Samsung to introduce a plethora of ISOCELL sensors, 200MP included

09 January 2021
2021 is going to be a big year for Samsung's cameras.

Sort by:

  • A
  • Anonymous
  • XSs
  • 10 Jan 2021

Nick Tagataka, 10 Jan 2021"This is usually never the case with smartphone lenses... moreAre you an engineer to asking facts? Lol

    • 3
    • 3VA
    • Hku
    • 10 Jan 2021

    Imagine a 1” sensor with just 12mp.. it’ll be a lowlight beast

      sa11oum, 10 Jan 2021What is the point of these extremely high res cameras? Even... moreHigh MP sensors are pretty much guaranteed to be Quad Bayer. This means the effectieve pixels size is bigger than the number you read, while also reducing noise in the pictures.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • nIL
        • 10 Jan 2021

        Actual resolution is limited by the lens aperture, see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_resolution

        Sensor resolution beyond this is pointless

          • N
          • Nirosky
          • xtS
          • 10 Jan 2021

          It's not about the number of camera megapixels, it's about new camera innovations that enhances photo clarity. Huawei does well in that department.

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • JT5
            • 10 Jan 2021

            Mobilemaster, 10 Jan 2021If you want 8K, you need at least 33 MP camera.44MP if sensor is 4:3 ratio.

              • R
              • Rippy
              • gmx
              • 10 Jan 2021

              Agree.
              All the splitting and binding. At the end of the day it is the sensor quality and size and how it's processed

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • JT5
                • 10 Jan 2021

                Nick Tagataka, 10 Jan 2021"This is usually never the case with smartphone lenses... moreHaving ability to record 4K@120 has nothing to do with readout speed. It is about enough power.

                A sensor capable of doing 8K@30 is also capable of doing 4K@120.
                But only Sony and Asus had interest in having 4K@120 recording.
                Phones like V60, S20 series have tools to record 4K@120, just LG and Samsung do not want to offer.

                From Digital Photography Review (very famous website).

                " Sony says the conventional design of the sensor offers faster read-out speeds than the pixel-binning Quad-Bayer technology deployed in most current high-end phones. The entire sensor can be read out in 10ms versus 32ms for a 12MP image from a Quad-Bayer sensor. This allows for lower rolling shutter artifacts (if any) and lowers the risk of banding under artificial light".

                  sa11oum, 10 Jan 2021What is the point of these extremely high res cameras? Even... moreTotally agree with you. These huge resolution is an overkill and of no real benefit

                    IMX363, 10 Jan 2021200MP? What a waste! The holy grail would be 24-32MP 1"... moreIf you want 8K, you need at least 33 MP camera.

                      TheLastOracle, 10 Jan 2021Specialised sensors resolving over 30MP, after applying Qua... more"This is usually never the case with smartphone lenses"
                      It's much harder to find a phone camera that does NOT suffer from false colour artifacts because usually the lenses are sharp enough (especially towards the centre) that they have a higher optical resolution than a sensor's resolution.

                      "the readout is too slow"
                      The readout speed of Quad Bayer/Tetracell sensors are very much comparable to that of regular Bayer sensors because the pixels are binned as they are being read out. Ever wondered why ROG Phone III can record a 4K video at 120fps?

                      "that itself should improve resolution and low light capabilities by 200-300%"
                      To be honest that sounds like a bold claim to me, it would be nice if you specify the details on how it could be done.

                        r33fd, 10 Jan 2021These sensors make no sense. We don't have the proc... moreThat's basically saying we should wait on ideal circumstances

                        The processing power will come , we still should create the technology and let it exist first

                          SteveFOX, 10 Jan 2021I was checking some old photos and got to tell ya, the IMX2... moreA 23MP sensor with 1.8µm pixel pitch will be larger than S20 Ultra's 108MP sensor. 23MP resolution on a 1/2 inch sensor would result in 1.15µm pixels, and of course that wouldn't be competitive enough by today's standard.

                            • A
                            • Anonymous
                            • XSs
                            • 10 Jan 2021

                            On this point I feel their 12 MP on S7 was really a game changer. Specially for the dual pixel fast focusing..

                              • r
                              • r33fd
                              • ScY
                              • 10 Jan 2021

                              These sensors make no sense.

                              We don't have the processing power or the algorithms to take advantage of them.

                              A really big 20MP would easily be the best for smartphones right, with great lenses of course.

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • 8X5
                                • 10 Jan 2021

                                "than the current biggest 1/33" 108MP sensor."

                                Samsung's HMX and HM1 sensors are not currently the largest mobile sensors, nor have they ever been: /. This place belongs to the sensor from Nokia 808 PV. In addition, Samsung has a much more advanced sensor used in the Vivo X50 Pro+, which is GN1 (1.31 "supporting Dual Pixel and Tetracell). We should also mention the Sony IMX700 1/1.28" sensor used in the P40 and Mate 40 series.

                                  • S
                                  • SteveFOX
                                  • ntk
                                  • 10 Jan 2021

                                  I was checking some old photos and got to tell ya, the IMX230 in the Honor 7 and IMX298 in the OnePlus 3 were sensational getting good light pics, even the 298 is still really good in lower light.
                                  Maybe a 23MP sensor with 1.8m pixel size and not bigger than 1/2 will be a perfect match.
                                  Currently using the Xperia 1 II and while dynamic range is a huge issue for Sony, the 12MP sensors are doing a stellar job if you don't have a really strong backlight but could use that little more fine detail that the 23MP sensors offered a few years back.

                                    • S
                                    • SteveFOX
                                    • ntk
                                    • 10 Jan 2021

                                    Oppaii, 10 Jan 2021Brands will still choose Sony sensors for their flagship hmmmmSamsung's sensors have faster shutter speeds and generally do better with moving objects and noise reduction. Sony's sensors resolve more detail and are better in low-light and ultrawide/periscope sensors.

                                      Specialised sensors resolving over 30MP, after applying Quad Bayer/ Tetracell algorithms, right now, seems to be an issue.

                                      Though, the issue is way lesser with the sensor, than the CFA, processing power of SoC, lens resolving power, and Computational Photography Algorithms themselves. All lenses, both glass and plastic may not be able to resolve that much fine detail, and quite often, the trade off is between resolution and detail, both because of the lens, as well as all the false colour aliasing, moiré etc and othe issues. That's why when lenses resolve more detail than the sensor, there are all sorts of artefacts. This is usually never the case with smartphone lenses.

                                      The other issue, which is far greater, is that smartphones use multi frame HDR for everything from low light, to better dynamic range, to better sharpening algorithms etc, all thing that circumvent issues which smaller sensors. And for the most part, they do it well. With higher megapixels, the sensor is able to read out slower and slower, and the SoC even more so, and that is why, often, the issue is caused due to the SoC, rather than the image sensor itself, in being unable to have acceptably good multi-frame HDR.

                                      Quad Pixel/ Tetracell has not been able to leverage its multi exposure CFA on the sensors mostly due to the limitations on all present SoCs, until now. So, it solely used multi frame algorithms, and because the resolution is much higher than 12MP, the readout is too slow, to compete with the 12MP sensors, many of which do 60fps, and ones with DRAM do upto 120fps (at full frame width and resolution).

                                      Samsung, Sony and other Image Sensors should actually work on changing the dependency on the Bayer Pattern, except the choice of Red, Green and Blue, and that itself should improve resolution and low light capabilities by 200-300%. That, combined with multi frame HDR, should finally help push smartphone camera quality to ILC standards (12-20MP).

                                      It would be great for Samsung or Sony to lead the pack, as their implementation would be perfect for the transition from moving away from the Bayer Pattern.

                                        What is the point of these extremely high res cameras? Even 108 MP was overkill... focus on pixel size and clarity. Who cares about resolution, as long as it's at least 12 MP