Camera
Sony’s new 127MP ‘large format’ sensor features a global shutter, but it’s not for consumer cameras
| The color version (left) and black and white version (right) of the IMX661 sensor line. |
Sony has revealed the details of the IMX661, a new 127.68-megapixel ‘large format’ sensor with a global shutter.
Details are scarce on the exact specifications of the sensor, which Sony says has been designed for industrial use in mind, but we do know it measures 56.73mm across, which is only slightly different than the sensor inside Fujifilm’s GFX 100, whose sensor measures 54.78mm diagonally.
The IMX661 features Sony’s Pregius global shutter technology, which enables the ‘capture of motion distortion-free images.’ The sensor is expected to be ‘used in industrial equipment cameras for a wide variety of applications [to] help to solve a variety of complex challenges, thereby contributing to the development of industry.’
Considering how much Sony emphasizes this is an industrial-destined sensor, it’s safe to say we won’t be seeing this in any Sony or Fujifilm camera anytime soon, but it is interesting to see global shutter readout for a sensor this size.
Press release:
Sony to Release Large Format CMOS Image Sensor with Global Shutter Function and Industry’s Highest Effective Pixel Count of 127.68 Megapixels
Delivering Increased Pixel Count, High-Speed Imaging Performance, and Contributing to Solutions in the Field of Advanced, Diversified Industrial Equipment
Tokyo, Japan — Sony Corporation announced today the upcoming release of a large format 56.73mm diagonal CMOS image sensor “IMX661” for industrial equipment with a global shutter function and the industry’s highest*1 effective pixel count of 127.68 megapixels.*2
This product features an increased pixel count that yields an optical size nearly 10 times larger than the common 1.1-type image sensor corresponded to the C mount*3 for industrial equipment. It also features Sony’s original global shutter pixel technology “Pregius™”, which enables capture of motion distortion-free images. Furthermore, the Sony’s original device configuration and interface technology employed enable high-speed image readout at a data rate nearly four times faster*4 than conventional products.
Sony expects that the new sensor, when used in industrial equipment cameras for a wide variety of applications, will help to solve a variety of complex challenges, thereby contributing to the development of industry.
1Among CMOS image sensors equipped with a global shutter. According to Sony research (as of announcement on March 9, 2021).
2Based on image sensor effective pixel specification method.
3The joining mechanism between lens and the camera body.
4Compared to Sony’s “IMX253” 1.1 type, 12.37 effective megapixels CMOS image sensor equipped with a global shutter function.
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