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, Canon and Hasselblad shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes.
