Samsung Announces World’s First 200MP Sensor for Telephoto Cameras https://petapixel.com/2024/06/27/samsung-announces-worlds-first-200mp-sensor-for-telephoto-cameras/ #smartphonephotography #mobilephotography #smartphonesensor #imagesensortech #imagesensor #Technology #smartphone #Equipment #samsung #Mobile #mobile #News

Samsung Shoots Building-Size Photo with its 200MP Smartphone Camera

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Sony Further Explains the Tech Behind its Groundbreaking New Sensor

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A Closer Look at Oppo’s Retractable Smartphone Camera

Last week, Oppo teased that it would be releasing a smartphone that featured a retractable, telescoping camera. While the company has not officially announced it yet, it has revealed more information on the coming device.

The company recently hosted its annual Inno Day event where it announced a few new products through the digital experience, including the new MariSilicon X mobile neural processing unit that it claims will dramatically improve image quality in its 2022 devices.

On top of the new processing power, Oppo's retractable smartphone camera appears to be adding hardware advancements into the equation. The company has published a video about it along with six major features that come with it. Typically, retractable lenses on compact cameras usually allow an optic to have variable focal lengths or at least allow a lens with multiple elements to make itself more compact when not in use. That benefit is on full display here, as the company has managed to pack the larger camera system into an 8.26mm phone (a measurement reported by GSMArena) without a particularly large camera bump. When not in use, the lens pulls back to be flush with the thin phone body

In Oppo's case, the camera will not have a variable focal length but instead will feature a 52mm equivalent lens (which the company classifies as 2x optical zoom) when extended. Behind the lens is a large 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX766 sensor which will likely capture more detail compared to a standard telephoto module. The actual optical system is also touted by the company as providing actual telephoto bokeh.

Oppo says the lens system will support optical image stabilization (OIS) as well as autofocus (AF) but does not go into more detail about the focusing performance that can be expected, as the demonstration looks to be pretty strongly focused on the hardware.

One of the more impressive features Oppo demonstrated is the ability for the phone to sense if it has been dropped and automatically retract the lens to prevent damage. The company claims that it is able to fully retract the lens back into the smartphone body in just 0.6 seconds. On top of all of this, the company says it will remain splash and dust resistant but did not go into specific details on how robust that resistance would be.

Oppo is expected to announce a new Find X flagship mobile device that also includes the company's new NPU in the first quarter of 2022, but it did not hint if the retractable smartphone camera would be part of that device or a separate launch. Whatever the case, the design is clearly more than a prototype and it will likely find its way into a consumer device by next year.

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Sony Unveils Groundbreaking CMOS Sensor That Gathers Twice the Light

Sony's Semiconductor division has announced that it successfully developed the world's first stacked CMOS image sensor technology with two-layer transistor pixels that grants double the light gathering capability.

Sony explains that typical image sensors place photodiodes and pixel transistors on the same substrate, but in this new design, it was able to separate them onto different substrate layers. The result is a sensor that approximately doubles the saturation signal level -- basically its light gathering capability -- which dramatically improves the dynamic range and reduces the noise

Saturation signal level isn't directly a sensor's light-gathering capability but is a major gating factor that influences how accurately a sensor is able to interpret light information in dim environments. For the sake of basic explanation, double the light gathering ability is the end result of this advancement.

Typical stacked CMOS sensors use a structure of a pixel chip made up of back-illuminated pixels stacked on top of a logic chip where signal processing circuits are formed. Within each chip, photodiodes that convert the light to electrical signals and pixel transistors that control the signals are situated next to each other on the same layer.

Stacked CMOS image sensor architectures.

Sony’s new architecture is an advancement in stacked CMOS image sensor technology that separates the photodiodes and pixel transistors onto separate substrates that are stacked on top of each other, rather than side-by-side. Sony says that the new stacking technology enables the adoption of architectures that allow the photodiode and pixel transistor layers to each be optimized, thereby approximately doubling saturation signal level relative to conventional image sensors and, in turn, widening dynamic range.

"Additionally, because pixel transistors other than transfer gates (TRG), including reset transistors (RST), select transistors (SEL) and amp transistors (AMP), occupy a photodiode-free layer, the amp transistors can be increased in size," Sony says. "By increasing amp transistor size, Sony succeeded in substantially reducing the noise to which nighttime and other dark-location images are prone."

The result for photography means wider dynamic range (better exposure in photos with harsh backlighting or in dim settings) and lower noise in photos that are taken in dark environments. Sony specifically notes that this technology is going to make for increasingly high-quality imaging in the case of smartphone photography. The new technology’s pixel structure will enable pixels to maintain or improve their existing properties at not only current but also smaller pixel sizes.

That last note is particularly important, as it signals that Sony believes it has found a way to markedly improve the photo quality of smartphone sensors. In short, the quality of mobile photography could very well see a huge leap in performance thanks to this breakthrough.

Sony doesn't specify when it plans to manufacture sensors at scale using this technology but does say it will continue to iterate on the design to further increase image quality in sensors large and small.

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Oppo Teases a Telescoping, Retractable Smartphone Camera

Oppo has published a short video that teases a coming smartphone that will feature a telescoping, retractable camera with a design that is reminiscent of compact point and shoots.

A telescoping, retractable lens design usually allows an optic to have variable focal lengths or at least allow a lens with multiple elements to make itself more compact when not in use. Whatever the case, improved performance is all but assured to be a goal from Oppo with this design.

It should also be noted that the module is quite large, which hints at either a larger image sensor, larger and higher-quality optics, or both.

Most pop-ups are annoying…

But not our self-developed retractable camera! 😉

Explore more in INNO WORLD on 14/12.#OPPOINNODAY2021 pic.twitter.com/33hgJSw8If

-- OPPO (@oppo) December 7, 2021

Earlier this month, Oppo announced that it would be one of the first smartphone manufacturers to feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processer in its devices and planned to make it available in the first quarter of 2022.

“Oppo maintains close ties with Qualcomm Technologies, and we have brought several 5G smartphones powered by flagship Snapdragon mobile platforms to the market this year, including the Find X3 series and Reno6 series," Scott Zhang, Oppo Vice President of Overseas Sales says. "It is our pleasure to witness the launch of a new generation of Snapdragon 8 Mobile Platform. We believe it will bring immense improvements and powerful performance on the next generation of flagship smartphones.”

The announcement of the feature is without many confirmed details, as Oppo plans to fully reveal the smartphone and camera on December 14 at its Inno Day event, which takes place in Shenzhen, China on December 14 and 15. Inno World, where the smartphone is likely to make an appearance, is a virtual stage that takes place during its Inno Day, which is the company's platform for showcasing its coming products and technologies since 2019.

Last year, Oppo showcased three conceptual products at Inno Day, including a rollable smartphone. For 2021, OPPO says it is digitalizing the launch event and exhibitions and transforming the conventional event into an entertaining and interactive world of virtual experiences.

Since Oppo plans to unveil the phone next week and it has already said that it will integrate Qualcomm's new processor into a device for sale in quarter one of 2022, it's not much of a leap to assume these devices will be one and the same. While speculation, it is all likely to become clear on December 14.

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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 to Develop a 576-Megapixel Smartphone Sensor by 2025

Hot on the heels of its recently-launched 200-megapixel ISOCELL HP1 smartphone sensor, Samsung has announced that it plans to develop a 576-megapixel smartphone sensor by 2025.

Announced during a Samsung presentation at the SEMI Europe Summit and spotted by Image Sensors World, the company made it known that it plans to be able to scale down pixels -- as it has been doing progressively since the year 2000 -- to such a degree that a 576-megapixel smartphone sensor would be possible in just four years.

As shown in the slide below, Samsung has been progressively scaling down the size of its pixels and additionally increasing their megapixel counts consistently over the last two decades, most notably since 2010. It was able to scale from 5-megapixels up to 16 megapixels in four years, then from 16-megapixels to 64-megapixels in four more years. In 2020 it created a 108-megapixel sensor and just last week announced a 200-megapixel sensor. While a 576-megapixel sensor sounds extraordinary, the company's progression to this point seems to indicate that the timeline should be more than feasible if the technology to continue to reduce the size of pixels continues to advance.

As noted by DPReview, Samsung announced that it planned to push beyond 500-megapixel sensors in April of 2020 which shows that the company has had its goals set on such resolution in smartphones for some time. The company seems to indicate that 600-megapixels is its current target for resolution in an effort to mimic what it believes to be equivalent to -- or better than -- the human eye.

"The image sensors we ourselves perceive the world through – our eyes – are said to match a resolution of around 500 megapixels (Mp). Compared to most DSLR cameras today that offer 40Mp resolution and flagship smartphones with 12Mp, we as an industry still have a long way to go to be able to match human perception capabilities," Samsung says. "Through relentless innovation, we are determined to open up endless possibilities in pixel technologies that might even deliver image sensors that can capture more detail than the human eye."

Samsung notes that it understands that smaller pixels can result in "fuzzy" or "dull" photos, and that part of the task of its engineers is not only to continue to make pixels smaller but balance that with image quality. How the company plans to do this is not revealed, but if the image quality of its new HP1 sensor stands up to scrutiny -- which will require Samsung releases image samples, which it has not yet done -- there is no reason to believe the company can't achieve these goals.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.

#mobile #news #200megapixel #576megapixel #600megapixel #samsung #samsungsensor #samsungsensors #smartphonecamera #smartphonecamerasensor #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.

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