RedShark News
These days, high-end smartphone models
require even greater imaging quality from their cameras. Taken at face value
then, Sony’s claim that its new sensor rivals that of high-performance SLR
cameras takes some beating.
The
technology giant has announced the upcoming release of the IMX586 CMOS imager that
features 48 megapixels (8,000x6,000 pixels), the most of any camera sensor in a
smartphone currently on the market, trumping the 40MP in Huawei’s P20 Pro for
example.
More
than that, Sony has managed to cram the pixels onto a chip just 8mm diagonal resulting
in the possibility it could be fitted into a wider range of smartphone cameras
without causing big design headaches.
The
Japanese firm has been able to keep the size down without cutting down on the
number of pixels by using technology which enables each pixel to use signals
from the four adjacent pixels, which helps create brighter, higher quality
photos.
Generally,
miniaturisation of pixels results in poor light collecting efficiency per
pixel, accompanied by a drop in sensitivity and volume of saturation signal.
However,
Sony says that this product was designed and manufactured with techniques “that
improve light collection efficiency and photoelectric conversion efficiency
over conventional products”, resulting in the smaller pixel size.
The
increased pixel count enables high-definition imaging even on smartphones which
use digital zoom.
In
addition to these advantages, original Sony exposure control technology and
signal processing functionality are built in, “enabling real-time output and a
superior dynamic range four times greater than conventional units,” it states.
Even
scenes with both bright and dark areas can be captured with minimal highlight
blowout or loss of detail in shadows.
It
also promises features like image plane phase-difference AF, and supports 4K
shooting up to 90fps, while HD 1080p recording goes up to 240fps, and 720p
recording can be shot at 480fps.
While
Sony’s own smartphone business has shrunk (sales fell from 33 million units in
2012 to just 14.6 million last year), the firm has managed to beef up its
imaging sensor business – a technology which is becoming as vital as the system
on a chip (SOCs) at the heart of all smartphones - and that includes Apple
which now buys Sony sensors to put in the iPhone.
Last
month it announced it would invest 1 trillion yen ($9 billion) on image sensors
over three years, saying that having a lead in sensors is crucial for massive
emerging technologies like self-driving cars and artificial intelligence.
According
to banking group and analysts Macquarie, Sony already owns half of the global
market for smartphone imaging technology.
Due
to start shipping in the autumn we could expect to see phones housing the
IMX586 on the market from, say Mobile World Congress, next February.
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