Sony has been on fire as of lately and has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon. They have pushed the boundaries of a mirrorless camera system with their highly regarded a7, a7R, and a7S, and now seem to be pushing the limits of mobile photography. Yesterday Sony announced the Exmor RS, the world’s first stacked CMOS image sensor. Boasting an impressive 21 effective megapixels as well as 192 autofocus points and 4k video capture, Sony’s new sensor may be a gamechanger in the mobile photography market.
The tiny Exmor RS measures less than 1cm on its longest side
This tiny sensor packs quite a punch, measuring only 0.6cm on its longest end, the Exmor RS records 4K video at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps, and 720p at 120fps. The Exmor RS also features image plane phase detection which utilizes up to 192 autofocus points to track and pinpoint subjects. Finally, Sony rounds off their newest sensor with an HDR function for both video and still capture, enabling the capture of crisp images in difficulty lit environments.
Sony describes the technology behind the world's first stacked CMOS censor in their release:
Rather than the traditional back-illuminated CMOS image sensor's support substrate, the Exmor RS™ uses a chip consisting of signal processing circuits, on top of which is stacked a pixel section consisting of back-illuminated pixels for an original stacked construction.
Sony's newest sensor boasts impressive specs
So what do you think? Will Sony's new sensor technology be a gamechanger in the mobile market? Will we see this type of tech being incorporated into larger camera systems? For more information on the new technology used for this sensor, click over to Sony's official release.
[via Sony]
odd to see this first stacked CMOS on a mobile device vs. an actual camera where pros uses on a regular basis...
Not that odd. WAY more people have cell phones than dedicated cameras. If they can get that censor out to a wider market, showcase it among the masses, that's worth millions in free marketing. Just put the next version in a pro-level camera and market it as something like "Get ready for the next generation pro-level sensor from the same people that brought you to game-changing mobile sensor you've come to love."
Also, by starting with small cell phone sensors they can have something like 10 bad sensors for every APS-C size sensor and still have the same about of "good" sensor area, so really from a technology proving point being able to minimize the amount of the panel thrown out for 1 set of bad pixels is a very good idea.
I think it's wise of them to wait. The RAW files from that camera would only be useable with a Sony RAW converter at launch. If the technology is unproven and people don't buy the camera en masse, the software companies have little reason to code up a converter for that specific camera. Lightroom still doesn't support Sigma Foveon files. Lightroom also took a while to get Fuji's x-trans files right. To this day, this has given Fuji a bad rep for their raw files even though the issues have now been ironed out by now.
IMHO, fix bugs on a tiny phone sensor, get hype for the technology and drop a solid product instead of a science fair project. I also think Sony makes more money selling those phones sensors than they do with their cameras, hence prioritizing the former.
Glad I shoot NIkon !, Love my Sony sensors.
Not all Nikon models use Sony. Some DSLRs use the Toshiba sensor and the 1 series use the Aptinas.