Rumour: Sony to release cameras with a brand new type of sensor next year?
Rumour: Sony to release cameras with a brand new type of sensor next year?
The folk at Sony Alpha Rumors seem to be getting plenty of leaks regarding new sensor technology coming from Sony that may find its way into camera bodies as soon as 2015.
It’s being termed "Active Pixel Color Sampling" (APCS), and in essence the technology involves allowing each pixel on the sensor to sample RGB data individually by means of a moving RGB microlens layer. As the layer slides across the photo pixels (at high speed), each pixel gathers information for the Red, Green and Blue channels as the appropriate portion of the microlens layer moves over it.
In essence, the pixels can either be larger because each pixel can contain all three colors as opposed to having a separate pixel for each channel, or give you better resolution as Sony can now use 1/3 of the number of pixels to produce an image of the same resolution.
The graphs that Sony Alpha Rumors has been able to acquire with regards to this rumor indicate a native ISO of 5120 with a Dynamic Range of about 21.282 EV, which is mind blowing to say the least. It is also reported to be capable of global shutter (meaning the sensors store no charge and simply read how much light hits it at that exact moment) and 2K recording at 16,000 frames per second, but that speed might be more to facilitate the sensor getting three exposures in what is essentially color HDR (as opposed to what we know as dynamic range HDR).
There is still some debate as to whether this sensor appears in Sony’s ILCE series cameras or in a high speed cinema camera of some kind, but as pointed out in a post by No Film School, a sensor operating at these levels would create an incredible amount of data (and heat) so the production model will likely have much tamer specs. Still, such a development would definitely cause a stir in the photography world, and with Sony also helping to produce sensors for other companies, could well change photography as we know it.
Meanwhile, Digicameinfo has reports on the A7II being announced in a matter of days along with a new 70-300 lens.
Here are the rumored A7II specs (translated from Japanese):
- Full-frame 24.3 million pixels Exmor CMOS sensor
- 5-axis internal stabilization mechanism
- 3.0-inch 1.23 million dot LCD monitor that tilts 107 degrees up, and 41 degrees down
- 0.5-inch 2.36 million dot EVF
- ISO range: 100-25600 (expandable down to ISO 50) Video runs from ISO 200-25600
- Shutter speed: 30 seconds -1/8000 seconds
- Buffer size: 270 sheets (EVF), 350 shots (LCD monitor)
- Continuous shooting 2.5 frames / sec. When speed priority continuous shooting 5 frames / sec.
- Video formats: XAVC S, AVCHD, MP4
- Battery: NP-FW50
- Dimensions: 126.9mm x 95.7mm x 59.7mm
- Weight: 599g (including battery and memory stick)
- Vertical position grip: VG-C2EM (sold separately)
- Media Memory Stick PRO Duo / PRO-HG Duo / XC-HG Duo, SD / SDHC / SDXC (UHS-I compatible)
It doesn’t seem like the A7II will vary much from the A7 in terms of resolution or continuous shooting speed, but more in terms of refinements like the addition of support for XAVC S, integrated vibration correction, and changes to the LCD monitor.
The 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G SSM II on the other hand, is supposed to have these specs:
- Nano AR coating
- Improved Dynamic Tracking AF performance
- Dust and moisture resistant design
- 16 lenses in 11 groups
- Filter diameter of 62mm
- Minimum focusing distance of 1.2m
- Maximum magnification of 0.25x
- Total length: 135.5mm
- Weight: 750g
It appears the new lens will be the long awaited successor to the 70-300 f/4.5-5.6, and will feature a new type of lens coating, with a better autofocus module and improved dust and moisture sealing. The minimum focusing distance, filter size and overall construct of the new lens are likely to follow that of the old model closely, but not much is known about the optical system employed at this time. As always, we will continue to monitor these rumors and bring you updates as soon as we hear anything.
Sources: Sony Alpha Rumors, No Film School, Digicame-info