Canon shows off world's largest CMOS sensor

Canon is and easily recognizable name in the photographic world. The company has been making cameras since the digital camera was a dream in some geeks mind. Canon is big in the camera world, but what some might not know is that the company is also big in the research and development end of the camera market and actively develops new tech.



The latest new tech from Canon comes in the form of what it claims is the world's largest CMOS sensor. The gigantic sensor measures 202 x 205mm. The sensor is so huge that only one is made from each 300mm silicon wafer. The new sensor is 40 times larger than the next largest commercial sensor Canon produces today.

The benefit of that huge size is that the sensor can gather more light than other sensors on the market can today. That means that the sensor is able to take still shots with detail in low light conditions that other cameras would not be able to operate in. Canon also improved the circuitry to allow the sensor to record video at 60 fps with only 0.3 lux of illumination. That is about half the amount of light we see on the typical moonlit night.