As pure resolution and dynamic range specs hit their upper limit of usability, it's natural for camera manufacturers to put their energy into other arenas, and Canon Watch reports that Canon is focusing that energy on designing a global shutter sensor that we might see in mirrorless models in the near future.
As one of the standout features of the RED Komodo is the global shutter, it makes sense that we see competitors also investigate bringing this feature to the affordable cinema space.
What is a global shutter, you might ask?
We've written about it a bunch over the years, but the simplest explanation is that a rolling shutter exposes the top part of the image first, then one line at a time goes through and exposes each line of pixels sequentially. It "rolls" through them. This is fine if there isn't much movement, but with a lot of movement, objects can sometimes be in different places by the time the exposure gets to them, causing rolling shutter artifacts.
Global shutters expose everything all at once. This is preferable, especially for action and sports, since it prevents artifacts with fast-moving objects.
Rumors are suggesting that this might be available in an upcoming camera that's been labeled the EOS R1, perhaps sometimes next year.
Featuring 120 dB of dynamic range (20 stops!), 120fps, and 21 megapixels, it's possible this could be a 4K 120fps global shutter sports behemoth.
Of course, let's not forget that this is only a rumor. For instance, there were rumors of a DSLR with global shutter from Canon a full four years ago.
With Komodo launching with a global shutter and a price point shouldering in on Canon's territory, it seems increasingly likely that it could happen... and that Canon should be doing something to compete in the global shutter market.
What do you think? Will it happen?
