When it was leaked from folks like evleaks that the GS7 may feature a 12MP camera sensor instead of retaining the 16MP sensor found in the S6, there was quite an outrage, as many felt that Samsung was downgrading the camera. Some recent info from Antutu seems to have further evidence that the 12MP sensor is indeed going to the S7, but, like all rumors, take it with a grain of salt.
Now, let's discuss about that camera. Going from 16MP to 12MP does mean a reduction in overall resolution, meaning that photos taken won't be as crisp and detailed compared to a camera with a higher MP count. HOWEVER, there is a point where any increase in megapixel count yields little benefit. In phones, the sweet spot seems to be around the 13MP mark. Yes, we have phones with 16MP sensors like the S6 and LG G4 that take excellent photos, but just hear me out for a bit.
More megapixels aren't always better. The megapixel war made sense in the early days because we had cameras with 2MP at the time. But now, the camera sensor resolution on current phones are so high, it pretty much made very little sense to increase it any further. Remember that phone camera sensors are way smaller than those on an actual camera, so stuffing lots of pixels into that tiny sensor can result in negative effects, like increased noise, color inaccuracy and poor exposure in imperfect lighting conditions.
That's part of the reason why the Galaxy S5 didn't perform so hot in low-light. Its MP count was just too high to shoot any nice photo in low-light as each individual pixel was too small to receive adequate lighting info. To address that, Samsung added OIS to the Note 4, S6 and Note 5, and in the case of the last 2, added an f/1.9 lens to increase the amount of light that enters the sensor. The result is much better low-light performance.
But OIS and a large aperture can only go so far. Remember the HTC UltraPixel? It was actually an excellent philosophy. By ensuring that each individual pixel was large, it can receive much more lighting info and can result in much better night-time photos. However, its execution fell flat as the 4MP sensor resolution just proved to be far too low for good daylight shots. Newer attempts like the Nexus 6P share that same ethos, but sacrificed some pixel size for better daylight photos to achieve a great balance between the 2. The 6P packed a 12.3MP sensor that featured a pixel-size of 1.55-microns. That's smaller than the HTC Ultrapixel's 2-microns, but larger than the conventional pixel size of 1.12-microns, meaning that low-light performance is improved. Couple that with the Galaxy S7's rumored f/1.7 lens AND possibly OIS remaining, the S7 looks to be an absolute stunner at low light.
However, there is an exception to this rule. Samsung has a new camera sensor called BRITECELL. This sensor turns conventional thinking on its head when it comes to low-light photos. Conventional thinking states that larger pixels mean better low-light photos. The BRITECELL turns that on its head because it has a pixel-size of ONE-MICRON, lower than pretty much every camera sensor. Instead, the main benefit comes from replacing the green pixels with white ones. Green pixels are achieved with a filter, which blocks out light. Coupled with features like Smart WDR and PDAF, the sensor is able to improve low-light performance by turning convention on its head.
We're not sure which is going to make it, but if it's 12MP, know that it is not a downgrade. They're essentially trading some daylight photos detail for much better low-light performance.
Now, let's discuss about that camera. Going from 16MP to 12MP does mean a reduction in overall resolution, meaning that photos taken won't be as crisp and detailed compared to a camera with a higher MP count. HOWEVER, there is a point where any increase in megapixel count yields little benefit. In phones, the sweet spot seems to be around the 13MP mark. Yes, we have phones with 16MP sensors like the S6 and LG G4 that take excellent photos, but just hear me out for a bit.
More megapixels aren't always better. The megapixel war made sense in the early days because we had cameras with 2MP at the time. But now, the camera sensor resolution on current phones are so high, it pretty much made very little sense to increase it any further. Remember that phone camera sensors are way smaller than those on an actual camera, so stuffing lots of pixels into that tiny sensor can result in negative effects, like increased noise, color inaccuracy and poor exposure in imperfect lighting conditions.
That's part of the reason why the Galaxy S5 didn't perform so hot in low-light. Its MP count was just too high to shoot any nice photo in low-light as each individual pixel was too small to receive adequate lighting info. To address that, Samsung added OIS to the Note 4, S6 and Note 5, and in the case of the last 2, added an f/1.9 lens to increase the amount of light that enters the sensor. The result is much better low-light performance.
But OIS and a large aperture can only go so far. Remember the HTC UltraPixel? It was actually an excellent philosophy. By ensuring that each individual pixel was large, it can receive much more lighting info and can result in much better night-time photos. However, its execution fell flat as the 4MP sensor resolution just proved to be far too low for good daylight shots. Newer attempts like the Nexus 6P share that same ethos, but sacrificed some pixel size for better daylight photos to achieve a great balance between the 2. The 6P packed a 12.3MP sensor that featured a pixel-size of 1.55-microns. That's smaller than the HTC Ultrapixel's 2-microns, but larger than the conventional pixel size of 1.12-microns, meaning that low-light performance is improved. Couple that with the Galaxy S7's rumored f/1.7 lens AND possibly OIS remaining, the S7 looks to be an absolute stunner at low light.
However, there is an exception to this rule. Samsung has a new camera sensor called BRITECELL. This sensor turns conventional thinking on its head when it comes to low-light photos. Conventional thinking states that larger pixels mean better low-light photos. The BRITECELL turns that on its head because it has a pixel-size of ONE-MICRON, lower than pretty much every camera sensor. Instead, the main benefit comes from replacing the green pixels with white ones. Green pixels are achieved with a filter, which blocks out light. Coupled with features like Smart WDR and PDAF, the sensor is able to improve low-light performance by turning convention on its head.
We're not sure which is going to make it, but if it's 12MP, know that it is not a downgrade. They're essentially trading some daylight photos detail for much better low-light performance.
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