Resolution aside, it seems that we are now facing a pursuit of camera manufacturers to achieve ultra-high-megapixels count on their sensors. Meet the MP (MegaPixel) Battle: Canon vs. Sony. 

Sensor: The core of the camera

In the era of digital, the sensor constitutes one of the most crucial parts of the camera. Its design and technology define the camera’s capabilities. Thus, R&D-ing the camera starts from the core, which is its sensor. Camera manufacturers understand that, which results in the acceleration of sensors’ research and development phases. Paralleled to the resolution race (pursuit for 8K), there’s a new MP (MegaPixel) race. Fro now, the magic number is 100MP. Camera manufacturers have already achieved their 8K milestone, so now they’re aiming for 100MP sensors. The main camera manufacturers that fight head to head are Sony and Canon.

Sony – 151MP

Sony has achieved to manufacture a 151MP (Diagonal 66.7 mm) sensor four years ago with its IMX411AQR sensor (was announced in 2018). The sensor was defined as CMOS Image Sensor for Consumer Camera. However, it was limited to still (not video) derived from its low frame-per-second capabilities. However, on March 9, Sony has announced a large format (56.73mm diagonal) global shutter CMOS sensor “IMX661”, which was defined as the “World’s highest pixel count CMOS image sensor equipped with a global shutter (effective pixel count of 127.68MP). This sensor features Sony’s original global shutter pixel technology “Pregius” (=Precision + Global Shutter), which enables the capture of motion distortion-free images. The sampling of the new IMX661 sensor is planned for April 2021 (Read: Sony Announces 128MP Large Format Global Shutter Sensor).

Canon – 250 MP

There’s a rumor circulating about the upcoming EOS R1 to be armed with an 85MP Global Shutter sensor (Read: Rumor: Canon EOS R1 Will be Armed With 85MP Global Shutter CMOS Sensor). However, Canon, which is offering its sensors to the public, has already introduced a mighty 250 MP sensor that is capable of 20K resolution (Read: Canon Introduces a New 19K 250 MP APS-H CMOS Sensor). This new sensor (LI8020SAC-color and LI8020SAM – monochrome) captures images with an ultra-high resolution of 250 megapixels (19,568 x 12,588 resolution) which is approximately 125 times of full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution, and approximately 30 times that of 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels) as claimed by Canon.

Summary

It seems that the war has just switched its zone, from resolution to pixel count. When we’re examining the dry specs, Canon wins. Nevertheless, the ability to implement the sensor inside a camera that is capable of shooting videos (at least 24 FPS) is a valid challenge. On this expertise, Sony has a significant advantage. Nonetheless, we’re going to reveal more and more camera manufacturers that are breaking the glass ceiling of 100 MP pixel count, which will lead to a further increase in resolution (above 10K). Now we need a computer that can ingest all that pixels.