Impress Watch in Japan just reported another new Sony sensor design, and other outlets have already started postulating about its use in future cameras. But read the details closely and you discover a few interesting bits.
First, it's not a standard format sensor. It's 24.3x12.8mm in size, which makes it slightly wider than APS-C but substantially shorter. The 2160 vertical pixels are exactly double what's needed for 1080P (the horizontal component is almost exactly 4x). It looks like a straight-out video sensor to me. That's confirmed by the other details: 60 fps 14-bit output, 120 fps max speed, and the first target: NHK's Super Hi-Vision format.
That last bit is interesting, because technically the new Sony sensor doesn't generate the vertical resolution needed (4320 pixels). That's why Sony talked about using line doubling in generating the final pixel set, something we haven't seen in a digital camera since the Nikon D1x. Super Hi-Vision is sort of the digital equivalent to Imax, designed for large theatrical presentations with a screen that has a highly involving angle of view (100 degrees).
So why is this important to still digital camera users? Well, it's something I've been harping on for awhile now: video implementations are driving a lot of the Japanese engineering these days, including sensor designs. Almost certainly some of the bandwidth-breaking implications in this new sensor will work their way into still camera sensors, because it'll improve contrast-based AF if nothing else. There's a distraction in trying to up the video side of the coin in all designs that's taking resources away from upping the still capabilities and designs, in my opinion.
To what end? Well, DSLR-enabled video is pretty compromised and about to be eclipsed by prosumer and pro video equipment, much as I predicted some time ago. Both Sony and Panasonic now have large sensor video products, with more coming. Those products blow away the capabilities within DSLRs for one simple reason: the sensor is optimized for video use. In order to get 1920x1080 (1080P) or 1280x720 (720P) out of our DSLR sensors, the cameras do two things: they line skip and they sub-sample within a line. The results are rolling shutters, artifacts, and less than optimal color information. Those dedicated large-sensor video cameras fix all those things. The output from the new Sony NEX-FS100E is noticeably better than any video-enabled DSLR I've seen to date. If I'm serious about video production, why would I compromise by using a DSLR? Plus the FS100E is configured to be a video camera from the get-go.