Samsung introduces 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor for Galaxy S23 Ultra

17 January 2023
The sensor is 1/1.3” in size with 0.6 um pixels and is the company's most advanced sensor yet.

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Anonymous, 17 Jan 2023I think his test were mostly meant for auto shot and someth... moreThe focusing accuracy or speed was not taken into consideration in his test. He was simply looking at the HDR tone mapping and colour processing in contrasting lighting conditions, as well as bokeh cut-out accuracy in portrait mode - which would've been pretty nice if he took dozens of different photos samples in different scenarios, but unfortunately, he only took 2 for indoor and 1 for night time scene, which would render that so-called "scientific test" absolutely useless.

What his test managed to prove is that based on the 3 photos, Pixel 6a got the highest total number of votes. Nothing less, nothing more.

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    • Anonymous
    • IWP
    • 17 Jan 2023

    Nick Tegrataker, 17 Jan 2023It is quite interesting that this sensor can capture an HDR... moreNowadays when i take photo, it's no longer about what you see from the phone. The S22 Ultra takes great photos but i always look for objects at the far end to see if it's able to capture it nicely e.g text and details, which often gets blown out especially at nite if it has a light source around it. I'm not sure if iPhone or the rest does it too but i am now hoping the next evolution of mobile photography is to be able to capture those details nicely cos it's really an eyesore lol.

    I want what the photos can capture what my eye can see and beyond it. I'm not an expert so i'm not sure if having a big sensor or higher megapixel can achieve that kind of result or is this is even a flaw of pixel binning since the idea of having such a high res photo is the ability to enlarge the photo and see the details nicely.

      GAMIR3DH, 17 Jan 2023I may agree back in 2020, but ever since i tried the 108mp ... moreIt is a bit higher only. The only good implementation of the high megapixel sensor so far is I think iPhone one. Don't like the system, and don't like phones, you have to admit, that 48 mpix from those looks way better than from e.g. Samsung S22 Ultra.

        Anonymous, 17 Jan 2023I bet the vanilla S won't have this, like alwaysBut it is known from veeeery long time, that this sensor goes only to ultrawide.

          Gggg, 17 Jan 2023Mkbhd test was made of 3 images that were compressed, not s... moreHe just has tested, how most people use smartphone cameras these days. On social media platforms with compression on smartphone screen. But I agree, that for me is not enough. I like the overall pixel look, but hate how the details look there. So artificial.
          As for those crazy numbers in the smartphones, ehh.... They are way below the refraction limit of such small lenses, so no point in having such crazy numbers. I would love to see something like 16Mpix on the bigger sensor, with some natural processing and RAWs like from new Iphones.

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            • Anonymous
            • IWP
            • 17 Jan 2023

            Nick Tegrataker, 17 Jan 2023Given how flawed his test was (Only 3 compressed photos to ... moreI think his test were mostly meant for auto shot and something you just take out from your pocket and hit the button with minimal effort to get a photo in that moment. So if the phone can't focus quick enough, it's gonna end up getting a really bad photo. That is why photos which can brighten up nicely gets the win. It's for the average social media preference.

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              • Anonymous
              • IWP
              • 17 Jan 2023

              SamsungRules, 17 Jan 2023software post processing can't go above hardware limit... moreThis is true but you can only claim it's not fake but you can't claim it's a nicer photo. Just look at iPhone. Back then their photos were on the warmer side and people say it's better than others, then nowadays most of it's photos are cooler and people say it's nicer. It's clearly bias too cos if you have a blind test some people ran, it has never really top.

              Some photos tell a story and you'll need to edit it to achieve the desired result.

                hri5hike5h, 17 Jan 2023True. MKBHD’s blind camera test proved it when the Pixel 6a... moreGiven how flawed his test was (Only 3 compressed photos to evaluate the image quality, no control/ground truth etc), I don't consider his test anywhere close to being useful when discussing which phone has the best camera.

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                  • Anonymous
                  • IWP
                  • 17 Jan 2023

                  Anonymous, 17 Jan 2023Only brainless person would say pixel 6a has any chance aga... moreBut what everyone likes is more important. If your product is good and no one buy, it'll eventually just disappear. These days even having solid hardware doesn't guarantee success anymore

                    It is quite interesting that this sensor can capture an HDR image at full resolution using dual conversion gain (Samsung uses the term "Dual Slope Gain" for this but they actually used to call it Smart ISO Pro, I don't like how they keep inventing a new term to describe the same concept), so theoretically this should allow for less highlight blowout/shadow noise in not only 4K but also 8K recording as well. Nice.

                    Unfortunately, no smartphone lens is sharp enough for 200MP even at the very centre of the frame, so these extra pixels will be only useful for the omni-directional PDAF only and won't help the camera capture finer details at all.

                    Not only that, but the physical area of the sensor itself is also only 56% of that of IMX989 used on Xiaomi 13 Pro, Vivo X90 Pro+, as well as upcoming Oppo Find X6 Pro, indicating that this year Samsung will continue lagging behind its peers in terms of the raw image quality, which is extremely disappointing in my opinion. I wish Samsung made this sensor at least just as large as GN2 so that it would be able to *at least* stay competitive.

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                      • Anonymous
                      • IWP
                      • 17 Jan 2023

                      potato4k, 17 Jan 2023Definitely. For modern phones, the software post processing... moreAnd also higher res videos else everyone will still be stuck with full HD, which sucks on mobile cameras. I remember taking the first 4K video and the clarity was amazing.

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                        • Nameless
                        • 0xQ
                        • 17 Jan 2023

                        "enhance color reproduction" means ugly colors will be even more uglier, especially the blue of the sky.

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                          • Anonymous
                          • Lkg
                          • 17 Jan 2023

                          hri5hike5h, 17 Jan 2023True. MKBHD’s blind camera test proved it when the Pixel 6a... moreOnly brainless person would say pixel 6a has any chance against pixel 7.

                          Technical evaluation =\= preference

                          What someone likes cannot be considered.

                            potato4k, 17 Jan 2023Definitely. For modern phones, the software post processing... moresoftware post processing can't go above hardware limit if your hardware says for example maximum capacity is 2 you can't go to 3 with software..if you lie and create a 3 then that will be fake. so basically all smartphones are creating fake pictures, that are not natural they are being photo-shopped. there is nothing exciting about post software processing it's fake.its not original. i need a camera phone that take authentic natural pictures without AI

                              notafanboy, 17 Jan 2023200MP is a worthless gimmickI may agree back in 2020, but ever since i tried the 108mp camera of the N20U. Now im interested in high MP counts for more detail.

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                                • Stinger
                                • rXK
                                • 17 Jan 2023

                                one day we will hear from samsun a 1 gigapixel sensor

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                                  • Anonymous
                                  • KAS
                                  • 17 Jan 2023

                                  I bet the vanilla S won't have this, like always

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                                    • Gggg
                                    • pfC
                                    • 17 Jan 2023

                                    hri5hike5h, 17 Jan 2023True. MKBHD’s blind camera test proved it when the Pixel 6a... moreMkbhd test was made of 3 images that were compressed, not sure if it really shows reality.
                                    A phone could have performed bad at one picture because of an unlucky timing or something and lost several rankings.
                                    Also the pixel 6a is good when used on socials but when you take out the compression factor it's not that amazing compared to flagships, still a great camera for the price

                                      Doesn't matter how many MP they put, the optics isn't good enough.!

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                                        • Alex
                                        • S1c
                                        • 17 Jan 2023

                                        Sold. I was thinking seriously to get S23 Ultra towards the end of year, now it will be a "shut up and take my money" situation. That device will last me easily 3 years, at least. Great replacement for my still worthy, but tired, Note 20 Ultra.

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