filmmakers, but it gives you insane digital zoom capabilities if you’re trying to spot imperfections in a small gear mechanism, or identify suspicious subjects in a crowd:
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| Screenshots from video. Click to enlarge. |
According to the video’s description, the sensor features a square pixel arrangement of 2.2µm x 2.2µm, with 122 million effective pixels, and the high-res readout is made possible by multiple signal output channels:
Ultra-high-resolution is made possible by parallel signal processing, which reads signals at high speed from multiple pixels. All pixel progressive reading of 9.4fps is made possible by 28 digital signal output channels. It is available in RGB or with twice the sensitivity, in monochrome
We don’t expect this sensor to pop up in any of Canon’s consumer cameras anytime soon, but it’s an interesting proof of concept… a technological feat that proves the megapixel war is far from over.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)