Sony today announced (via Macworld UK) the launch of new image sensor technology that the company expects will help improve performance and shrink the size of cameras on mobile devices by later this year. The new back-illuminated complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor utilizes a pixel section layered directly onto the sensor's circuitry, significantly reducing the sensor size from the previous design that utilized pixel and circuit sections side-by-side on a substrate layer.
This image sensor layers the pixel section containing formations of back-illuminated structure pixels onto chips containing the circuit section for signal processing, which is in place of supporting substrates for conventional back-illuminated CMOS image sensors. This structure achieves further enhancement in image quality, superior functionalities and a more compact size that will lead to enhanced camera evolution.
With sampling set to begin in March, the new stacked CMOS sensor includes built-in signal processing technology and utilizes the company's "RGBW Coding" that adds white-light sensors to the traditional red, green and blue, offering better low-light camera performance. Enhanced high dynamic range (HDR) technology will also improve the sensor's movie capabilities in bright-light situations.
Apple had utilized OmniVision Technologies as its image sensor supplier on its mobile devices, but Sony was able attract at least part of Apple's business with the new 8-megapixel sensor on the iPhone 4S. With its new image sensor technology, which is set to enter mass production in the fall and begin appearing in products late this year or early next year, Sony is clearly looking to remain at the forefront of the booming mobile device camera market.
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I'm trying to imagine why someone would post this.
1. More megapixels
We all know that more mexapixels do not mean better photos. The iPhone 4's camera was better than anything else on the market, even though it shot with less resolution. Optics and sensor size have a lot to do with image quality, whereas resolution actually has quite little to do with it, once you get above the 5 mp range. In truth, I sometimes wonder if my iPhone 4 took better pictures than my 4S.
2. Smaller cameras
Smaller cameras do not take better pictures. LARGER cameras take better pictures. The bigger the sensor, the bigger the lens, generally speaking, the better your picture will be. I realize this is a gross oversimplification, but flat depth-of-field free images do not look natural, because our eyes do not work that way. In nature, the animals with the best eyesight (especially at night) tend to have larger eyes. Making the camera smaller in the iPhone is not going to make it take better pictures. ...much the opposite.
3. Combine the two, sell more phones
Of course when combined - smaller phone form-factor and more megapixels, on paper, this will be very attractive for consumers. "Whoah! 13 megapixels!! Look how small it is! HAZ TO HAV!"
The end result is no improvement whatsoever, unless they keep sensor size the same, or increase it - which I don't see happening. Making smaller things is cheaper. It's difficult to sell image quality because most people can't tell the difference.
Of course size is not an assurance of quality, and you need a whole system that can resolve an image in its entirety - that's a given. There are plenty of crappy big cameras out there as well as small ones. ...but a good larger format camera is far better than a good smaler format one. There's a reason pro photographers use full-size CCDs and CMOS sensors instead of micro four thirds.
Also, the larger the optics, the EASIER it is to control aberrations - a speck of dust on a medium format lens vs a speck of dusk on your iphone lens. Which camera has more of its image-acquiring apparatus covered by the same sized speck?
Glad you brought that up. Here's a picture of an Osprey skull.
Here's a picture of a horse skull.
Horses are so much larger that their eyes are about the size of an osprey's head, but look how much of an osprey's head is taken up by its eye orbits - they're about as big as they can be on that little head. Clearly, size matters. If you doubt that, especially for low-light, ask an owl.
Sure, Apple has been pretty good about improving camera quality - but I'm not so sure the 4S is a better camera than the 4, in spite of a better lens and more megapixels. Also note that the iPhone's camera has remained about the same size. We should also know that Apple isn't afraid to take a different direction with things. I hope that they will use technology like this as motivation to improve the entire camera - but we really have no idea if they actually will.
My "bigger is better" philosophy with cameras comes from physics, and years of photographic experience and education.
However, more megapixels DOES NOT (Always) = better camera
Tell me they've found a way to get a bigger sensor within the design limitations of a thin phone, and THEN I'll get excited.
Sony is calling it "RGBW" just so they can put a little next to it.
I hate that. It's not new, stop inventing new names for existing technology!