Japanese camera maker Canon has announced a new image sensor that may just beat 4K devices where high resolution is concerned. Canon is one of the world's leading camera brands, and the newly developed CMOS sensor incorporates about 250 megapixels, perhaps the highest number of pixels for such a device. 

The company stated in its official statement that the CMOS sensor has been tested and is able to capture photos that distinguish lettering from a flying plane that's about 18 km away from the shooting area. Canon claims that the 250-megapixel capacity of the CMOS sensor could be the largest in the world.

Prospective buyers of cameras equipped with the new image sensor may worry that the device will turn out to be slow, and shots may be delayed. CMOS sensors increase the resolution of cameras, and this may take a toll on the speed of the devices. Canon, however, claims that despite the huge resolution, speed and performance will not be compromised in the devices.

"The new Canon-developed CMOS sensor, however, despite its exceptionally high pixel count, achieves an ultra-high signal readout speed of 1.25 billion pixels per second," the company stated. Canon added that the feat is made possible by making circuits smaller and by developing advancements that make processing take lesser time.

The company further explained, "Canon applied its sensor technologies cultivated over many years to realize an architecture adapted for miniaturized pixels that deliver high sensitivity, low-noise imaging performance." Canon's new sensor enables capturing of photos that have about 125 times higher resolution than those taken from other devices.

The company is looking into integrating the newly developed technology to security and surveillance devices. Other industrial equipment may have the sensors as well in the future. The new technology has also been reported to take video footages that are thirty times sharper than those of 4K devices.