Canon Introduces Security Camera with Ability to Capture Color Video in Pitch Black Darkness
Canon has recently introduced the MS-500, a unique camera model that is considered to be one of the most sensitive non-infrared cameras ever created. It incorporates a 1-inch SPAD sensor with the highest resolution to date (3.2 megapixels) and features an interchangeable lens mount, enabling high-quality color photography even in extremely low light conditions of 0.001 lux, which is darker than a moonless sky. Canon claims that this camera offers exceptional performance in low-light environments.
The MS-500 uses Canon’s B4 mount to support its broadcast zoom lenses, and costs more than $25,000 for the body alone. It is designed to operate “in areas with a very high level of security, such as seaports, public infrastructures and national borders,” the company said. When married to Canon’s ultra-telephoto lenses, it can capture “clear color video of subjects several miles away, even at night.” It also uses special image profiles to reduce noise caused by atmospheric disturbances over long distances.
So why should you care about a $25,000+ security camera? The answer lies in that SPAD sensor, which promises future consumer and professional photography. It uses a technique called photo-computing, which tracks light particles entering a pixel, magnifies them a million times, and converts them into a digital signal. Every photon is counted, eliminating any kind of noise — “a key advantage of SPAD sensors,” Canon noted.
