Quad Bayer sensors: what they are and what they are not

09 June 2019
Marketing departments are trying to sell you on the wrong thing - resolution isn't why these sensors are good, it's the better image processing.

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Samath N8 808 owner, 10 Jun 2019I've already mentioned single shot HDR, along with its majo... moreWith one-shot HDR you definitely lose the advantage in sensitivity(=large sensor size) but you gain far higher dynamic range per single frame instead. What this means is:

-In broad daylight the camera only needs a single frame to produce HDR photo since ISO can be kept low, and this ensures both good details in high contrast scene and minimal ghosting effect. Conventional HDR requires more sophisticated algorithms to stack multiple frames without alignment errors and remove ghosting, and it's a lot harder to show the effect in real time in the viewfinder.

-As I already stated in my previous comment, In scenes with extreme contrast, 2-3 frames of one-shot HDR images can be stacked together to extend the dynamic range even further. While you can increase the dynamic range with the conventional method as well by stacking even more frames, this makes it even harder to align frames and remove blur, so details are more likely to be lost through the process.

-In lower lighting conditions the camera can perform multi-frame NR using several HDR frames to achieve both well preserved highlight/shadow details and low noise, while, again, showing you the effect in real time. If extra sensitivity is really necessary then the sensor can fall back to its default pixel binning mode to regain the advantage of a large sensor size.

-It also allows for HDR video and it can be theoretically done in higher frame rate like 4K60, since the HDR processing doesn't involve multiple frames. Apple's Smart HDR, for example, is only limited to 30fps in video due to ISP's lack of processing power and probably the readout speed of the sensor not being fast enough.

"I don't see the big point why you'd design the entire sensor around it"
It's actually designed around 3 things - Higher light sensitivity in pixel binning mode, greater details in full resolution mode, and live HDR capability. So one-shot HDR is not the only advantage it has over the smaller sensors with the traditional filter structure used on many of current flagship phones.

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    • Anonymous
    • pYg
    • 10 Jun 2019

    Great explanations, very consumable, thanks. Wish more phones used OIS too.
    HDR using a single shot is a fantastic feature. Quadbayer also allows clean HDR video, let's not forget.
    Hoping to see more phones with SDM 730s that can take great HDR 1080p60 in complex or low light conditions!

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      • Anonymous
      • Nj3
      • 10 Jun 2019

      i dont care, 10 Jun 2019i am programmer and i dont care what you phone is. i can cr... moreI think you replied to the wrong person

        A nice idea with an article like this.

        But the real thing on the resolution is kept mentioned in a few lines towards the end, the Airy disc....

        For red light (700nm) we get (see e.g. https://eskerahn.dk/wordpress/?p=12 )

        F < d / 854nm

        Sure this is for the eye, and can be weakened a bit for electronics

        But we would still need something around F1.0 to have a sensor with 800nm grid distance to make sense for resolution, and THAT is not easy...

        (Note that it is the grid size that matters here, not the size of the sensor, though this luckily is almost identical in modern sensor, with the electronics on the other side)

          Nick Tagataka, 09 Jun 2019One advantage of having a quad bayer filter is that you can... moreI've already mentioned single shot HDR, along with its major demerit:- its using light from only 2 subpixels (out of 4 sub pixels) for each picture of the HDR, so the large sensor advantage is dead.

          Multishot stacking happens on almost any conventional camera, without or with HDR... that depends more on processing & specs power!

          I don't see the big point why you'd design the entire sensor around it.

            Anonymous, 09 Jun 2019Is there any difference between 1/2" 12mp sensor and 1/2mp ... moreNo. The 48MP has to be a larger sensor to be beat the 12MP sensor while shooting at 12MP

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              • Moj
              • aua
              • 10 Jun 2019

              [deleted post]I bet you have a crapple! aren't you?
              It was and kinda is still way better than any phone today in camera part!
              Personally would trade any phone for it if it has a wide app renege!

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                • i dont care
                • 2Am
                • 10 Jun 2019

                Anonymous, 09 Jun 2019It's used in huawei p20 pro and mate 20 proi am programmer and i dont care what you phone is. i can create my own camera app that 12mp can capture 48mp and up quality.
                note: It's only on the mind that making things amazing from an ordinary smartphone user like you. "Imagining things"

                  Anonymous, 09 Jun 2019Cameras should capture the scene as close as it is . If ba... moreWhen you look at the high contrast scene with your own eyes, do you see any blown out highlights or crushed shadows? No, because the dynamic range of human eyes are insanely high compared to any digital cameras. If "cameras should capture the scene as close as it is", then it SHOULDN'T have any overexposure in the frame, probably apart from direct sunlight. And if you actually hate auto HDR on a phone so much, you can just go to manual mode to disable any additional post processing or turn off HDR from the viewfinder/camera settings.

                  "why showing dark gray clouds when they are not"
                  That's mainly due to some phones boosting clarity and applying strong dehaze filter resulting in overly darkened midtones.

                  "Few devices even seem to remove clouds to show more blue of the sky"
                  Like which phone specifically? You know phone manufacturers are not groups of magicians, right?

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                    • Anonymous
                    • LQv
                    • 10 Jun 2019

                    Anonymous, 09 Jun 2019Do you know that j8 body is plastic?So is poco. It is not metal.

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                      • Anonymous
                      • pQr
                      • 10 Jun 2019

                      "We won’t get into the details, but such high resolution cameras are often diffraction limited"
                      Diffraction isn't really the main issue here. Basically every 48 megapixel phone has an aperture diameter that is at least as large as the aperture diameter of the iPhone Xs tele camera (2.5mm). This means that diffraction allows for the same amount of details as the iPhone Xs tele camera, but currently there is no 40 or 48 megapixel phone that captures as many details as the iPhone Xs tele camera.

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                        • Anonymous
                        • pQr
                        • 10 Jun 2019

                        Anonymous, 09 Jun 2019Is there any difference between 1/2" 12mp sensor and 1/2mp ... moreNo, it should be about the same. The article is wrong. By the way, Sony never confirmed the mentioned HDR method for the Imx 586, it's just speculation from gsmarena.

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                          • Anonymous
                          • LQv
                          • 10 Jun 2019

                          Anonymous, 09 Jun 2019Is there any difference between 1/2" 12mp sensor and 1/2mp ... moreNo

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                            • Anonymous
                            • Ngx
                            • 09 Jun 2019

                            Is there any difference between 1/2" 12mp sensor and 1/2mp 48mp Quad bayer sensor while shooting in 12mp?

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                              • Anonymous
                              • NjX
                              • 09 Jun 2019

                              Walter C. Dornez, 09 Jun 2019Hey real quick, does anybody remember that Sony sensor that... moreIt's used in huawei p20 pro and mate 20 pro

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                                • Anonymous
                                • LQv
                                • 09 Jun 2019

                                Nick Tagataka, 09 Jun 2019What's the big deal about "applying fake DR" (I get what yo... moreCameras should capture the scene as close as it is .
                                If background is overexposed, why tricks to pretend it is not?
                                If cloudy sky is almost white and light gray, why showing dark gray clouds when they are not?

                                Few devices even seem to remove clouds to show more blue of the sky.

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                                  • Anonymous
                                  • NjX
                                  • 09 Jun 2019

                                  Anonymous, 09 Jun 2019The least important thing to me is cpu. I'd rather have Fl... moreDo you know that j8 body is plastic?

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • LQv
                                    • 09 Jun 2019

                                    Walter C. Dornez, 09 Jun 2019Hey real quick, does anybody remember that Sony sensor that... moreImx600 was made as exclusive for Huawei.

                                    Any company can go to Sony and ask for the sensor with the specs they want.
                                    Most buy 12MP because they are cheaper.
                                    Also less resilution = less noise at 100% crop.

                                    48MP (non-quad bayer) 1/2" would have benefits over 12MP 1/2", but 48MP QB 1/2" would not over a 12MP 1/2".

                                    I prefer downsampling than binning ...

                                      Hey real quick, does anybody remember that Sony sensor that they announced that was called the IMX 600 or something? I know a lot of people wanted that sensor since it sounded like a true upgrade

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                                        • Anonymous
                                        • m%5
                                        • 09 Jun 2019

                                        Its the same thing as RGBG amoled panels vs standard RGB panels (LCD).

                                        A 450ppi amoled display will only produce details at 450ppi in Green colour, while only producing 225ppi of Red colour and 225ppi of Blue colour. And this brings the total output of the resolution to 300ppi. (450+225+225)/3=300

                                        So just as a 450ppi amoled screen is inferior to a 326ppi LCD, same thing goes with quad bayer vs normal bayer.

                                        Bigger numbers = lower results

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