Sony wants to capture 48 megapixel cameras in smartphones

Japanese Sony introduced a new CMOS sensor for mobile devices and compact cameras with a resolution of up to 48 Mpx. The first devices can be seen this year

Sony IMX586 is the name of a new CMOS sensor from a Japanese workshop. Unique is mainly because of its distinction, which many users still hear. It has up to 8,000 x 6,000 effective pixels, or 48 Mpx!

That sounds incredible, is not it? He only has a hook. The sensor is 1/2 "(8 mm diagonally), which in practice is about 6.4 x 4.8 mm By comparison, the Micro 4/3 CSC sensor has a size of 17.3 x 13 mm, the mirror sensor (APS-C) measures approximately 23.6 x 15.6 mm and the full-frame sensor has up to 35.8 x 23.9 mm

There are only a few professional cameras in the world that offer a resolution of about 48 Mpx.You would count them on the fingers of one, up to two hands.Now imagine that Sony wants such a chip resolution on the chip almost 28 times smaller Physics just will not let – the more pixels on the sensor, the less light there is and the less image will be big. have known this equation for years and years

Layout Quad Bayer

Sony has modified the sensor so that this crazy resolution is finally very practical. Bayer, the manufacturer decided to organize the scanning points in the Quad-Bayer system, that is to say 2 × 2 points of the same color

As each scan point has only 0.8 micron, it follows that the Quad-Bayer system will have 1.6 micron points. The actual resolution of the sensor will be 12 MP. There is still a lot of this small sensor, but it's much better than having a 48-megapixel frame

This will result in more detailed images, especially in low light conditions – 4 pixels in one will capture more image information. In addition, the greatest dynamic range of the sensor should be. In the body of the sensor, all the electronic image processing is also saved, saving the processor performance on the smartphone

But if it supports the hardware on the smartphone, the IMX586 from Sony can capture up to 30 frames per second or 4K Ultra HD at 90 fps, respectively. 240 fps in Full HD resolution.

The Sony IMX586 will be on sale for September at 3,000 JPY or about 23 €. The chip is, of course, intended for manufacturers, not end consumers. The first devices with this sensor can be seen by the end of the year, but we will see them a little more at CES 2018.

Source Sony