You want a "full frame" CMOS sensor? Try this for size!

Canon Develops 8" x 8" CMOS Image Sensor (202 x 205mm)!

http://preview.tinyurl.com/343lvow
or:
http://www.photographybay.com/2010/08/31/canon-develops-8-x-8-cmos-image-sensor/


Canon Press Release:

TOKYO, August 31, 2010—Canon Inc. announced today that it has
successfully developed the world’s largest*1 CMOS image sensor, with a
chip size measuring 202 x 205 mm. Because its expanded size enables
greater light-gathering capability, the sensor is capable of capturing
images in one one-hundredth the amount of light required by a
professional-model digital SLR camera.

At 202 x 205 mm, the newly developed CMOS sensor is among the largest
chips that can be produced from a 12-inch (300 mm) wafer, and is
approximately 40 times the size of Canon’s largest commercial CMOS
sensor.*2

In the past, enlarging the size of the sensor resulted in an increase
in the amount of time required between the receiving and transmission
of data signals, which posed a challenge to achieving high-speed
readout. Canon, however, solved this problem through an innovative
circuit design, making possible the realization of a massive
video-compatible CMOS sensor. Additionally, by ensuring the cleanest
of cleanroom environments during the production process, the sensor
minimizes image imperfections and dust.

Because the increased size of the new CMOS sensor allows more light to
be gathered, it enables shooting in low-light environments. The sensor
makes possible the image capture in one one-hundredth the amount of
light required by a 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor, facilitating the
shooting of 60 frame-per-second video with a mere 0.3 lux of
illumination.

Potential applications for the new high-sensitivity CMOS sensor
include the video recording of stars in the night sky and nocturnal
animal behavior.

Through the further development of distinctive CMOS image sensors,
Canon will break new ground in the world of new image expression, in
the area of still images as well as video.


*1 As of August 27, 2010. Based on a Canon study.
*2 The approximately 21.1 megapixel 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor
employed in the company’s EOS-1Ds Mark III and EOS 5D Mark II digital
SLR cameras.
*3 Approximately one-half the brightness of a moonlit night.

 

Must be low. 100 times more sensitive than a 24x36mm sensor,
but only 40 times larger ... probably 8 to 10 MPix. :->

-Wolfgang

 

Less than that - only 1.6Mpix! That's ~150um pixels!
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1032&message=36218804

 

Not with that pixel size.

All telescopes these days are diffraction limited, at
anything from f/1 to f/30 depending on use. Even at
f/30 that would require about a 7 to 10 micron pixel.

Doug McDonald

 

How do you figure that?
The f/0.95 lens puts 16x the light per unit area on the focal plane that
the f/3.8 lens does. So the FF pixels would have to be 16x the area of
the MFT pixels to get the same per-pixel light collecting ability.