Last Updated on 03/13/2020 by Mark Beckenbach
Surprisingly, a powerful 150 Megapixel EOS R is not as crazy as you think.
Canon is undoubtedly the flavor of the month right now and for good reasons instead of bad ones, which makes a nice change. We are all still trying to compose ourselves after the development announcement of the Canon EOS R5, but hot on the heels of that fantastic news come murmurings of a possible 150 Megapixel EOS R camera. What the what? Let’s talk about this possible 150 Megapixel camera, and if it would even be likely, after the break.
A recent post on Canon Rumors shed some light on what would be one of the highest megapixel cameras to date. According to Canon Rumors, they heard of a possible 150 Megapixel EOS R camera before, but they decided not to share the info as they thought it was just too crazy. Now, another source (not one of theirs) has come forward with the same information. Canon Rumors still thinks the report is a little insane, but they wanted to share it anyway.
The idea of a 150 Megapixel EOS R isn’t as crazy as you might think. For the longest time, Canon was touting a 120 megapixel APS-H sensor. In fact, they showed it off a few times with image samples, so we all know that Canon has the ability and know-how when it comes to creating megapixel dense sensors.
For a while, Canon was even toying with jumping into the Medium Format game before they killed off the idea. Canon believed there was still plenty of room for the development of larger Full-Frame sensors. Now, we find ourselves with rumblings of a huge 150 Megapixel sensor, which would eclipse the 102MP sensor found in the Fujifilm GFX 100 and would match the one found in the Phase One IQ4 (a $51,990 camera) in terms of Megapixels.
Is it likely that we will see a 150 Megapixel EOS R in the near future? I wouldn’t hold my breath. It has taken two years for Canon to announce the R5. Is there a chance we may see a 150 Megapixel EOS R at some point? Quite possibly. Canon already has the ability to make large sensors, so there is always a chance. And with technology advancing as rapidly as it is, we may well see something like this in a Canon camera down the line.
I have a feeling that the news about Canon and 150 Megapixels could be something to do with sensor-shift technology. The alleged 45 Megapixel sensor in the EOS R5 will have IBIS in support, and with in-body image stabilization comes the ability to produce high-res images thanks to sensor shifting. That’s just a hunch, though. What do you think Canon may have in the works? Would you want to shoot with a 150 Megapixel EOS R? Is your computer crying just thinking about dealing with those files? Let us know in the comment section below.