Sony's 48MP Sensor Offers Greater Detail Despite Narrowed Pixels | Photography

Mobile phone cameras are about to dramatically increase their performance.

Sony introduced Monday a 48-megapixel sensor for handheld cameras that measures less than a third of diagonal. The sensor is expected to come out in September

To pack as many pixels into such tight spaces, Sony had to reduce their size to 8 microns. Reducing the pixel size usually results in performance degradation, not improvement. This generally results in poor light collection and a decrease in sensitivity and saturation volume.

"With the traditional architecture of the sensors, the pixels are so small that they take a lot of noise, so the images are not as good as the sensors – less but bigger pixels."
David D. Busch, creative director of photography guides David Busch, told TechNewsWorld.

Best Digital Zoom

However, the new sensor is designed and manufactured with techniques that improve the efficiency of light collection and the efficiency of photoelectric conversion compared to conventional products, explains Sony

. All of the components that are part of the current hardware design trends, such as thin bodies, will be attractive to OEMs, "says Gerrit Schneemann, Senior Analyst at IHS Markit.

Meanwhile, the large number of pixels allows high-definition imaging, even on "Such a pure resolution opens more options in terms of digital zoom, as opposed to optical zoom, which occurs in the world. purpose, "says Stan Horaczek, editor-in-chief
Popular Science .

"Digital zooming happens when you snap an image when you capture it, rather than post-capture," he told TechNewsWorld. "More megapixels help for that, because the system does not have to guess what the details should look like."

'Amazing Product & # 39;

The new Sony sensor is an "amazing product," says Kevin Krewell, Senior Analyst at Tirias Research.

The sensor combines a 48 megapixel super resolution mode with a lower resolution mode offering high sensitivity for low light conditions, he explained.

"The 48 megapixel mode, combined with a specific lens, will provide very detailed images," Krewell told TechNewsWorld. "The smaller area for each pixel will limit the amount of light received by these pixels, but the quad-pixel, low light mode solves that limitation."

Sony is working its low light magic through what is known as the Bayer Quad color filter. board. "In low-light conditions, this technology allows you to add signals from adjacent pixels, doubling their sensitivity.

" Sony combines four small pixels into one to improve resolution under low light. Charles King, Senior Analyst at Pund-IT

"Huawei is another OEM using this type of technology to increase low light performance," IHS's Schneemann told TechNewsWorld. "Subjectively, it worked for Huawei. It remains to be seen if Sony can deliver as well."

Manipulating pixels may have some compromises, though.

"My guess is that when they group smaller pixels to form larger pixels, they may be able to smooth the noise in the picture, but there may be a loss of sharpness in the details" , said freelance journalist and photographer
Terry Sullivan, a former Associate Editor for Digital Cameras and Imaging at Consumer Reports.

"It will also affect the dynamic range," he told TechNewsWorld. "The details will be absent from the clearest and darkest tones."

'Pixel War & # 39;

The Sony sensor can provide four times the dynamic range results compared to conventional products, according to the company. This means that even scenes with bright, dark areas can be captured with minimal glare or loss of detail in the shadows.

"If the new sensor has a dynamic four times that of conventional sensors, it means that" the full and low-light mode should be exceptional, "said King at TechNewsWorld

at 39. "Pixel wars" era, when the number of megapixels was a major selling point for phone and camera makers, 48 ​​megapixel sensor would have attracted a lot of attention. " Today, the traditional badociation between megapixels and the quality of print is no longer of much importance, "notes Ross Rubin, senior badyst at Reticle Research.

However, there is has some advantages at a higher resolution. "When Nokia released the 1020, which was a more than 40-megapixel camera, they touted its high resolution as a substitute for an optical zoom," said Rubin TechNewsWorld.

Red meat for traders

When the new sensor starts to appear on the market, it will most likely appear in high-end phones.

"Taking pictures in 48 megapixel mode will require more storage and will require an application processor with high performance." Image processing, which should limit it to high-end phones, " said Krewell.

"That said, he will probably launch a new series of pixel wars," he added.

"I think sensor manufacturers and OEMs will see this as an opportunity to stand out with an attractive hardware specification," Schneemann said.

That said, "I'm not convinced that this will necessarily upset the global market significantly, where consumers are abandoning one brand rather than another, because of more megapixels," he continues.

"The output of the sensors is subjective consumers, and the implementation of a sensor by each OEM varies as we ll," stressed Schneemann. "The Nokia Pure View and the 1020 both reached 40 megapixels, but that did not have an impact on the fate of Nokia's smartphone business."

King of Megapixels

Sony will be the leader in the megapixel category for a while, said Ken Hyers, director of emerging technology research at Strategy Analytics.

"Most smartphone vendors do not go for a lot of megapixels," he told TechNewsWorld

Only 2.5% of smartphones shipped this year will have 20 megapixels or more, according to forecasts of Strategy Analytics

"The organ point this year is 12-15 megapixels," says Hyers 19659007] This may change, however, as smartphone screen resolutions increase.

"We could start to see smartphone companies push the resolution as the future of high resolution screens trades, " Horaczek's Popular Science told me." Filling an 8K screen takes something like 33 megapixels , so more image data is likely to be the order of the day. "

John P. Mello Jr. was an ECT News Network reporter
since 2003. His areas of interest include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy protection, ecommerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and large electronics. public. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal
Boston Phoenix Megapixel.Net and Government
Security News . Email John.