Sony announces LYTIA L910, the 50-megapixel sensor with 100 dB dynamic range without frame merging

Sony Semiconductor Solutions has announced the LYTIA L910, a stacked CMOS sensor with approximately 50 effective megapixels in a 1/1.28 inch format (diagonal 12.49 mm). It is the first product in the LYTIA lineup to integrate the LOFIC (Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor) architecture and brings the dynamic range in single exposure to 100 dB.

How LOFIC and TCG-HDR Work

The LOFIC technology addresses a physical limit of traditional CMOS sensors: when the photodiode becomes saturated, excess charge must be dissipated, resulting in a loss of detail in highlights and the typical burn-out on light sources. The LYTIA L910 manages that charge by accumulating it in a lateral capacitor integrated into the pixel structure, expanding the overall saturation capacity and preventing burned-out highlights.

On this architecture sits the Triple Conversion Gain HDR (TCG-HDR): the sensor reads the single exposure at three different levels of conversion gain and combines the readings to build the tonal response at 100 dB. The crucial point is that this all happens in a single frame: no merging of multiple exposures takes place, and consequently, there are no motion artifacts in the scene and no flickering during shots under variable frequency artificial lighting.

In terms of noise, the Ultra High Conversion Gain (UHCG) technology reduces random noise by about 30% compared to the LYTIA 828, Sony's previous reference in the same format, with benefits in low-light scenes.

Operational Specifications and Roadmap

There are two photo acquisition modes: 50 megapixels at 30 fps in full resolution or 12.5 megapixels up to 120 fps for slow-motion applications. On the video side, the sensor supports HDR 4K at 60 fps recording while maintaining high dynamic range and with reduced power consumption.

The official press release from Sony Semiconductor Solutions indicates mass production for summer 2026, without specifying particular devices. Some rumors circulating online, which should be considered with a suitable degree of skepticism, suggest that the L910 may appear in the Vivo X500 Pro Max as a direct successor to the LYTIA 828, which shares the same 1/1.28 inch format.