World's largest CMOS sensor unveiled

Canon said it has developed the world’s largest CMOS image sensor, which it hinted will be used to develop HD video enabled digital SLR cameras able to capture filmed action in one-half the brightness of a moonlit night.

The photography journal, BJP said that a statement released by Canon this morning had announced the chip measures 205x205mm. This is around 40 times the size of the full-frame sensor it uses in its EOS 1Ds Mk III and EOS 5D Mark II cameras, and is claimed to be among the largest chips that can be produced from a 12-inch (300mm) wafer.

In its statement the company said: “Because its expanded size enables greater light-gathering capability, the sensor is capable of capturing images in one one-hundredth the amount of light required by a professional-model digital SLR camera.

“In the past, enlarging the size of the sensor resulted in an increase in the amount of time required between the receiving and transmission of data signals, which posed a challenge to achieving high-speed readout.

“Because the increased size of the new CMOS sensor allows more light to be gathered, it enables shooting in low-light environments.

"The sensor makes possible the image capture in one one-hundredth the amount of light required by a 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor, facilitating the shooting of 60 frame-per-second video with a mere 0.3 lux of illumination.”

“Potential applications for the new high-sensitivity CMOS sensor include the video recording of stars in the night sky and nocturnal animal behaviour.

In a seperate announcement BJP also said that Canon Japan has developed the world's largest APS-H CMOS sensor, devlivering a resolution of approximately 120 megapixels.