Samsung Shoots Building-Size Photo with its 200MP Smartphone Camera
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Samsung Unveils 64MP Sensor That is the Closest Ever to Human Vision
Samsung has announced that it has created the first-ever "human eye-like" smartphone sensor, the ISOCELL GWB. Featuring RGBW color filter support, Samsung claims it can capture images that are the closest ever to what the human eye sees.
During a webinar, Samsung says it developed this breakthrough sensor in tandem with China-based mobile phone manufacturer Tecno, TechTimes reports. The new 64-megapixel sensor uses an improved color filter pattern that includes white pixels -- red, green, blue, and white (RGBW) -- that it says will allow it to take better photos since it will be able to better capture light and thanks to their inclusion.
The sensor will add a white sub-pixel to the RGB array that will supposedly also make it better in low-light environments for better overall image quality in a wider range of lighting situations. Samsung says this combination of better image quality mixed with the 64-megapixel resolution makes it capable of capturing photos that are the most like how human eyes register sight.
Samsung isn't the first to experiment with RGBW sensors. For example, Oppo revealed its new RGBW sensor during a presentation this past August. In it, Oppo claimed that it was able to capture 60% more light than previous generation sensors while also able to reduce visible noise in photos by 35%. These claims are in line with the benefits Samsung has outlined for its new ISOCELL GWB.
But RGBW sensors go back even further. In 2012, Sony announced a new line of image sensors that would use "RGBW coding" that would allow them to capture more brilliant colors even in extremely bright or low light settings.
"The built-in 'RGBW Coding' function which adds W (White) pixels to the conventional range of RGB (Red-Green-Blue) pixels has realized higher sensitivity, enabling high-quality shooting with low noise even in dark indoor or night settings," Sony said at the time.
"While the addition of W (White) pixels improves sensitivity, it has the problem of degrading image quality. However, Sony's own device technology and signal processing realizes superior sensitivity without hurting image quality. Furthermore, while the individual pixels of the newly developed models are extremely minute at 1.12μm, the incorporation of the “RBGW Coding” function has realized a SN ratio (signal-to-noise ratio) equivalent to that of a unit pixel size of 1.4μm under conventional methods, which in turn has enables the image sensors to achieve a higher resolution at a more compact size."
Samsung will likely create a detailed explanation of what its ISOCELL GWB will offer and how it will work, as the company has made a series of excellent videos in the past for its other sensor features.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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Samsung Shares Details on its New 200MP Smartphone Sensor
Samsung announced the first-even 200-megapixel HP1 smartphone sensor in early September but has followed up that announcement with more detailed information that touts its benefits, including low light performance and incredible detail.
Samsung explains that the benefit of 200-megapixels isn't just that photos are larger, but that detail can be preserved even after they have been digitally zoomed or cropped. Photos taken at maximum size have an effective resolution of 16,384 x 12,288 pixels and can be captured at a rate of up to 7.5 per second. At a compressed 50-megapixel resolution, the sensor can shoot up to 30 frames per second, and up to 120 frames per second at 12.5-megapixels.
Samsung says that the 200 million pixels on the HP1 sensor are combined in a range of ways according to the shooting environment. During photos taken during the day or in bright light, the sensor uses all of its pixels to generate high-resolution, detailed images.
At night, the sensor changes. It is the first to support 4×4 pixel binning in what Samsung calls its ChameleonCell technology for superior low-light performance. The sensor combines up to 16 pixels into one big pixel to allow it to capture more light and therefore brighten its results.
Smart-ISO allows the ISOCELL HP1 to adapt to the lighting conditions by selectively choose High or Low ISO mode. In dim lighting, High ISO mode converts light to a signal with higher conversion gain to express details in shadows. Multisampling then reduces noise by averaging multiple frames into one.
Additionally, Samsung says that Smart-ISO Pro delivers striking images with vivid, 12-bit color and fewer motion artifacts. It works by creating two simultaneous readouts in High and Low ISO mode, then merging them together into one image.
Staggered HDR captures the scene line by line at three different exposures—long, medium, and short—to accurately expose shadows and highlights. The three exposures are then merged into one image with high dynamic range.
For autofocus, the HP1 uses what Samsung calls Double Super PD, a phase-detection autofocus system that it says enables faster, more accurate focus with the use of micro-lenses and dedicated autofocus pixels. Each micro-lens covers two autofocus pixels, comparing the left and right phases to focus the image.
Samsung has not said when to expect to the HP1 in a finished device, but its safe to assume it will make an appearance sooner rather than later.
#equipment #news #technology #200megapixel #imagesensor #samsung #samsungisocell #samsungisocellhp1 #samsungsensor #sensor #smartphonecamera #smartphonesensor
Samsung Launches the First-Ever 200-Megapixel Smartphone Sensor
Samsung has announced the ISOCELL HP1, an industry-first 200MP resolution based on 0.64 µm-pixels and new pixel-binning technology it calls ChameleonCell.
Samsung also announced the GN5, what it calls the first image sensor to use all-directional focusing Dual Pixel Pro technologies with to photodiodes in a single 1.0μm pixel.
ISOCELL HP1
The industry-first 200-megapixel sensor is based on the company's most advanced 0.64μm-sized pixels and is designed to bring massive resolution into the small form factor that are smartphones. The company promises that the new sensor will allow for incredible levels of detail that helps photos stay sharp even when cropped or resized.
The ChameleonCell technology is designed to improve low-light performance and is a pixel-binning system that uses a two-by-two, four-by-four, or full pixel layout depending on the environment. When the sensor detects a low light environment, it "transforms" itself into a 12.5-megapixel image sensor with much larger 2.56μm pixels by merging 16 neighboring pixels together. In this arrangement, the sensor is able to absorb considerably more light and produce clearer photos in dark spaces.
Conversely, in bright light, the sensor switches back to its full 200-megapixel maximum resolution. In this mode, the camera is capable of capturing 8K video at up to 30 frames per second with a slight crop, which Samsung says is a minimal loss to the field of view. The HP1 merges four neighboring pixels to bring the resolution down to 50MP or 8,192 x 6,144 to take 8K (7,680 x 4,320) videos without the need to crop or scale down the full image resolution.
The HP1 uses what Samsung describes as a Double Super Phase Detection system that the company claims enables faster, more accurate focus thanks to the use of micro-lenses and dedicated autofocus pixels. Double Super PD contains twice as many autofocus pixels as Super PD, amd ech micro-lens covers two autofocus pixels, comparing the left and right phases to focus the image.
ISOCELL GN5
The GN5 is what Samsung claims to be the first 1.0μm image sensor to integrate Dual Pixel Pro, the company's all-directional autofocusing technology that it detailed in February. In short, the technology places two photodiodes within each 1.0μm pixel of the sensor either horizontally or vertically to recognize pattern changes in all directions. With one million phase-detecting multi-directional photodiodes covering all areas of the sensor, Samsung claims that the ISOCELL GN5’s autofocusing becomes instantaneous and will work in reliably in all lighting environments.
The image sensor also makes use of Samsung’s proprietary pixel technology, which applies Front Deep Trench Isolation (FDTI) on a Dual Pixel product for the first time in the industry. Despite the microscopic photodiode size, FDTI enables each photodiode to absorb and hold more light information, improving the photodiodes’ full-well capacity (FWC) and decreasing crosstalk within the pixel.
Samsung did not provide any details on if the sensor will be going into mass production, but samples of both the HM1 and GN5 are currently available for smartphone manufacturers.
#equipment #industry #mobile #news #200megapixel #imagesensor #samsung #samsungisocell #samsungisocellgn5 #samsungisocellhp1 #samsungsensor #sensor #smartphonecamera #smartphonesensor
This is How and Why Samsung’s 108MP ISOCELL HM3 Sensor Works
Over the last several months, Samsung has published several detailed and easy-to-understand videos that discuss specific aspects of its imaging technology. Its most recent video combines many of these topics into a succinct and informative overview of its 108-megapixel ISOCELL HM3 sensor.
While it is clearly a video designed to market and sell its latest ISOCELL HM3 sensor, Samsung's run of high-quality videos that translate what are usually high-level conversations about imaging technology into easily digestible videos continues here.
Samsung says that the ISOCELL HM3, which is the main sensor found on the excellent Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, is built to provide "pro-grade photo capabilities" in a smartphone, and provides some context as to how Samsung is able to provide both excellent color reproduction as well as good low light performance and high resolution into a sensor as small as the one found on its flagship smartphone.
The 108MP ISOCELL HM3 ensures crisp, clear nighttime shots with Nonapixel and multi-sampling technology. Equipped with Smart-ISO Pro and staggered HDR, it creates stunning HDR photos full of colors and details both in highlight and shadow.
While the video touches on the company's Smart ISO Pro technology that it has spent an entire video explaining in the past, it also notes what Samsung calls "Nonapixel" technology.
Samsung claims Nonapixel technology boosts performance in low light conditions. In dark environments, it automatically combines nine pixels into one larger pixel to allow it to absorb more light and thus produce brighter and clearer photos with less noise. Conversely, in bright settings it uses a re-mosaicing algorithm to rearrange all 108-million pixels to maximize image resolution. This combines with the aforementioned Smart ISO to intelligently adjust to changing light conditions.
While it's not a technology that is integrated into the ISOCELL HM3, Samsung recently published a very informative video on what Dual Pixel autofocus is and how it works, as well as another video that explains how the company is able to shrink the size of pixels without dropping image quality.
Very few companies put this much effort into explaining how a particular technology, or set of technologies, actually functions and it is even rarer to see a company actually publish this information publicly in a way that's so easy to understand as Samsung continues to do.
And while expectations should always be tempered when looking at real-world use cases compared to what is promised in marketing videos, much of what Samsung is touting here is accurate. It is why the Galaxy S21 Ultra is a recommended buy and why it is PetaPixel 's current top recommendation for a smartphone camera.
In addition to the video above, Samsung has published even more information about the ISOCELL HM3 on its website here.
#industry #mobile #news #technology #108megapixel #dualpixel #imagingtech #isocell #isoperformance #lowlight #nonapixel #samsung #samsungisocell #samsungisocellhm3 #science
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