When Canon went out to test its latest camera, it captured ships that were ten miles away – in the dark. The new Canon MS-510 may not be the sort of camera that photographers will add to their kit – as a high-end security camera – but the tech that enables imaging from extreme distances and in extreme darkness is intriguing for any camera nerd (like myself).
The Canon MS-510 uses what’s called a SPAD sensor – a Single Photo Avalanche Diode sensor. The typical CMOS sensors found inside mirrorless cameras and compact cameras record the amount of light that hits each pixel. But SPAD sensors actually count each individual photon, or light particle.
