Atomos Abandons Its Global Shutter Image Sensor Project
Atomos has abandoned its image sensor development project, the company’s COO Peter Barber told PetaPixel today at NAB 2025.
In October 2022, Atomos announced that it had successfully developed a new 8K image sensor. A month later, the company said that its 8K sensor would be called “Sapphire F8,” and shoot 8K video at up to 60 frames per second. The global shutter sensor promised phase-detect autofocus and excellent thermal performance.
Atomos’ then-CEO Trevor Elbourne told PetaPixel in November 2022 that the 17×9 sensor (8,192 by 4,320 pixels) could also record 4K video at up 240 frames per second and Full HD footage 360 FPS. Elbourne promised 15 stops of dynamic range and HDR recording using line-by-line dual exposure technology. Further, he said the Sapphire F8 drew only two watts of power during 8K recording, an impressively low power draw.
“Across all the modes, including high-resolution 8K, we maintain full 12-bit ADC resolution across the entire operating range. Often you trade off ADC precision, but we don’t do that. That’s fairly unique,” Elbourne said at the time.
Since then, news has been scarce, and Atomos has essentially not spoken about its image sensor project at all. Atomos has been busy at NAB 2025 in Las Vegas, announcing a wide range of products, but Sapphire has been noticeably absent. Despite having high hopes for its Sapphire image sensor project, Atomos abandoning its efforts to make an image sensor is not altogether shocking.
Beyond numerous corporate changes at Atomos, including Atomos co-founder Jeromy Young returning to the company as its CEO in January 2024 and industry veteran Peter Barber, who told PetaPixel about Atomos abandoning its sensor dreams today, joining the team as its COO and Executive Director, sensor development is very resource intensive. Although it is disappointing to see a promising 8K global shutter sensor project abandoned, it highlights the extreme challenges that face companies trying to make image sensors. Even a relatively straightforward sensor is complicated to design, develop, and make commercially viable. These challenges are amplified when making a global shutter sensor like the Sapphire F8 that makes so many ambitious promises.
Image credits: Atomos
