Canon MS-500 – Canon’s first interchangeable lens SPAD sensor digicam
Canon’s been going full-on with the SPAD sensor growth. In Might 2021, they introduced an enormous breakthrough. That they had created a 1-megapixel Single Photon Avalanche Detection (SPAD) sensor. By December, they’d upped it to three.2-megapixels.
In April of this yr, the corporate introduced the event of the Canon MS-500. This was to be the primary digicam to comprise their new sensor. Now, it’s formally been introduced.
Canon MS-500 – What’s so particular about SPAD?
SPAD sensors differ from CMOS sensors in the best way that they accumulate mild. CMOS sensors use electrical indicators to observe the quantity of sunshine hitting every pixel in an analogue style. This introduces noise, which is then made extra apparent within the conversion to digital.
Relating to SPAD sensors, they really rely the variety of photographs hitting them and places out a real digital sign. This implies just about noise-free photographs. It additionally affords the power to see in the dead of night in full color, with out the necessity for infrared mild. Such examples had been launched on the time of the MS-500 growth announcement.
The know-how remains to be in its early days, and I anticipate it’s not that simple to fabricate. Provided that resolutions are at present restricted to lower than a handful of megapixels whereas full-frame CMOS sensors are getting effectively over 60 megapixels, there are clearly some challenges.
Whether or not or not this would be the subsequent huge sensor know-how that replaces CMOS is at present unattainable to say. However, SPAD know-how holds a variety of potential promise.
Not your typical video digicam
Whereas this can be a digicam that clearly shoots video, it’s not your typical video digicam. It has 3G/HD-SDI output, an RJ45 LAN socket and even a Genlock connector for syncing and capturing a number of cameras concurrently.
However you’ll be aware that there’s no HDMI, and there doesn’t seem like a battery socket. As an alternative, we see an uncommon connector that takes in between 12-30V. Presumably, you’ll have the ability to energy this from V-Mount with the precise cable.
Judging by the dimensions of what appears like a bit of rubber cowl subsequent to the RJ45 socket, it saves to a microSD card and never a full-sized SD card. And whereas it’s an interchangeable lens digicam from Canon, it’s not RF mount.
What lenses does it use?
The digicam makes use of a built-in B4 bayonet lens mount. That is an industry-standard mount typically used for two/3-inch broadcast lenses. This permits MS-500 customers to make the most of Canon’s extensive lineup of broadcast lenses.
The “broadcast” moniker of these lenses may by you a bit of bit. It’s not designed for precise broadcast use, actually. It’s primarily meant for surveillance. It wouldn’t shock me, nevertheless, to search out that some Hollywood filmmaker shot some random film sequence or different with it simply to try to flex a bit of as a result of they’ll.
And it could be a little bit of a flex, as you’ll see within the subsequent bit. This ain’t an inexpensive digicam by any means!
Value and Availability
The Canon MS-500 SPAD sensor digicam is available for purchase beginning in September. I don’t anticipate this one will pop up on the likes of B&H or Adorama, however it’s anticipated to have a price ticket of $25,200. And don’t neglect you’ll want a lens, too!
