Toshiba Announces 20MP Sensor For 2013 DSCs

By Wolfgang Gruener
published

Snapshot digital cameras are going to see the next big upgrade in maximum image resolution with the first mass market 20MP CMOS sensors hitting the market in 2013.

Toshiba said that its 20 MP TCM5115CL sensor will become available in volume in August 2013, in indicating that compact digital cameras will jump from an average of 12 to 16 MP resolution to 20MP by the end of next year.

The sensor leverages a pixel size of 1.2 micrometers and is promised to deliver a frame rate of 30 fps at 20 MP, 60 fps at 1080p and 100 fps at 720p. Toshiba said that it intends to capture 30 percent share of the image sensor market by 2015.

Contact Us for News Tips, Corrections and Feedback

Wolfgang Gruener
9 Comments Comment from the forums
  • wannabepro
    Frame Rate is kind of slow..

    That's not a very revolutionary leap either.. It's more evolutionary.

    We should have 50 MP images by now... (Not that we can actually see images that good)
    Reply
  • warezme
    what they should be improving is low light response, higher dynamic range, low noise above 400 ISO and processing algorithms that don't turn images into water color paintings. All this uber Mpxl stuff is useless if the sensors just get smashed closer and closer together causing increased crossover as the ISO increases.
    Reply
  • frenzyvanrafi
    I hope the camera sensor has 61MP, 4K with 60FPS, 1080p has 100FPS, 720p has 150FPS, even 480p has 240FPS :P :D
    Reply
  • wolley74
    i just hope they bring back the viewfinder, hate point and shoot with a passion
    Reply
  • freggo
    wolley74i just hope they bring back the viewfinder, hate point and shoot with a passion
    It's there... called DSLR camera :-)

    As for 50MP to much... depends. I do a lot of aerial Photography and more is definitely better !
    Reply
  • alidan
    wannabeproFrame Rate is kind of slow..That's not a very revolutionary leap either.. It's more evolutionary.We should have 50 MP images by now... (Not that we can actually see images that good)
    ok, frame rate... even higher end slr cameras only get 6-10 frames at max resolution.
    granted its probably not as good as just taking the picture in terms of sharpness, but its progress.

    now the next thing is about 50mp... yea... no...
    what i want is a full resolution 8mp camera for under 500$, as in it takes a 8mp picture, and i need to adjust nothing to get the best quality. i cant explain it, but look at the cellphone that took a 40 something mp picture, at full size, it looked bad, but shrink it to 8mp, and you are looking at a camera better than almost all point and shoots

    i'm more interested in how good of a picture this takes, and how cheap it will be to implement, rather than complaining about the mp size, because really, i don't need more than 8-12mp unless i'm making a poster.

    wolley74i just hope they bring back the viewfinder, hate point and shoot with a passion
    um... yea... get a slr camera than...the view finder was only good because at the time you couldn't see the picture you were taking.

    i believe mid range slr camreas still have viewfinders, i know low end ones moved over to an lcd screen, and high end ones are meant to be hooked up to a laptop and driven that way.
    Reply
  • nukemaster
    Image sensor size over overall MP any day.

    Low light performance is improved with backside illumination.

    I almost always use the view finder(D90), but some times i will swap to live view(just to frame it up because the D90 focus is VERY slow on live view, but near instant the rest of the time.) if I can not get to the view finder.
    Reply
  • bunz_of_steel
    For point and shoots this is great and will certainly be good upgrade. Getting into the higher end DSLR prosumer range 20mb are there however not sure if CMOS sensor tho. But like many of you have mentioned increase Megapixel is kwl, improvement is good but not forgetting that a picture is more than just Megapixels. How the sensor performs in low light, color range etc. Improving the low light performance, lower noise above ISO 400 (TY Warezme!) would be the biggest improvement on most needed!
    Reply
  • kentucky7887
    warezmewhat they should be improving is low light response, higher dynamic range, low noise above 400 ISO and processing algorithms that don't turn images into water color paintings. All this uber Mpxl stuff is useless if the sensors just get smashed closer and closer together causing increased crossover as the ISO increases.
    Yeah but 20MP sounds better in the marketing department.
    Reply