Canon developing world-first ultra-high-sensitivity ILC equipped with SPAD sensor, supporting precise monitoring through clear color image capture ...

[Canon Rumors Guy]

TOKYO, April 3, 2023—Canon Inc. announced today that the company is developing the MS-500, the world’s first1 ultra-high-sensitivity interchangeable-lens camera (ILC) equipped with a 1.0 inch Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) sensor2 featuring the world’s highest pixel count of 3.2 megapixels3. The camera leverages the special characteristics of SPAD sensors to achieve superb low-light performance while also

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[Maximilian]

Will be interesting if and when SPAD could enter consumer ILCs.

 

[Tremotino]

Finally!!!
I'm waiting for years for some real products/applications regarding SPAD sensors.
I can and will wait some more years for purchasing my first, say, 12MP SPAD EOS R camera...
No more noise, no more staked photos, theoretically extrem high dynamic range, at least 16bit but hoping for 20bit or more....

 

[Kit.]

Finally!!!
I'm waiting for years for some real products/applications regarding SPAD sensors.
I can and will wait some more years for purchasing my first, say, 12MP SPAD EOS R camera...
No more noise, no more staked photos, theoretically extrem high dynamic range, at least 16bit but hoping for 20bit or more....

If it's single photon sensor, it has 1bit native DR ("on" or "off"). The rest is computational photography.

 

[EOS 4 Life]

Finally!!!
I'm waiting for years for some real products/applications regarding SPAD sensors.
I can and will wait some more years for purchasing my first, say, 12MP SPAD EOS R camera...
No more noise, no more staked photos, theoretically extrem high dynamic range, at least 16bit but hoping for 20bit or more....

SPAD might just reset the megapixel race.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

As that sensor should capture a lot of light, I wonder why it is so small. 1 inch is a sensor size for smartphones. Is the reason that a long tele range is needed and the camera would become too big and heavy with a full frame or even larger sensor?

 

[EOS 4 Life]

As that sensor should capture a lot of light, I wonder why it is so small. 1 inch is a sensor size for smartphones. Is the reason that a long tele range is needed and the camera would become too big and heavy with a full frame or even larger sensor?

That is a large as Canon could make it with the current technology and Canon is ahead of everyone.

 

[BurningPlatform]

If it's single photon sensor, it has 1bit native DR ("on" or "off"). The rest is computational photography.

Interesting view. As the sensor actually counts photons precisely, I would say that the DR is limited by only by the (statistical) photon noise, the read noise is 0. So DR at pixel level only depends on the number of photons received in each pixel. There may be a limit to how fast a SPAD sensor can count the photons, though, which affects bright light situations.

 

[Kit.]

There may be a limit to how fast a SPAD sensor can count the photons

ΔEΔt ≥ ћ ?

 

[AccipiterQ]

This better have dual-card slots or Canon Is DOOMED.

 

[Del Paso]

This better have dual-card slots or Canon Is *******.

I was waiting for that one!

 

[Dragon]

That should be a money maker for Canon. The camera won't be cheap, but pairing it with broacast lenses makes it very expensive (and profitable) and there are lots of agencies that will happily pay for the capablilty (including some broadcasters).

 

[BurningPlatform]

ΔEΔt ≥ ћ ?

I suppose that is the hard limit. But I would guess that the avalanche effect is not instantaneous and the pulse generated has some width. Canon quotes time resolution 100 ps. I guess someone could calculate what that means in terms of number of photons at various EV levels for certain sized pixels, taking into account the Poisson distribution of arriving photons, but I am too old for that.

 

[davidespinosa]

So if you want to use it for normal photography, you have to put a Bayer filter in front of it that throws away most of the photons.

 

[SnowMiku]

I want an R50 II with the SPAD sensor and all of the R3 features for less then $1000

 

[neuroanatomist]

I want an R50 II with the SPAD sensor and all of the R3 features for less then $1000

Canon are you listening???

 

[Dragon]

Those wishing for a camera with a SPAD sensor maybe don't quite understand what they are wishing for. Historically, avalanche detectors are very sensitive, but they also add their own noise due to stray collisions in the avalanche process. The consequence is that they are very sensitive measuring a small number of photons, but as the photon count increases, so does the noise floor, resulting a very poor S/N at higher illumintion levels. I doubt that this sensor will be significantly different in that respect. Such a sensor is very useful for identification in dark places, but far from ideal in normal illumination situations.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Those wishing for a camera with a SPAD sensor maybe don't quite understand what they are wishing for. Historically, avalanche detectors are very sensitive, but they also add their own noise due to stray collisions in the avalanche process. The consequence is that they are very sensitive measuring a small number of photons, but as the photon count increases, so does the noise floor, resulting a very poor S/N at higher illumintion levels. I doubt that this sensor will be significantly different in that respect. Such a sensor is very useful for identification in dark places, but far from ideal in normal illumination situations.

Don't know. Don't care. Doesn't matter. This is the latest sensor tech. If Canon doesn't release a camera with a high MP SPAD sensor, fast frame rate, octapixel AF, dual matching card slots, IBIS, pixel shift with RAW output, and costing under $2000 then Sony will beat them to it and Canon will be d00med.

 

[ISv]

Canon are you listening???

Yes I do! If he is not going into the hell! Here we are giving such a cameras (for free!) to children in our equity program!

 

[ISv]

Don't know. Don't care. Doesn't matter. This is the latest sensor tech. If Canon doesn't release a camera with a high MP SPAD sensor, fast frame rate, octapixel AF, dual matching card slots, IBIS, pixel shift with RAW output, and costing under $2000 then Sony will beat them to it and Canon will be d00med.

"costing under $2000"?! 1000$ or I'm out!!!!