The camera and smartphone-buying public may have moved beyond it, but that is not to say that the megapixel war is over, not by any margin. Canon has just announced an APS-H camera sensor that fits an astonishing 250 million pixels, setting a world record for the highest number of pixels for a CMOS sensor smaller than 35 mm.
To put that bland numbers into some sort of real-world CSI-type scenario, this sensor is capable of distinguishing the lettering on the side of an airplane flying at a distance of over 11 miles away.
APS-H sensors are bigger than the APS-C sensor but smaller than full-frame. Canon uses this sensor primarily on its EOS-1D range of DSLRs. The new sensor is capable of taking pictures with an incredible 19,580 x 12,600 resolution, shooting video that’s 125 times higher resolution than Full HD and 30 times that of 4K video. Amazingly, it can do all of this and still only measures 29.2 x 20.2mm in size – around four times larger than the sensor on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, but still smaller than a 36mm full-frame sensor used in professional-grade cameras.
Creating such a high-resolution APS-H CMOS sensor isn’t easy, and Canon faced some challenges in reducing signal delays and timing when taking photographs. According to Canon, its sensor is capable of reading 1.25 billion pixels per second due to advancements in circuit miniaturization and advanced signal processes.
But if you are in the process of writing a blank check to the Japanese camera giants right now, we suggest you wait; this new sensor isn’t going to show up in the next 1D anytime soon. For now, Canon is considering its application in specialized surveillance and crime prevention tools, ultra-high-resolution measuring instruments and other industrial equipment, and the field of visual expression.