Minuscule sensors and crappy fixed lenses are only partly responsible for mobile phone cameras taking such terrible photos; that they tend not to have proper shutters is a huge factor. Samsung wants to fix this.
Anonymously-sourced rumours from Asian trade publications should be taken with, like, four grains of salt, and this is no exception: Digitimes reports that OmniVision has received orders for 3.2-megapixel CMOS sensors, for a new iPhone.
There’s a rumour afoot suggesting that Canon will be ditching CCD and adopting CMOS chips for a new pro-level camcorder. Digital cameras and camcorders have never been so indistinguishable.
Almost a year ago, we explained image sensors. This week, with all the camera news, it seems fitting to mention that, along with our explainers on the upside of lenses and the downside of megapixels.
It’s not the the advent of 720p webcamming that we’re seeing here—it’s just a change that means that it won’t have to look like this, and will probably come built into mainstream notebooks.
Last week Sony Ericsson predicted quite a few things for the cell phones of 2012: faster processors, high-resolution screens, superfast connectivity and most specifically, 12-20MP cameras. Well what do you know! Sony — that Sony — has just announced a 12.25MP CMOS sensor for phone cameras. Looks like either a horrible breakdown of internal communication or a hilariously obvious example of gaming expectations. In either case, expect these to start showing up in CyberShots (and others) well before 2012. [Akihabara]
A component maker called Digital Imaging Systems has announced it will soon ship a camera module for phones and other devices, capable of shooting single images at 3488×2616 pixels—over 9 megapixels. Another great fact for the sell sheet is that the low-powered CMOS will allow for 30-frame-per second 720p high-def video recording. The module contains the imaging sensor plus an auto-focus apparatus, aperture and mechanical shutter. It sounds great, but those tiny optics don’t instill faith in me, a convert to the “glass makes the picture” school. Miracles of microphotography can happen, but I will believe this only after I see it. [DIS via Electronista]
A day before we expected, Sony’s 24.6-megapixel full frame DSLR, the a900, just quietly got official. Shockingly, while it doesn’t touch the US$2000 mark, it slides in at just US$3000. Billed as rocking the world’s highest resolution 35mm CMOS sensor, it’s the first full-framer to use in-body image stabilisation (Sony’s SOP). Unfortunately, as DP Review’s sample gallery makes clear, all those pixels make for a touch of noise, especially compared to Nikon’s D700.
Sanyo’s HD700 Xacti was the then smallest 720p camcorder in the world, and we liked it. Time’s moved on and Sanyo has a new Xacti, the HD800, and it’s apparently a great leap in video quality. The new cam has an 8-megapixel CMOS sensor, and shoots 720p video at 30fps in MPEG4 format. It’s also got “three-dimensional noise reduction” for improved image sharpness, can track up to 12 faces in the scene for optimum image settings, a 5x optical zoom and can shoot down to a minimum of 3 lux. The SDHC-recording cam comes this time in whacky 70s-esque colour schemes, and is available August 22nd in Japan at first, for around $460. Press release below.
Sony has developed a new CMOS technology that may revolutionise consumer video camcorders and cameras: a 5-megapixel, 60 frames per second back-illuminated sensor. As you can see in this test image, the sensor nearly duplicates light sensitivity while reducing the signal-to-noise ratio. The idea is apparently simple, but it dramatically increases the quality of the picture in low-illumination conditions. How does it work?
