Skip to main content

Canon’s 120MP image and 8K video sensors will eat data at insane levels

canon 120mp dslr camera sensor
Michael Daniel Ho
Canon recently concluded its quinquennial Expo, in Shanghai, China. Besides showcasing existing products, Canon Expo, which made stops last year in New York, Tokyo, and Paris, is one of the few opportunities where the public gets to see some of the technologies Canon is developing – whether it’s facial recognition at Expo 2005, or 4K video at Expo 2010.

For 2015/2016, Canon exhibited a 120-megapixel DSLR. It’s an interesting product considering the EOS 5Ds and 5Ds R had only recently been announced as the highest-resolution full-frame (35mm) format cameras, at 50MP. While impressive, and we don’t think it’ll arrive anytime soon, the camera is actually a complete solution that revolves around the 120MP sensor that was first exhibited in 2010.

Related Videos

At the Shanghai Expo, the only stop that was opened to the general public, attendees were able to see the camera shooting a scene, and then view the images on a large display – allowing them to see the insane amounts of detail captured by the 120MP sensor. There was no announcement or word regarding when the camera might go to market, or what price it could fetch once it does, but we can assume that it’s on the way.

This 120MP DSLR isn’t all that Canon has been touting around the globe either. Another upcoming product being shown off was Canon’s 8K video camera.

If 8K seems like a crazy amount of video resolution, that’s because it is, but it’s the evolution after 4K. As they often do, professionals are starting to test and implement newer technologies into their productions in order to stay ahead of consumer demand. That 4K TV you just bought isn’t obsolete just yet, but there’s already something else in the horizon.

canon_8k_-_h_2015
Canon 8K video camera.

Whether it’s 120MP or 8K Video, if there is one theme we learned from Canon Expo, it is that storage needs to get bigger and cheaper in order to store all that data. RAW files from the 120MP sensor weigh in at a whopping 214.1MB each – a good three to four times the size of what currently available high-resolution cameras from Canon, Nikon, and Sony are producing. The 8K video camera outputs 11TB of data per hour of footage, recorded directly to an SSD. That is almost assuredly more data that your current home computer has on it, maybe even more than all the data stored in your home… for one hour of video. Not even enough for a single feature length film.

While our eyes may get wide at the thought of 120MP images or 8K videos, our wallets start to shrivel considering all the hard drives and SSDs that will be needed in order to enjoy working with such technology. Then again, by the time these technologies become mainstream, larger and cheaper storage should become more attainable – just compare today’s storage media to ones just a few years ago.

Editors' Recommendations

Epson’s new 4K laser projector does HDR10+, 120Hz gaming
Epson Pro Cinema LS12000.

Epson has just dropped its newest flagship 4K laser projector and it boasts some impressive specs that will make it a serious contender for fans of big-screen movies and gaming alike. The Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 4K PRO-UHD Laser Projector (model V11HA47020MB) has been priced at $4,999 and can be purchased at the Epson online store and Magnolia and CEDIA dealers.

Five grand is a lot of money, but when you dig into the LS12000's capabilities, it starts to seem a lot more reasonable, especially as you compare to OLED and QLED TVs with the same features. Using a newly designed laser array light source and a three-chip LCD display engine, the LS12000 boasts 2,700 lumens of brightness and can reproduce 100% of the color in an HDR10 video signal, according to Epson. There's also compatibility with HLG and HDR10+ (though not Dolby Vision), and native support for 120Hz refresh rates, along with a claimed input lag time below 20 milliseconds, all of which will make it a very good gaming companion for both consoles and PCs.

Read more
The Galaxy Tab S8 is selling so well Samsung needs a pause
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra with keyboard.

The Galaxy Tab S8 has been selling so well since its launch alongside the Galaxy S22  at the February Unpacked 2022 event that Samsung is struggling to meet demand. The popularity of the new Android tablets has even led the company to pause pre-orders in the U.S.

According to a report from XDA-Developers, the Galaxy Tab S8 and Tab S8 Ultra are proving to be more popular than expected, to the point that Samsung has paused their pre-orders in the U.S. While the Galaxy Tab S8 Plus is still available on Samsung's website, the vanilla and Ultra variants are unavailable. Samsung isn't taking money for those devices without knowing the supply chain and shipping dates.

Read more
See the very first image (and first selfie!) from James Webb
This “selfie” was created using a specialized pupil imaging lens inside of the NIRCam instrument that was designed to take images of the primary mirror segments instead of images of space. This configuration is not used during scientific operations and is used strictly for engineering and alignment purposes. In this case, the bright segment was pointed at a bright star, while the others aren’t currently in the same alignment. This image gave an early indication of the primary mirror alignment to the instrument.

The James Webb Space Telescope is in its final orbit and has its science instruments turned on, but it'll still be several months before the world's most powerful space telescope is ready to collect science data. That's because the telescope not only needs to reach a stable temperature but also because it needs to go through the careful and complex process of aligning its mirrors. But that doesn't mean there's nothing to see from this brand new telescope -- in fact, NASA has just released both the first image captured by the telescope and even a selfie snapped by one of the telescope's cameras.

The first image might not look like much, but it's an indication that Webb's NIRCam instrument is working to collect light from its target -- a particularly bright star called HD 84406. The 18 points of light in the image represent each of the 18 segments of the telescope's primary mirror, which are gradually being brought into alignment by making nanometer adjustments. "The entire Webb team is ecstatic at how well the first steps of taking images and aligning the telescope are proceeding," said Marcia Rieke, principal investigator for the NIRCam instrument in a statement. "We were so happy to see that light makes its way into NIRCam."

Read more