Is Canon's "unicorn camera" FINALLY coming next year?

I've reported on just about every rumored Canon camera since the EOS R system launched in 2018 – and just about all of them have come to fruition, in one way or another. However, there's one "unicorn" camera from Canon that has never seen the light of day… but we might finally see it in 2025. 

Dating all the way back to 2019, there have been rumors that a high-resolution EOS R would be launched as a replacement for the 50.6MP Canon EOS 5DS – but the mirrorless version, commonly referred to as the Canon EOS R5S, has long been said to feature a 100MP full frame sensor.

And according to Canon Rumors, that camera may finally see the light of day next year. 

The site describes the camera as "one of those unicorns that we have been promised over and over again over the years and has yet to materialize. That's a full-frame megapixel monster. We know Canon has tested a 102mp sensor over the last couple of years."

Obviously, 100MP is firmly in medium format camera territory, and would see Canon firing shots at the Hasselblad X2D and Fujifilm GFX 100 II. But is a 100MP full frame sensor even possible? 

The answer is yes. In fact, Canon announced a 120MP full frame DSLR back in 2015. 

"Featuring a resolution of approximately 120 effective megapixels, the SLR camera now being developed will incorporate a Canon-developed high-pixel-density CMOS sensor within the current EOS-series platform, which will realize compatibility with the Company’s diverse interchangeable EF lens lineup," wrote the company.

Obviously that camera never materialized, no doubt caught in the transition to the mirrorless era. Nonetheless, Canon has been working on 100MP+ sensors since at least 2015. 

So why, then, has nobody else made a 100MP full frame camera? After all, the Sony A7R V, Leica SL3 and Sigma fp L all max in at the 60MP range. Well, Canon Rumors believes there's uncertainty over whether there's a market for such a camera.

"When it comes to a 100MP camera focused on photography, is there a big enough market that would want such a camera? We honestly think that is all that is holding back a higher-megapixel product coming to market. Will we actually buy it?"

Of course, thanks to the magic of Neural network Image Processing, the Canon EOS R1 and the R5 Mark II are capable of producing 96MP and 180MP images respectively. Perhaps the 2025 unicorn isn't so much a native 100MP sensor, but a camera that can natively upscale everything using this new technology.

Either way, as a Blade Runner fan, I'm very much here for unicorns!

You might be interested in the highest resolution cameras on the market right now, which is mainly dominated by the best Hasselblad cameras and the best Fujifilm cameras.