Flashback: smartphone camera sensors grew not only bigger, but smarter too

09 October 2022
Bigger sensors, bigger pixels - is that all there is to making a good camera? No, it's a bit more complicated than that.

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I'll say this.. people are lazy short term thinkers

They honestly believe that megapixels size increase is exactly the same like in the past

And the irony is people that by default think higher megapixels is automatically bad is just the same as people that assume higher megapixels are better

Just two extremes of the same coin Honestly

But if people would actually challenge themselves and look at the development behind machine learning and AI in general then they would understand

But all the "purist / traditionalist" keep talking about is pixel size and sensor size yes they are important but people SIGNIFICANTLY underestimate what computation is capable of

And I'm not talking about what they are capable of doing now i am talking about what's coming in the future

These same people don't subscribe to news feed or an ecosystem that update /inform them on modern developments they instead stay in the same social spaces digitally and physically

Echoing the same ideas that confirms their bias and stay in there comfort zone

    • L
    • Little Penguin
    • 8SI
    • 09 Oct 2022

    How part of tech media acts :

    1 ) Before iphone 14 pro

    Bright shadows = better + beautiful

    2) After iphone 14 pro announcement

    We are glad iphone 14 pro has more contrast and keep shadows dark instead of brightening them , we wish more brands follow this path

    🤔

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • Lkg
      • 09 Oct 2022

      Shui8, 09 Oct 2022I really dont understand the newer iPhone 14 Pro/Max, they&... moreThe overprocessing is simply choice. Not a necessity due to hardware.

      For example, many phones have those oil painting photos, something that a 2006 digital cam with 1/3" sensor does not have.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • Lkg
        • 09 Oct 2022

        Article has some mistakes

        1) Sharp R7 has imx989, R6 has 506 (bayer sensor 20MP).
        2) toshiba used by 808 pureview size below its image is not 141mm2, because this is larger than type 1.0. And 36mm is 1/1.76" , not 1/3.2" (about 15mm2)

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • pIu
          • 09 Oct 2022

          What smartphones today have best accurate real life colors?

            Anonymous, 09 Oct 2022In the iPhone 6s and Galaxy S6 days, it was a quality of th... moreI think reason is that main demographic is posting images to s**t services like Facebook where (over)sharpened image looks better when downscaled or further compressed.

              I used to be into the cutting-edge stuff. Like having RAW footage, Manual control, and lots of options to tinker with. I wanted that AI gone, and not have the algorithm in my way potentially oversharpening my shots and blowing out highlights. And I discovered I have an eye for detail, and am a pretty great photographer even without the traditional training.

              But all these good photos came with effort, exhaustion, and lots of time adjusting all these different variables. I found out it was BETTER to just whip out a DSLR to capture those shots, as it was easier, faster and far superior. And the burden of carrying it wasn't as bad the frustration of using a phone for professional shots.

              That's when I had my revelation. Sony, LG, and even Huawei were wrong. The beauty of a camera-phone is in the simplicity of it. Just point, shoot, let the camera do it's thing. Shots weren't as good as my own, and far from a DSLR but that wasn't the point. It was basically a Point'n'Shoot. So after careful research I discovered the best camera is really the iPhone. It takes consistent shots, pretty accurate, very fast, and super easy. In a solid second place comes Pixel phone. Then in third place is Samsung. And close behind are competed by Oppo, Xiaomi, Moto, ASUS.

                • b
                • blue
                • 60H
                • 09 Oct 2022

                The larger the sensor is, the bigger and better the optics has to be. The more MPix it has, it requires even better glass. And where do you find this quality in a phone? Nowhere. And that won't change any near future.
                That's also the reason why 1" sensor in Pro-I does not perform very well. It is designed for a different type of camera.

                  • S
                  • Shui8
                  • KZ8
                  • 09 Oct 2022

                  Anonymous, 09 Oct 202275 Megabytes just to get a photo that looks half decent com... moreFair enough 😅

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 3SI
                    • 09 Oct 2022

                    fastanddubious, 09 Oct 2022That's what the consumers want If you go to Reddit, it’s definitely not what every consumer wants. They just have to give an option to turn down the „AI“ shenanigans. People who are interested in video turn off the „Super resolution“ and similar settings on TVs as well. When the camera app has 9 filters, portrait modes and photographic styles, it shouldn’t be too hard to add a setting that makes pictures look normal again.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • 3SI
                      • 09 Oct 2022

                      Shui8, 09 Oct 2022But their ProRaw using 48mp looks good though. Plenty of th... more75 Megabytes just to get a photo that looks half decent compared to a 6 years old phone is not a viable alternative.

                        it's getting better and yet a photo as good as this, mostly people send it to WhatsApp FB with 100kb to 2MB photo quality.

                          • S
                          • Shui8
                          • KZ8
                          • 09 Oct 2022

                          Anonymous, 09 Oct 2022In the iPhone 6s and Galaxy S6 days, it was a quality of th... moreBut their ProRaw using 48mp looks good though. Plenty of things can be played out. Actually maybe its the best when it comes to that section.

                          The Auto? Good for average users. Thats why it sells.

                            Anonymous, 09 Oct 2022In the iPhone 6s and Galaxy S6 days, it was a quality of th... moreThat's what the consumers want

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • 3SI
                              • 09 Oct 2022

                              Shui8, 09 Oct 2022I really dont understand the newer iPhone 14 Pro/Max, they&... moreIn the iPhone 6s and Galaxy S6 days, it was a quality of the iPhone to produce realistic images while the Galaxy did all the oversharpening and „popping“ colors. But for whatever reason, Apple started to do the same in the last 5 years or so, and from what I‘m reading, it‘s only getting worse.

                                • S
                                • Shui8
                                • xjH
                                • 09 Oct 2022

                                Anonymous, 09 Oct 2022Bigger sensors are no use if the image processing destroys ... moreI really dont understand the newer iPhone 14 Pro/Max, they've using a big camera sensors already, whats with the overprocessed looks? To be honest, apart from the greater depth of field, the image result processing seems like it was taken with a way way smaller sensor.

                                Sigh 😖

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • 3SI
                                  • 09 Oct 2022

                                  Anonymous, 09 Oct 2022Bigger sensors are no use if the image processing destroys ... moreAddition: I am not going to switch to a third party camera app. Those don’t have the same Photos-App integration, can’t be accessed from the Lock Screen, and don’t support Live Photos. Btw I don’t want a manual mode either, just a quick and reliable automatic like the older iPhones had.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 3SI
                                    • 09 Oct 2022

                                    Bigger sensors are no use if the image processing destroys 10% of all pictures taken. Since upgrading from an iPhone 7 to a newer iPhone model, I noticed that the newer one, while better at low light, is less consistent in daylight which is where most of my photos are taken. It‘s hit or miss. Many photos look good but some are overprocessed, oversharpened or have colors that couldn’t be further off from real life. I really just want the way the iPhone 7 processed images back, everything else is a definite upgrade, but not the camera. If there was just a setting that disabled the over-the-top processing that reviewers like MKBHD regularly praise for being „sharp, low noise, colors that pop“ and all that nonsense that doesn’t have anything to do with professional photography.

                                      • S
                                      • Shui8
                                      • xjH
                                      • 09 Oct 2022

                                      One of the reason why i still holding on into Huawei P40 with a 1/1.28" main sensor size, with a tele x3 sensor (not much into ultrawides). Its 2 years + old already (iPhone 14 Pro, a 2022 phone use the same size), all of the tech such as Super Res algorithm, its there. Quality of the main still looks very good eventhough at x2 digital, tele at x5. Controlling light metering just by touch & hold the viewfinder for a few seconds, can avoid the 'Auto HDR' photos (intention play on highlights & shadows). A great point & shoot device. These are my results - https://www.instagram.com/shuibullah.amran/?hl=en

                                      Skills over Gear. If u have a 1" camera sensor phone or even a FF camera, all of that is a waste if u dont sharpen your skills up. I'm not saying I'm that great, there's a lot better shooters out there.

                                      Bought a cheap Xiaomi 12 Lite recently. Its a better phone because got GMS, but its just not for me 😅. Give it to my dad afterwards & keep sticking to my P40 currently 👍🏻👌🏻