Atomos Sapphire F8 is a new full-frame global shutter image sensor developed by the Australian company that can record up to 8K 60fps, 4K 240fps, or 2K 360fps.
The sensor is also supposed to have a good power efficiency with only 2W power draw in 8K capture mode. Atomos is currently discussing with camera manufacturers about using the sensor in their upcoming cameras.
Atomos is now in discussion with several camera manufacturers about using the sensor in their upcoming cameras. The company will not manufacture the sensor in-house, but they claim to have partnered with a sensor production facility, so they are ready to start the manufacturing process of the sensor.
Atomos Sapphire F8 sensor specs
Sapphire F8 is a full-frame 17:9 aspect ratio sensor with DCI 8K resolution (8192 x 4320 pixels) and it features global shutter technology. The sensor can shoot uncropped 8K at up to 60 frames per second, 4K at up to 240fps, or 2K (1080p) at up to 360fps.
The Atomos CEO Trevor Elbourne claims that the sensor has 15-stops of dynamic range and it is capable of shooting HDR video using line-by-line dual exposure (capturing both short and long exposures of alternate lines to produce HDR images). Atomos further claims the sensor maintains full 12-bit ADC resolution across all recording modes.
Interestingly, the sensor is designed to be very power efficient. Elbourne claims it only has a power draw of 2W in the 8K capture mode. Low power draw usually comes hand in hand with reduced heat generation, so it would be interesting to see how the sensor compares in terms of thermal dynamics. It could theoretically mean smaller camera bodies without the need for active cooling.
The better power efficiency of the image sensor also means that camera manufacturers can equip their cameras with a more powerful image processor.
Furthermore, Atomos claims in the press release that “8K content has been lagging because, outside of big camera makers such as Sony, owning 8K sensor technology is extremely rare.” There are currently quite a few cameras that already record 8K or higher resolution, some of which are even relatively affordable – Canon R5, Canon R5 C, Sony a1, Sony a7R V, Fujifilm X-H2 (CineD review here), Blackmagic URSA 12K, RED cameras.
