Those of you who read the industry magazines will know a few of this month’s publications are all carrying stories of Canon’s big announcement: the launch of a APS-H-sized, 120-megapixel CMOS sensor (a staggering 13,280 x 9184 pixels). The sensor is the same size as the one we’ve got in the EOS 1D MK IV, but over seven times larger. And before you think slow, Canon claim a 9.5 fps shooting speed.
But the further you dig, the more you realise developing and manufacturing is a world away from selling. One story quite rightly pointed to the fact that two years ago, the very same people (who my dearly departed Scottish-born mother used to refer to as “the wee Japs”), announced a 50-megapixel chip. The thing reportedly made it to medical equipment, but not pro-spec’ DSLRs.
As a footnote to this post, a Canon development engineer once told us (at the German Photokina show), “the current L-series lens range will struggle past 20-megapixels... ” This is the sole reason why we’ve spent the last 12 months acquiring Canon’s newer MKII glass. When the EOS 1Ds MK IV finally arrives, it’s going to be big, beefy and (easily) well over £7K expensive. Our best guess is the still image bit will be an easy enough nut for Canon to crack (if they manage to buffer the huge files), but the now mandatory HD video addition could prove to be slightly more tricky.
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