Canon reveals new industrial cameras that can see in the dark, in illumination less than 0.0005 lux!
(Image credit: Canon)
Think your camera has good ISO performance? Well, there's good and there's really good – and Canon has announced two new cameras that definitely fall into the latter category, with astonishing 4.5 million ISO performance.
The Canon ML-100 and Canon ML-105 are a pair of new multipurpose modular cameras, designed for industry use where capturing video in incredibly low light conditions is crucial.
To this end, both cameras can capture color full-color 1080p video with illumination of less than 0.0005 lux (at maximum 75 dB gain setting), which is equivalent to a sensitivity in excess of ISO4,500,000.
These aren't the kinds of cameras intended for vlogging or videography, though; with their ability to record color low-light images, these machine vision cameras are employed in industrial system design where seeing color images during day and night is paramount.
Both the Canon ML-100 and ML-105 feature next-generation 19um full-frame CMOS sensors. And while not designed for consumer use, you can be sure that all the extensive sensor research – such as the recent Canon 250MP sensor – feeds back into the manufacturer's development of more mainstream bodies.
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Canon ML-105 with EF mount(Image credit: Canon)
Canon ML-100 with M58 mount(Image credit: Canon)
(Image credit: Canon)
(Image credit: Canon)
Canon ML-105 rear(Image credit: Canon)
Canon ML-100 rear(Image credit: Canon)
Indeed, earlier this year Canon won an Emmy Award for its 4 million ISO camera – another multifunction system, the Canon ME20F-SH – so these advancements in niche industry cameras definitely informs the broader technology that we enjoy in other cameras (maybe one day Canon will give us a camera to rival the Nikon D6, which has a sensitivity of ISO 3.28 million!).
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The Canon ML-100 possesses a CoaXpress terminal, delivering 12-bit RAW video at up to 73fps, with 2.74 million pixels of maximum video output and Region of Interest support – which can push the frame-rate to 164fps at 720p.
The ML-105 camera, meanwhile, has a 3G / HD-SDI terminal for standard video environments. It can output YCC 4:2:2 10-bit output in 1080p resolution at 60fps, powered by Canon's Digic DV4 image processor.
Both cameras can be obtained with either a Canon EF or M58 mount. The Canon ML-100 with M58 mount will be available at the end of December, while the EF version and both Canon ML-105 options will be available in April 2021.
James has 22 years experience as a journalist, serving as editor of Digital Camera World for 6 of them. He started working in the photography industry in 2014, product testing and shooting ad campaigns for Olympus, as well as clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal. An Olympus / OM System, Canon and Hasselblad shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and he loves instant cameras, too.
