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BetterLight intros 416-megapixel digital camera back
Never one to let a pixel go unused, digital imaging company BetterLight has raised the bar on ridiculously high-resolution cameras yet again, busting out its new top-end, 416-megapixel Super10K-HS model at the big PMA trade show. Like the company's other mega megapixel wonders, the Super10K-HS isn't a digital camera itself, but a so-called "scanning back" that attaches to high-end, large-format cameras for tasks like photographing paintings (as seen above) and other stationary objects. They need to be stationary 'cause shooting a single photo at the full 416-megapixel resolution takes upwards of two minutes, effectively working more like a scanner than a digital camera. Once it's finished, however, you've got a 10,200 x 13,600 pixel image to do as you please with, clocking in at a file size of about 794MB. Anyone remotely considering getting one had better start saving up (or working on a pitch for the boss), with this monster set to demand a hefty $22,995 when it's released at the end of the month.[Via Crave]
DALSA ships 111 megapixel CCD
Don't expect to see one of these in a commercial DSLR anytime soon (especially now that Mamiya has left the game), but a division of DALSA Semiconductor has successfully manufactured and delivered a 111 megapixel image sensor that's only been topped on these pages by the 500 megapixel monster inside Fermilab's Dark Energy Camera. Putting even the highest-resolution bacteria-based cam to shame, the new 4-inch-square CCD features an array of 10,560 x 10,560 pixels, and was developed in conjunction with Semiconductor Technology Associates to aid the U.S. Naval Observatory's Astrometry Department in precisely determining the position and motion of celestial objects. While you probably can't afford to hire DALSA to build another one of these just for you, there's at least one option on the market that will give you the hundred-plus megapixel bragging rights you seek without breaking the bank: Better Light's 144 megapixel E-HS medium format backing, which, while technically only capturing 48 megapixels per color (and taking at least 66 seconds to do so), should still be enough to impress even your EOS 1Ds Mark II-sporting friends.
