New See-in-the-Dark Camera

Yesterday, Canon announced in a news release that it had developed a prototype sensor and camera that records video in very low light—almost total darkness. The 16:9 aspect ratio CMOS sensor allows the HD video camera to focus with as little as 0.03 lux of illumination!

The pixels in this new video-only, 35mm CMOS sensor are about 7.5 times larger than in the already light-sensitive DSLRs like the EOS-1D X and the Canon 5D Mark III. The prototype is so sensitive it can record faint stars in the Milky Way and a live Geminid meteor shower.

A starry night sky with current CCD technology (on left) compared to new HD (16:9) CMOS sensor (on right).

 Currently, this high-sensitive imaging technology has only been announced for video use. Canon has not revealed when it might ship a video camera with this new imaging technology, but it's planning to show the sensor at a security expo in Japan, starting today. According to a statement in the video demonstration (linked below), this technology is likely to carry over to other imaging sensors, such as those used in high-end DSLR cameras.

Video Demo: Here is an English version of Canon's official news release, and a video demonstration of the new camera's amazing sensitivity.

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