Sony will come with 150-megapixel sensor for medium-format cameras in 2018
Sony has put the first details online of the IMX411, a cmos sensor with a resolution of 150 megapixels that is fast enough to also film in 4k resolution. The sensor is intended for medium format cameras. Currently, Sony already has 100 and 50 megapixel variants.
The new IMX411 is a BSI sensor, with a backside illuminated structure, where the metal wiring layers lie below the light-sensitive surface. Most Sony sensors already have such a BSI design, but the current medium format sensors do not yet. It is a sensor with a diagonal of 66.7mm and dimensions of 53.7×40.4mm.
Due to the bsi design, the sensor can be read quickly and therefore the IMX411 is able to process all pixels at a speed of 4 fps at a color depth of 14 bit. At a 4k2k resolution and a color depth of 12 bit, 30fps is possible. Medium format cameras that receive the new chip could therefore film in 4k resolution at that speed. An 8k4k resolution is possible at 16fps.
The IMX411 sensor with a resolution of 150 megapixels has the same dimensions as the current IMX211 chip. That sensor is in the PhaseOne XF 100MP medium format camera. The manufacturer may come next year with a new model, which contains the new sensor. Sony has not yet released a medium format camera.
Sony also comes with a new 100-megapixel sensor, the IMX461 with dimensions of 43.8×32.9mm. This is the successor to the IMX161, the 50-megapixel sensor that is currently used in, for example, the Fujifilm GFX 50s and Hasselblad X1D-50c. The new chip has a much higher resolution and is also a bsi-cmos, which enables 4k video. It is not yet known when the new sensors will be available to manufacturers in 2018.
| IMX211 | IMX411 | IMX461 |
| Type 4.2 (66.7mm) | Type 4.2 (66.7mm) | Type 3.4 (55mm) |
| 100 megapixels | 150 megapixels | 100 megapixels |
| 4.6µm | 3.76µm | 3.7µm |
| All-pixel/2.0fps@14bit 4k2k/30fps@12bit |
All-pixel/4.0fps@14bit 4k2k/30fps@12bit 8k4k/16fps@12bit |
All-pixels/6.0fps@14bit 4k2k/30fps@12bit 8k4k/18fps@12bit |
Furthermore, Sony has put some details online of the IMX533, which is a square 1 “sensor with a 9-megapixel resolution. This is also a bsi-cmos and the chip is intended for security cameras and 360-degree cameras. The full resolution of 3000×3000 pixels can be read at 60 fps at a color depth of 12 bits, at 14 bits that is 30 fps. The chip works with electronic image stabilization, which works on the basis of data from a gyroscope.
Application examples for Sony IMX533 sensor