Sony's powerhouse 68MP global shutter sensor enters testing phase

Sony has announced that the IMX928, a 68MP global shutter sensor designed for industrial imaging, has entered the sampling phase, meaning it’s now with industry partners for testing within their imaging systems.

Sony revealed the IMX928 earlier this year alongside the IMX927 and IMX929, a trio of global shutter sensors boasting seriously fast maximum frames per second (fps) and high megapixel (MP) counts, designed for industrial imaging tasks such as machine vision and 3D analysis.

It marks Sony's latest forays into global shutter sensor development, which ultimately trickled down to the remarkable Sony A9 III – a 24MP sports camera with a blazing fast maximum continuous shooting speed of 120fps.

According to a LinkedIn post by Sony Semicon (EU), the IMX928 was distributed to Sony clients in February. A recent report by YM Cinema Magazine confirms this distribution, although no companies have been named nor how they plan on using the sensor.

The IMX928 sensor features approximately 8256 x 8256 pixels arranged in a square and measures 31.9mm diagonally. Sony refers to this layout as Type 2.0 sensor format and has previously described it as verging on large format.

However, this is in the context of the quality of images produced by the IMX928 – not its physical dimensions, which are smaller than those of a full-frame (35mm) sensor, which typically measures 43.3mm diagonally.

A global shutter design underpins the IMX928’s ability to shoot a maximum 120fps while practically eliminating distortion. Pixels activate all at once to capture an image, as opposed to a rolling shutter where pixel data is read out line by line.

Rolling shutter sensors typically perform better in low-light conditions thanks to less-complex, noise-reducing circuitry, but significantly increase the chance of introducing image warp when shooting moving subjects.

While certainly an exciting prospect, as yet there’s no indication that any of the major camera brands (including Sony) plan on integrating the IMX928, or the IMX927 or IMX929 sensors, into commercial cameras.

As the IMX928 features a 1:1 aspect ratio, camera manufacturers would need to develop models with mounting systems to accommodate this, or release adapters for existing full frame models.

Still, with Sony being the only company with a consumer global shutter camera on the market, the expertise and development insight will no doubt be useful for the next generation of cameras like the A9 series.

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In related Sony news, the manufacturer has reportedly been working on a 180MP medium format and a 107MP full frame sensor. Although, I have to say 107MP seems ridiculous for full frame models, but you can form your own opinion while reading the article.