Sony equips small square camera with full-frame sensor and E-mount

Sony announces a box that is equipped with a twelve-megapixel sensor with an ISO range of 50 to 409,600 and an E-mount. According to the manufacturer, the UMC-S3C is suitable for security applications and professional point-of-view recordings, among other things.

The small camera has no screen or buttons for operation and will have to be connected with a USB cable to a computer for remote control. It is also possible to set up the camera, position it somewhere and then have it recorded.

Sony equips the UMC-S3C with a full-frame sensor that has similar specifications as the chip in the A7S II system camera. It is not known whether it is exactly the same sensor, but the resolution of 12.2 megapixels is the same, as are the light sensitivity and the possibility of 4k film recording. The camera also has the same E-mount, so that existing Sony FE lenses can be used.

The case weighs 400 grams and there is a built-in memory card slot for when the camera is used separately. On a 64GB card, 125 minutes can be recorded in 4k resolution if it is filmed at 30fps and a bitrate of 60Mbit/s. You can also opt for the xavc-s codec with a higher bit rate of 100Mbit/s.

According to Sony, the camera has the option of applying noise reduction to parts of the image. The high light sensitivity also allows the use of fast shutter speeds. This prevents motion blur and makes it easier to read letters and numbers on moving subjects, such as the license plate of a passing car.

Sony will launch the UMC-S3C in the United States in August. Whether the camera will also come to Europe and what the price will be has not yet been announced.