Dream Cell Phone Camera

[Eli_C]

For me I want a 12mp camera, with apple doing the software part of it. They seem to kill it every year with regards to the camera software and putting cameras into their phones that "just work" and provide great pictures regardless of the person taking the picture. I understand their are better cameras out there, but few do as well, and are as well rounded as what apple seems to put. Even with their "low MP count"

I agree that Apple does a great job (and I am no fan of Apple in general). Apple does use larger pixels (1.5 µm) and that helps. The lower MP count helps keep processing overhead to a minimum. And they do have good software behind the camera as well. Rumor has it that Apple is looking at a dual camera sensor setup as well.

 

[Eli_C]

Another probable dual camera setup:
Asus ZenFone teaser shows off dual camera setup | Android Central

Also, reading more on the Corephotonics technology as well as the Pelican Array Tech.

4957x3718
18.4MP
1.1µm
5.45mm x 4.09mm (22.29mm^2) [ Apple's sensor 17.94mm^2 sensor 8MP]

You could use 4 of these sensors in an array, allowing for a phone thickness of probably ~7-8mm. The total sensor area would be 89mm^2!!!

One sensor would have a 3x optical zoom lens
One would have a standard wide angle lens
One would have no color filter (much more light sensitive - a black and white image)
One would have Infrared capabilities (no IR filter)

If the 4 modules are next to each other and physically attached you can create a macro-module that would still be able to have OIS.

A setup like this should take very sharp pictures, allow for some zooming, have very good (great) low light performance. 3D effects, blurring, night vision, etc would all be there as well.

The downside I imagine would be processing overhead and memory bandwidth. You need to process up to 74MP with each shot, align the pixels, and create a final image, probably closer to a 16MP image, since there would be cropping at the edges and saving the overlapping image from the 4 sensors. And of course the cost, that is 4 cameras. I would pay more for it...


Alternatively, if your are not worried about 4k video (and we probably shouldn't be for at least another 2-3 years), then stick with 8-12MP range for each sensor

4320 x 2432
10MP
1.5 µm
6.48mm x 3.65mm (23.65mm^2)

This would greatly reduce the computational overhead, increase the light sensitivity of each pixel, and reduce the file size.

 

[cherrybean]

I like Meizu MX4 Pro 20.7 MP, 5248 х 3936 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 1/2.3'' sensor size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama

 

[Eli_C]

I like Meizu MX4 Pro 20.7 MP, 5248 х 3936 pixels, autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 1/2.3'' sensor size, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panorama

These are all pretty standard features and nothing new or special here.

Looking forward to seeing what comes out of CES.

 

[Eli_C]

Has anyone seen anything new coming out of CES regarding cell phone cameras? I haven't seen much. Intel's RealSense 3d stuff is about all I have seen.

A bit off topic from the main camera, but I would like to see dual front facing cameras, one with IR. This would provide for 3d facial recognition for unlocking the phone. The 3d map and IR make sure you are alive, move, warm, etc.., unlike the current facial unlock that can be fooled with a picture.

 

[unfrozendreams]

Note 4 have the best camera.

 

[Eli_C]

Note 4 have the best camera.

The Note 4 really dose have a great camera, but the point of the thread is focusing on what else can be done to offer even better cameras.

 

[Eli_C]

Short but interesting paper on multi-sensor modules:

http://www.imagesensors.org/Past%20Workshops/2013%20Workshop/2013%20Papers/08-1_115_Shabtay_paper.pdf

 

[Eli_C]

Short but interesting paper on multi-sensor modules:

http://www.imagesensors.org/Past%20Workshops/2013%20Workshop/2013%20Papers/08-1_115_Shabtay_paper.pdf

 

[Eli_C]

Has anyone seen any camera news out of MWC?

 

[cyclonmaster]

Ultimate phone should be have endless support in term of software & hardware. Sound impossible

 

[Eli_C]

Great article:

The Plan to Squeeze a High-End Camera into Your Smartphone | MIT Technology Review

Hope to see arrays with different sensors and filters in some of the cameras.

 

[Eli_C]

One sensor would have a 3x optical zoom lens
One would have a standard wide angle lens
One would have no color filter (much more light sensitive - a black and white image)
One would have Infrared capabilities (no IR filter)

I would add a polarizing lense to this list
And if possible a 5-6x optical zoom. 10x is probably not possible, though maybe with a parascope conficguration

 

[Stefan Marinca]

I agree with most of what you've listed there, but for me, even though after a few minutes it hurts your eyes, I'm missing the 3D features from my old HTC Evo 3D. So I would add that as an extra feature.

 

[Eli_C]

I agree with most of what you've listed there, but for me, even though after a few minutes it hurts your eyes, I'm missing the 3D features from my old HTC Evo 3D. So I would add that as an extra feature.

That is more of a screen issue. The multiple cameras could be used for 3d images, but I would not confuse that with displaying them on a special screen like the Evo 3d

 

[GateGameStudio]

Note 4 has the best camera, i think

 

[Eli_C]

Seriously? This is not a "who has the best camera?" thread, but about what would make a dream camera. If you are satisfied with the GN4, great, but please keep the thread on topic.

On another note, light has released the camera above. Unfortunately it is much too thick:

https://light.co/camera

 

[anon(9691750)]

Note 4 has the best camera, i think

I'd say the s6 does.

 

[BlackZeppelin]

Hate to throw a cat amongst the pigeons, but in outdoor photography, the best phones cameras are the Lumia 1020 and the Galaxy S5. I have the S5 and have yet to see any phone camera, apart from the 1020 which I had for 2 weeks, take such detailed shots outdoors that can be pinch zoomed quite a bit before losing resolution.

Just remember, the S5, whilst not great for indoor shots, is optimised for the outdoors. High count megapixel plus small sensor means very small pixel size-a trend that phone makers have reversed in the last 2 yrs. That small pixel size plus the f2.4 stop that isn't great for indoors, means that it's absolutely optimised for outdoors, beating all other later model phones. Photos that I transfer to my tablet are stunning, you'd think it was taken with a DSLR, they are that excellent.

But as I say, the trade off is low light photography, hence the recent trend of sacrificing some bright light resolution and moving to lower megapixel, bigger sensors and larger pixel size.

 

[BlackZeppelin]

Getting back to this thread, here is my ideal phone camera setup. Very large sensor, like Nokia 808. 2 lenses, 1 for outdoor shooting and 1 for indoors.

The outdoor lens would be very high megapixel and the indoor modest. This is so that pixel size could be very small for incredible detail in outdoor shots, and larger ones for indoors. Triple led flash plus xenon flash for larger areas.

And this is a feature I WOULD LOVE TO SEE!! My Sony camera takes phenomenal indoor shots by rapidly firing a burst of images, then a couple of secs later, all the images are combined, details sharpened and noise and grain completely eradicated. This is a feature that would be awesome on a phone camera!