EOS magazine news

Canon has developed a CMOS sensor equipped with a global shutter function. This exposes all of the sensor's pixels at the same time, enabling the capture of distortion-free images even when shooting fast-moving objects. Employing a new signal-readout drive system and new pixel structure that significantly expands the full well capacity and reduces noise, the sensor contributes to high-image-quality video capture by making possible the realisation of a wide dynamic range. Distortion-free image capture when shooting fast-moving objects Standard CMOS sensors make use of the rolling shutter method, which sequentially exposes the pixels one row at a time. Because rolling shutters can create slight discrepancies in signal-readout timing depending on the location of the pixel, images of fast-moving objects may appear distorted and flash photography may result in the occurrence of the flash band phenomenon, in which the upper and lower portions of images display different levels of br...

A camera prototype equipped with the newly-developed CMOS sensor (shown with an EF 35mm f1.4 USM lens Canon Inc. is developing an APS-H-size (approx. 29.2 x 20.2 mm) CMOS sensor incorporating approximately 250 million pixels (19,580 x 12,600 pixels). This is the world’s highest number of pixels (as of 7 September 2015, based on a Canon survey) for a CMOS sensor smaller than the size of a 35 mm full-frame sensor. When installed in a camera, the newly-developed sensor was able to capture images enabling the distinguishing of lettering on the side of an airplane flying at a distance of approximately 18 km from the shooting location. This image capture employed a combination of optical and digital zooming while distinguishing of image content was realised through the magnification of an approximately 1/40,000th-sized area of the captured image.  With CMOS sensors, increases in pixel counts result in increased signal volume, which can cause such problems as signal dela...

Canon has captured video footage of Yaeyama-hime fireflies flying in darkness, a feat made possible by the high-sensitivity 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor developed by Canon for video capture that was announced in March 2013. The high-sensitivity, low-noise video-shooting capabilities of the dedicated 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor for Full HD video capture were made possible not only through the integration of the high-performance sensor technologies employed in Canon's digital SLR cameras, but also through the incorporation of new pixel and readout circuitry technologies that reduce noise. Using a camera prototype equipped with the CMOS sensor Canon, in cooperation with Zero Corporation succeeded in capturing video of the Yaeyama-hime fireflies that inhabit Japan's Ishigaki Island, located off the northeastern coast of Taiwan. No artificial lighting was used during shooting, which took place after sunset amid the island's mountains. Despite an exceptiona...

Prototype camera with the new sensor Canon has successfully developed a sensor exclusively for video recording. Delivering high-sensitivity, low-noise imaging performance, the new Canon 35 mm CMOS sensor enables the capture of Full HD video even in exceptionally low-light environments. The sensor features pixels measuring 19 microns square in size – more than 7.5x the surface area of the pixels on the CMOS sensor incorporated in the EOS 1D X and other digital SLR cameras. The sensor's pixels and readout circuitry employ new technologies to reduce noise, which tends to increase as pixel size increases.  Thanks to these technologies, the sensor makes it possible to shoot clearly visible video images even in dimly lit environments with as little as 0.03 lux of illumination (approximately the brightness of a crescent moon) – a level of brightness in which it is difficult for the naked eye to see objects. When recording video of astral bodies, an electron-multiplying CCD, which re...

An ultra-large-scale, ultra-high-sensitivity CMOS sensor developed by Canon has enabled video recording of meteors with an equivalent apparent magnitude of 10. Apparent magnitude is a measure of a star's brightness as seen by an observer on Earth. The brighter the celestial body appears, the lower the value of its apparent magnitude. The darkest star visible to the naked eye has an apparent magnitude of approximately 6. The sensor, with a chip size measuring 202 x 205mm, has the world's largest surface area for a CMOS sensor (as at 12 September 2011). It has been installed in the Schmidt telescope at the University of Tokyo's Kiso Observatory. The ultra-large-scale, ultra-high-sensitivity CMOS sensor is among the largest that can be produced from a 300mm (12-inch) wafer. The sensor is approximately 40 times the size of Canon's largest commercial CMOS sensor – the  21.1 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor used in the EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS 5D Mark II cameras. It...

Canon has developed the world's largest CMOS image sensor, with a chip size measuring 202 x 205 mm. 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. At 202 x 205 mm, the sensor is among the largest chips that can be produced from a 12-inch (300 mm) wafer and is approximately 40 times the size of Canon's largest commercial CMOS sensor. 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. Canon has solved this problem through an innovative circuit design, making possible the realization of a massive video-compatible CMOS sensor. Additionally, by ensuring the cleanest of cleanroom environments during the production process, the sensor minimizes image imperfections ...

Canon has successfully developed an APS-H-size CMOS image sensor that delivers an image resolution of approximately 120 megapixels (13,280 x 9,184 pixels), the world's highest level of resolution for its size (as of 20 August 2010, based on Canon study). The imaging area of the sensor measures approx. 29.2 x 20.2mm.   Compared with Canon's highest-resolution commercial CMOS sensor of the same size, comprising approximately 16.1 million pixels (in the EOS 1d Mark IV), the newly developed sensor features a pixel count that, at approximately 120 million pixels, is nearly 7.5 times larger and offers a 2.4-fold improvement in resolution. With CMOS sensors, while high-speed readout for high pixel counts is achieved through parallel processing, an increase in parallel-processing signal counts can result in such problems as signal delays and minor deviations in timing. By modifying the method employed to control the readout circuit timing, Canon successfully achieved t...