Canon has developed a whopping 250-megapixel camera sensor creating a world record for resolution in its size bracket.
The new sensor measures 29.2mm (1.15in) by 20.2mm (0.79in) – which is smaller than the sensors found on many 35mm digital cameras and has a resolution of 19,580 x 12,600. Canon claims its new sensor is capable of distinguishing the lettering on the side of an airplane from 18 km away.
APS-H is a sensor size bigger than APS-C but smaller than full-frame and is mainly used on Canon’s legacy EOS-1D line of DSLRs. The sensor has a fast signal readout speed of 1.25 billion pixels a second.
The camera giant also reckons that it shoots video that is up to 30 times sharper than 4K (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) at five frames per second. Videos can be cropped and magnified without sacrificing image resolution and clarity.
“We realized there was a certain amount of demand in the video production and instrumentation fields for even higher pixel counts, which provided us with the impetus to start developing a 250-megapixel sensor,” a Canon spokesman said.
Canon says the new sensor technology could likely be used in specialized surveillance and crime prevention tools, ultra-high-resolution measuring instruments and other industrial equipment and the field of visual expression.
The Japanese camera giant currently offers commercial DSL snappers with up to 50 megapixels and is rumored to have been testing 75-megapixel models over the last two years.
