Monster camera sensor from Sony!

Sony has announced that they’ve begun commercialization of their newest camera sensor, the Exmor RS IMX230. The new module utilizes a 21-megapixel stacked CMOS sensor which crams all those megapixels into a 1/2.4-inch form factor. Probably the most important feature here is the built-in, 192-point phase-detection AF, which is more commonly found in mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. The 192 AF points will ensure that all photos you take with the sensor will be sharp and blur free, even when tracking fast moving objects.

The new sensor will also be able to shoot real-time video (up to 4K) as well as shoot real-time HDR images. Sony’s new announcement isn’t just good news for the company (we’ll probably see it in their Z4 smartphone next year) – other companies use Sony’s sensors all the time, so it’s not a gigantic stretch of the imagination that we’ll see this sensor in plenty of smartphones in the middle of next year, as it’ll start shipping in April of 2015.