Canon has publicly unveiled its astounding 410-megapixel full-frame sensor for the first time. The sensor was showcased at the Shanghai International Photographic Equipment and Digital Imaging Exhibition 2025 (also known as P&I).
How many megapixels?
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Canon first announced its newly developed LI8030SA sensor back in January this year. It’s a 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor with an incredible 410 megapixels (24,592 x 16,704 pixels). This is also the largest number of pixels ever achieved in a 35mm full-frame sensor. Other high pixel count sensors are medium format or larger.
With 410 megapixels, the sensor has a super-high resolution equivalent to 24K. That is 198 times greater than Full HD and nearly 50 times the resolution of 4K. It’s also 12 times greater than 8K. In addition, there are two variants of the sensor in the LI8030SA series. There’s a monochrome version (LI8030SAM) and a color version (LI8030SAC).
Canon’s 410-megapixel sensor features a back-illuminated stacked formation. The pixel segment and signal processing segment are inter-layered with a redesigned circuitry pattern. As a result, the sensor can achieve a super-high readout speed of 3,280 megapixels per second.
Can it shoot video?
This super-high readout speed means the sensor can shoot full-resolution video at 8 frames per second. Additionally, the monochrome version features a “four-pixel binning” function that virtually treats four adjoining pixels as one. When this function is in use, the sensor can capture 100-megapixel video at 24 frames per second. Also, this improves sensitivity and makes it possible to capture brighter images.
What we think
Reading the details of Canon’s new 410-megapixel sensor, many people will be thinking, “When can I get one?” Unfortunately, Canon’s 410-megapixel sensor is still in development, so it’s not available yet. Even when it does finally go into production, it’s also going to be super expensive.
Plus, it’s a specialist-use sensor, most likely aimed at surveying or surveilling uses in industrial and other commercial processes. However, the technological advances made in the development of this sensor may filter down to mainstream cameras. That’s a very exciting prospect.
