Sony imx sensors table. Review of the camera module for Sony IMX378 smartphones. What should be the aperture in the camera of a new smartphone?

Kensuke Mashita: “I would love to put a one-inch sensor and G Master lens into a smartphone.”

Since 2015, the editors of the site began to talk seriously about smartphones, because the camera in these gadgets has become more than just a tool in the hands of a photographer. Today we can state that yesterday’s users of smartphones with good cameras are gradually switching to amateur and professional cameras.

Sony Mobile invited us to conduct an exclusive interview with Kensuke Mashita, a senior manager from the Sony Mobile team. Mashita-san is responsible for the technologies used in the camera unit of smartphones Sony Xperia.

We tried to ask him the most important questions about Sony Xperia cameras, smartphone cameras in general, and where mobile photography is going next.

- Has the compact camera segment died with the growth of smartphone sales?

Compact market digital cameras falls. Our colleagues at Sony Digital Imaging are now focusing on high-end compact cameras. On the other hand, smartphones occupy the position of low- and mid-level compacts. And I think this trend will continue.

- What prospects do smartphones have in the photo market?

Smartphones today have achieved fairly high image quality, comparable to compact cameras that were released a few years ago. But a smartphone is more than just a camera: it has connectivity, advanced graphics and processing power, and a faster-than-camera processor. digital processing, large display and simple interface. Therefore, smartphones are completely different, they give us a new experience. For example, if it were not for the development of this market, selfies would not have appeared. We have to search and find new scenarios that are accessible not so much to the camera, but to the smartphone as a camera and mobile device with connectivity to mobile and wireless networks.

- To what extent is the smartphone camera today a reason to buy a new device or replace an old one?

According to our research, the most motivating factors for buying a new smartphone are the design of the device, the camera and time battery life. These three factors are the main ones for the buyer, and they work in conjunction. The Russian market is especially focused on smartphone design. This is called show off, when the main goal is not to enjoy the appearance of the gadget, but to show off. This is where self-expression takes place through the design of the device.

The camera is just as important because it allows you to show off your at its best, your achievements and surroundings.

It's no secret that Sony Semiconductors is the main supplier of sensors for mobile cameras. How is Sony Mobile related to this company?

Yes, all major manufacturers use Sony sensors in their smartphones. But each of them installs sensors with different characteristics. Of course, in mobile photography the sensor is important, but optics are also important. Because this is what all the restrictions apply to, including the thickness of the smartphone.

Most Sony smartphones The camera does not protrude from the body, while on the iPhone and other devices the camera protrudes by a millimeter or more. Our designers strive to ensure that nothing protrudes without compromising the functions and capabilities of the smartphone. For the buyer, design is extremely important, and we try to find a balance. But believe me, it is very difficult.

I can't say which Sony sensor is the best today. Sony Mobile's strategy was previously aimed at high resolution at 23 megapixels. But today, most manufacturers install 12 megapixel sensors, including Samsung and Apple. This is the difference between the approaches, because Sony used high resolution due to greater image stabilization capabilities and better picture quality when zooming in. Of course, in such scenarios our camera outperforms 12-megapixel sensors. But on the other hand, the physical size of the pixel is very important.

With the development of dual cameras in smartphones, many different solutions have appeared on the market. For example, thanks to zoom lenses, the quality of zoom has become an order of magnitude higher. We can say that a new era of mobile photography has arrived, and in the next generation we will show our vision. Unfortunately, I cannot share the details of our new strategy, but we will change some things in the near future.

The relationship between Sony Mobile and Sony Semiconductors has traditionally been such that we received a top-end sensor on exclusive terms. We got the IMX300, the same situation with the IMX400. This interaction will continue in the future. We act as a leader who tests new technologies.

G8142 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/500 sec

G8142 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/500 sec

G8142 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/500 sec

How popular are the new features of the Motion Eye camera unit (predictive shooting, super slow-motion video shooting and autofocus tracking during continuous shooting), built on the Sony Exmor IMX400, among smartphone buyers?

IN Sony processor The Exmor IMX400 has a sensor with a stack memory of 128 megabytes, and thanks to this it is possible to record video in super slow motion mode and carry out predictive shooting. With our camera you can see things that the human eye cannot catch.

Unfortunately, not much time has passed since the release of the first smartphone with Motion Eye (- editor's note). Not enough data has been collected yet. We have an idea of ​​how many people take photos and how many take videos with their smartphones. Now we are trying to find out how many people use super slow motion. We found out that when getting acquainted with a smartphone, many people try to evaluate recording at a speed of 960 frames per second. Our goal is to make interest in know-how permanent. I think Sony's Super Slow Motion exceeds expectations. Some will say that this was done just to attract the attention of buyers, but we really wanted to create something new.

The most common argument of those who do not like Sony Xperia: “All smartphones have a Sony sensor (Samsung, Huawei, iPhone and others), but they all take pictures much better than Sony Xperia smartphones.” Do you have any understanding of why this happens?

Unfortunately, in mobile photography it is impossible to achieve the best quality in different conditions. Quality may vary depending on shooting conditions and functions used. Cameras with a 12-megapixel sensor and larger pixel size perform better in low-light conditions, but if you shoot a daytime landscape, you can achieve greater detail thanks to the higher resolution of the sensor. In my opinion, if we shoot a landscape, the Sony Xperia will win, but in a number of scenarios we may lose to our competitors. The question of approach is also important here. You can take a good picture in the dark with our smartphone, and its resolution will be one and a half times higher. We focus on high resolution, as this provides better image stabilization.

If we made the same camera as other brands, perhaps there would be haters of a different order who would get to the bottom of the truth and find a difference in the performance of our camera compared to competitors.

Unfortunately, most people pay attention to “laboratory” camera tests, and it is better to look at real photographs. Sometimes one conflicts with the other. Of course, we prioritize user experience.

At the same time, we listen to feedback our users. For example, in the Sony IMX400 the resolution was reduced from 23 to 19 megapixels, thereby increasing the pixel size slightly. We tried to find a compromise and improved the situation with shooting in low light conditions. At the same time, super slow motion and stack memory appeared. Thanks to the latter, the situation with video recording, including HDR, has improved. This is only possible with memory. Soon we will have another improvement, which is being kept secret for now.

All Sony Xperia cameras are tested in more than 100 different scenarios. Lighting conditions at the same time differ in different parts of the world. In Russia, daylight hours tend to zero, so high-quality photography in low light conditions is extremely important for us. At the same time, there are different shades of light: people want to look good in photographs, so that the skin looks not only natural, but also beautiful. Similar feedback from Sony Mobile's regional offices is being accumulated all over the planet. It's impossible to standardize, but work is being done. The camera operates according to a certain averaged algorithm, and a compromise is reached.

G8342 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/2000 sec, 4.4 mm eq.

Why Sony Mobile ignores optical image stabilization in the main camera and continues to use its own electronic system SteadyShot?

If we installed optical stabilization in a smartphone, there would be many photographs in which moving objects are greatly blurred due to increased shutter speed. This doesn't happen with SteadyShot. Yes, perhaps it would look impressive, but I’m not sure that everyone will like it. Thanks to SteadyShot, we have the opportunity to shoot at fast shutter speeds and avoid most blur. The automation itself understands what to do: if there is a dynamic scene in the frame, then the shutter speed will be minimal; if the picture is more static, the shutter speed increases. Of course, under normal conditions and in the absence of moving objects in the frame, smartphones with optical image stabilization take better pictures than Sony, but here again we are talking about different scenarios.

- In what proportions and what influences mobile photography: sensor, optics, post-processing algorithms?

Sensor - 30%, optics - 30%, image processing processor (ISP) - 30% and post-processing algorithms - 10%. It all depends on the type of processor. For example, in DSLR cameras there is almost no post-processing. Smartphones have technical limitations, so processing and post-processing are very important.

Any module developed at Sony Mobile is shown in the Digital Imaging division. They test our functions and issue a certificate of conformity.

Sony Mobile is the only brand in the market except Google smartphone Pixel 2, which completely ignores the dual camera trend. Why is this happening? When can we expect a dual camera from Sony?

We monitor various trends. There are ideas for creating triple, quadruple cameras, combinations of different cameras. We introduced the stacked memory camera to the world. In our opinion, it provides a better experience compared to a dual camera. Technologies in processors and graphics are evolving, as is the camera. In the near future, the time will come to show a dual camera. Perhaps Sony will surprise you.

G8142 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/5000 s

- When the Camera app is in Sony devices Will Mobile become more convenient?

We work not only for professionals, but also for a general audience that is not so well versed in various settings.

If speak about manual settings, then for most users such parameters as shutter speed, light sensitivity, focus, white balance and exposure are sufficient. All this is in our application. But there are more advanced and demanding users. I can't go into details, but there will be changes to the app in the near future.

At this point, Mashita-san asked us what we would like to see in Sony smartphones. Our answer was simple: RAW format.

- I would like to know your attitude towards DxOMark testing. On this moment Sony smartphones are not even in the top ten.

We always look at the results table and feedback from this site. Some of their comments are very helpful to us. But I'm not sure their tests can be 100% useful to most people in their use cases. Your colleagues at DxOMark gave us a lot of feedback when developing the testing policy, and it was really helpful in many ways. However, in September the benchmark changed, it added estimates for optical zoom and background blur, and, of course, new system focused on dual camera. We have always taken this site seriously, but we want to look at the new methodology for distributing ratings, understand the logic and trends. Time needs to pass.

In fact, we are not only talking about DxOMark, but also about other laboratory tests and techniques that are used on the market. In my opinion, real photographs show the performance of the camera better than any tests. We will continue to observe the methodology, look at the results and, perhaps, turn to them again for feedback.

G8342 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/1600 s, 4.4 mm eq.

What technical limitations exist in cameras today? mobile phones? Is it possible to see some kind of serious breakthrough? For example, a one-inch matrix (as they did in the Panasonic CM-1) or a real telezoom lens. If you fantasize, what would you like to see in a mobile camera? And what can really appear?

In my opinion, a one-inch sensor in a smartphone camera is an excellent solution. But this will probably increase the thickness of the case and the weight of the gadget. An optical telezoom lens also requires more space. And today the market offers us a solution in the form of a dual camera. But this is not enough for us. Most likely, sensor sizes will not change in the near future. Perhaps the problems will somehow be solved by double, triple and “smart” cameras with artificial intelligence and machine learning.

I think that increasing the camera module is the next step in smartphone development. But if you think about it, a one-inch sensor is great, but it is very difficult to insert into a smartphone body. It might make sense to separate the smartphone and the camera, but Sony did that with the QX series. Maybe something will change in the optics: instead of G Lens optics, G Master will be used. The cost of such a smartphone will be very profitable for us, but people most likely will not appreciate it. Technically, such an implementation is possible.

Still, there are much fewer restrictions in DSLR and mirrorless cameras than in smartphones. But the computing power is on the side of smartphones. Cameras have their own development path, and smartphones have their own. Cameras must be comfortable and ergonomic, and they usually cost more than smartphones.

The only explanation more banal than this axiom is “the iPhone, it turns out, does not have a slot for a memory card.” But newbies continue to make mistakes when they fall for the number of megapixels in the camera, which means they have to repeat themselves.

Imagine a window - an ordinary window in a residential building or apartment. The number of megapixels is, roughly speaking, the number of glasses inside the window frame. If we continue to draw parallels with smartphones, in ancient times window glasses were the same size and were considered a scarce commodity. Therefore, when the so-called “Tolyan” said that he had 5 glasses (megapixels) in his window unit, everyone understood that Anatoly was a serious and wealthy person. And the characteristics of the window were also immediately clear - good review outside the house, large glass area.

A few years later, windows (megapixels) were no longer in short supply, so their number just needed to be increased to the required level, and that was it. Just adjust it to the area (a window for ventilation and a loggia, for the sake of strength, require a different number of windows) so that the camera produces a slightly denser picture than 4K monitors and TVs produce. And finally deal with other characteristics - for example, combat clouding of glass and image distortion. Teach cameras to focus correctly and paint available megapixels efficiently, if you want specifics.

On the right there are more “megapixels”, but they do not provide anything other than “obstacles” with the same “sensor” area

But people are already accustomed to measuring the quality of cameras in megapixels, and sellers happily indulged this. Therefore, the circus with a huge amount of glass (megapixels) in the same frame dimensions (camera matrix dimensions) continued. As a result, today the pixels in smartphone cameras, although they are not “packed” with the density of a mosquito net, the “deglazing” has become too dense, and over 15 megapixels in smartphones almost always spoil rather than improve photographs. This has never happened before, and again it turned out that it is not size that is important, but skill.

At the same time, the “evil,” as you understand, is not the megapixels themselves - if tons of megapixels were spread out on a fairly large camera, they would benefit the smartphone. When a camera is able to unleash the potential of all megapixels on board, and not “smear” them in large quantities when shooting, the photo can be enlarged, cropped, and it will remain of high quality. That is, no one will understand that this is just a fragment of a larger picture. But now such miracles are found only in “correct” SLR and mirrorless cameras, in which the matrix alone (a microcircuit with photo sensors, onto which the image flies through the “glasses” of the camera) is much larger than the assembled smartphone camera.

“Evil” is the tradition of putting a clip of megapixels into tiny cell phone cameras. This tradition brought nothing but a blurry picture and an excess of digital noise (“peas” in the frame).

Sony piled 23 megapixels where competitors put 12-15 megapixels, and paid for it with a decrease in picture clarity. (photo - manilashaker.com)

For reference: in best cameras Athos 2017 main rear cameras(not to be confused with b/w additional) all as one operate with “pathetic” 12-13 megapixels. In photo resolution it is approximately 4032x3024 pixels - enough for a Full HD (1920x1080) monitor, and for a 4K (3840x2160) monitor too, albeit back to back. Roughly speaking, if a smartphone camera has more than 10 megapixels, their number is no longer important. Other things are important.

How to determine that a camera is of high quality before looking at photos and videos from it

Aperture - how wide the smartphone “opened its eyes”

The squirrel eats nuts, deputies eat people’s money, and cameras eat light. The more light, the higher the quality of the photo and the more details. But you can’t get enough sunny weather and studio-style bright lighting for any occasion. Therefore, for good photos indoors or outdoors in cloudy weather/at night, cameras are designed in such a way that they produce a lot of light even in unfavorable conditions.

The easiest way to get more light to reach the camera sensor is to make the hole in the lens larger. The indicator of how wide the “eyes” of the camera are open is called aperture, aperture, or aperture ratio - these are the same parameter. And the words are different so that reviewers in articles can show off incomprehensible terms for as long as possible. Because, if you don’t show off, the aperture can simply be called, excuse me, a “hole,” as is customary among photographers.

The aperture is indicated by a fraction with an f, a slash and a number (or with a capital F and no fraction: for example, F2.2). Why

So it’s a long story, but that’s not the point, as Rotaru sings. The point is this: the smaller the number after the letter F and the slash, the better camera on a smartphone. For example, f/2.2 in smartphones is good, but f/1.9 is better! The wider the aperture, the more light enters the sensor and the better smartphone“sees” (takes better photos and videos) at night. The bonus of a wide aperture comes with beautiful background blur when you photograph flowers up close, even if your smartphone does not have a dual camera.

Melania Trump explains what different apertures look like in smartphone cameras

Before buying a smartphone, don’t be lazy to check how “sighty” its rear camera is. Have your eye on Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 – search for “Galaxy J3 2017 aperture”, “Galaxy J3 2017 aperture” or “Galaxy J3 2017 aperture” to find out the exact number. If the smartphone you have your eye on doesn’t know anything about the aperture, there are two options:

• The camera is so bad that the manufacturer decided to remain silent about its characteristics. Marketers engage in approximately the same rudeness when, in response to “what processor is in the smartphone?” they answer “quad-core” and do their best to avoid disclosing the specific model.
• The smartphone has just gone on sale and no specifications other than those in the advertising announcement have been released yet. Wait a couple of weeks - usually during this time the details will be released.

What should be the aperture in the camera of a new smartphone?

In 2017-2018 Even for a budget model, the rear camera should produce at least f/2.2. If the number in the denominator of this fraction is larger, get ready for the camera to see the picture as if through darkened glasses. And in the evening and at night she will be “low-blind” and will be able to see almost nothing even at a distance of several meters from the smartphone. And don’t rely on brightness adjustments - in a smartphone with f/2.4 or f/2.6, an evening photograph with a programmatically “tightened” exposure will turn out to be a “rough mess,” while a camera with f/2.2 or f/2.0 will take a higher-quality photo without tricks.

The wider the aperture, the higher the quality of shooting on a smartphone camera

The coolest smartphones today have cameras with an aperture of f/1.8, f/1.7 or even f/1.6. The aperture itself does not guarantee the maximum quality of pictures (the quality of the sensor and the “glass” has not been canceled) - this, to quote photographers, is just a “hole” through which the camera looks at the world. But all other things being equal, it is better to choose smartphones in which the camera does not “squint”, but receives an image with “eyes” wide open.

Matrix (sensor) diagonal: the larger the better

The matrix in a smartphone is not the matrix where people with complex muzzles in black cloaks dodge bullets. In mobile phones, this word means a photocell... in other words, a plate on which a picture flies through the “glasses” of the optics. In old cameras, the picture flew to the film and was saved there, and the matrix instead accumulates information about the photograph and sends it to the smartphone processor. The processor compiles all this into the final photograph and stores the files in internal memory, or on microSD.

There is only one thing you need to know about the matrix - it should be as large as possible. If the optics is a water hose, and the diaphragm is the neck of a container, then the matrix is ​​the same reservoir for water, of which there is never enough.

The dimensions of the matrix are usually measured in inhuman, from the bell tower of ordinary buyers, Vidicon inches. One such inch is equal to 17 mm, but cameras in smartphones have not yet grown to such dimensions, so the diagonal of the matrix is ​​denoted by a fraction, as is the case with the aperture. The smaller the second digit in the fraction (divisor), the larger the matrix -> the cooler the camera.

Is it clear that nothing is clear? Then just remember these numbers:

A budget smartphone will take good photographs if its matrix size is at least 1/3" and the camera resolution is no higher than 12 megapixels. More megapixels means lower quality in practice. And if there are less than ten megapixels, the photo will be visible on good large monitors and TVs look loose, simply because they have fewer dots than the height and width of your monitor screen.

In mid-range smartphones good size matrices - 1/2.9” or 1/2.8”. If you find a larger one (1/2.6” or 1/2.5”, for example), consider yourself very lucky. In flagship smartphones, a good tone is a matrix measuring at least 1/2.8”, and better – 1/2.5”.

Smartphones with large sensors take better pictures than models with small photocells

Can it get any cooler? It happens - look at 1/2.3” in Sony Xperia XZ Premium and XZ1. Why then don’t these smartphones set records for photo quality? Because the camera’s “automation” constantly makes mistakes with the selection of settings for shooting, and the camera’s reserve of “clarity and vigilance” is spoiled by the number of megapixels - in these models they piled up 19 instead of the standard 12-13 megapixels for new flagships, and the fly in the ointment crossed out the advantages of the huge matrix.

Are there smartphones in nature with a good camera and less harsh characteristics? Yes - take a look at Apple iPhone 7 with its 1/3" at 12 megapixels. On Honor 8, which has 1/2.9" with the same number of megapixels. Magic? No - just good optics and perfectly “polished” automation, which takes into account the potential of the camera as well as tailored trousers take into account the amount of cellulite on the thighs.

But there is a problem - manufacturers almost never indicate the size of the sensor in the specifications, because these are not megapixels, and you can embarrass yourself if the sensor is cheap. And in reviews or descriptions of smartphones in online stores, such camera characteristics are even less common. Even if you choose a smartphone with an adequate number of megapixels and a promising aperture value, there is a chance you will never know the size of the rear photosensor. In this case, pay attention to the latest characteristic of smartphone cameras, which directly affects the quality.

Better few large pixels than many small ones

Imagine a sandwich with red caviar, or take a look at it if you don’t remember what such delicacies look like. Just as the eggs in a sandwich are distributed over a piece of loaf, the area of ​​the camera sensor (camera matrix) in a smartphone is occupied by light-sensitive elements - pixels. There are, to put it mildly, not a dozen, or even a dozen, of these pixels in smartphones. One megapixel is 1 million pixels; typical smartphone cameras from 2015-2017 have 12-20 megapixels.

As we have already figured out, containing an excessive number of “blanks” on a smartphone’s matrix is ​​detrimental to photographs. The efficiency of such a crowd is similar to that of specialized teams of people replacing a light bulb. Therefore, it is better to observe a smaller number of smart pixels in a camera than a larger number of stupid ones. The larger each of the pixels in the camera, the less “dirty” the photos are, and the less “jumpy” the video recording becomes.

Large pixels in the camera (photo below) make evening and night shots better quality

The ideal smartphone camera consists of a large “foundation” (matrix/sensor) with large pixels on it. But no one is going to make smartphones thicker or dedicate half of the body at the back for the camera. Therefore, the “development” will be such that the camera does not stick out from the body and does not take up much space, the megapixels are large, even if there are only 12-13 of them, and the matrix is ​​as large as possible to accommodate them all.

The size of a pixel in a camera is measured in micrometers and is designated as µm in Russian or µm in Latin. Before you buy a smartphone, make sure that the pixels in it are large enough - this is an indirect sign that the camera takes good pictures. You type into the search, for example, “Xiaomi Mi 5S µm” or “Xiaomi Mi 5S µm” - and you are pleased with the camera characteristics of the smartphone that you have noticed. Or you get upset - it depends on the numbers you see as a result.

How big should a pixel be in a good camera phone?

In recent times, it has become especially famous for its pixel sizes... Google Pixel is a smartphone that was released in 2016 and “showed Kuzkin’s mother” to competitors due to the combination of a huge (1/2.3”) matrix and very large pixels of the order of 1.55 microns. With this set, he almost always produced detailed photographs even in cloudy weather or at night.

Why don't manufacturers "cut" the megapixels in the camera to a minimum and place a minimum of pixels on the matrix? Such an experiment has already happened - HTC in the flagship One M8 (2014) made the pixels so huge that the rear camera could fit... four of them on a 1/3” matrix! Thus, One M8 received pixels measuring as much as 2 microns! As a result, the smartphone “torn” almost all competitors in terms of the quality of images in the dark. Yes, and photographs in a resolution of 2688x1520 pixels were enough for Full HD monitors of that time. But the HTC camera did not become an all-round champion, because the Taiwanese were let down by HTC’s color accuracy and “stupid” shooting algorithms that did not know how to “correctly prepare” the settings for a sensor with unusual potential.

Today, all manufacturers have gone crazy with the race for the largest pixels, so:

• In good budget camera phones, the pixel size should be 1.22 microns or more
• In flagships, pixels ranging in size from 1.25 microns to 1.4 or 1.5 microns are considered good form. More is better.

There are few smartphones with a good camera and relatively small pixels, but they exist in nature. This, of course, is the Apple iPhone 7 with its 1.22 microns and OnePlus 5 with 1.12 microns - they “come out” due to very high-quality sensors, very good optics and “smart” automation.

Without these components, small pixels ruin the photo quality in flagship smartphones. For example, in the LG G6, the algorithms create obscenities when shooting at night, and the sensor, although ennobled with good “glasses,” is cheap in itself. IN

As a result, 1.12 microns always spoil night shots, except when you enter into battle with “manual mode” instead of stupid automation and correct its flaws yourself. The same picture prevails when shooting on the Sony Xperia XZ Premium or XZ1. And in the masterpiece, “on paper”, the Xiaomi Mi 5S camera is hampered from competing with the flagships of the iPhone and Samsung by the lack of optical stabilization and the same “crooked hands” of the algorithm developers, which is why the smartphone copes well with shooting only during the day, but not at night very impressive.

To make it clear how much to weigh in grams, take a look at the characteristics of the cameras in some of the best camera phones of our time.

What type of autofocus is best?

Autofocus is when a mobile phone “focuses” on its own while shooting photos and videos. It is needed so as not to change the settings “for every sneeze”, like a gunner in a tank.

In old smartphones and modern Chinese "state-priced" phones, manufacturers use contrast autofocus. This is the most primitive method of focusing, which focuses on how light or dark it is “straight ahead” in front of the camera, like a half-blind person. That’s why cheap smartphones need about a couple of seconds to focus, during which it’s easy to “miss” a moving object, or to stop wanting to shoot what you were going to do because “the train has left.”

Phase autofocus “catches light” across the entire area of ​​the camera sensor, calculates at what angle the rays enter the camera and draws conclusions about what is “in front of the smartphone’s nose” or a little further away. Due to its “intelligence” and calculations, it works very quickly during the day and does not annoy you at all. Distributed in all modern smartphones, except for the very budget ones. The only drawback is working at night, when the light enters into the narrow hole of the mobile phone’s aperture in such small portions that the smartphone “breaks the roof” and it constantly fidgets with focusing due to a sudden change in information.

Laser autofocus is the most chic! Laser rangefinders always used to “throw” a beam over a long distance and calculate the distance for an object. LG in the G3 smartphone (2014) taught this “scanning” to help the camera quickly focus.

Laser autofocus is amazingly fast even in indoor or dim environments

Take a look at your wristwatch... although, what am I talking about... okay, turn on the stopwatch on your smartphone and appreciate how quickly one second passes. Now mentally divide it by 3.5 - in 0.276 seconds, the smartphone receives information about the distance to the subject and reports this to the camera. Moreover, it does not lose speed either in the dark or in bad weather. If you plan to take photos and videos up close or at a short distance If there is a lack of light, a smartphone with laser autofocus will help you out a lot.

But keep in mind that cell phones are not Star Wars weapons, so the range of the laser in the camera barely jumps a couple of meters. Everything that is further away is viewed by the mobile phone using the same phase autofocus. In other words, to photograph objects from afar, it is not necessary to look for a smartphone with “laser guidance” in the camera - you will not get much use from such a function in general shots of photos and videos.

Optical stabilization. Why is it needed and how does it work

Have you ever driven a car with leaf spring suspension? On army UAZs, for example, or ambulances with the same design? In addition to the fact that in such cars you can “beat off the butt,” they shake incredibly - the suspension is as rigid as possible so as not to fall apart on the roads, and therefore it tells passengers everything that it thinks about the road surface, frankly and not “spring” (because that there is nothing to spring with).

Now you know how a smartphone camera without optical stabilization feels when you try to take a photo.

The problem with shooting with a smartphone is this:

• The camera needs a lot of light to take good photos. Not direct rays of the sun into the “face”, but diffuse, ubiquitous light around.
• The longer the camera “examines” the image during the photo, the more light it captures = the higher the quality of the picture.
• At the time of shooting and these camera “peeps”, the smartphone must be motionless so that the picture does not get “smeared”. If it moves even a fraction of a millimeter, the frame will be ruined.

And human hands are shaking. This is clearly noticeable if you lift with outstretched arms and try to hold a barbell, and less noticeable when you hold a cell phone in front of you to take a photo or video. The difference is that the barbell can “float” in your hands within wide limits - as long as you don’t touch it against a wall, a neighbor, or drop it on your feet. And the smartphone needs to have time to “grab” the light for the photo to come out successful, and to do this before it deviates a fraction of a millimeter in your hands.

Therefore, the algorithms try to please the camera and not put increased demands on your hands. That is, they tell the camera, for example, “so, 1/250th of a second you can shoot, this is enough for the photo to be more or less successful, and taking a shot before the camera moves to the side is also enough.” This thing is called endurance.

How optical stabilization works

What does optostab have to do with it? So, after all, he is the “depreciation” with which the camera does not shake like the body of army trucks, but “floats” within small boundaries. In the case of smartphones, it does not float in water, but is held by magnets and “fidgets” at a short distance from them.

That is, if the smartphone moves a little or trembles during shooting, the camera will shake much less. With such insurance, a smartphone will be able to:

• Increase the shutter speed (the guaranteed time “to see the picture before the photo is ready”) for the camera. The camera receives more light, sees more image details = the quality of the photo during the day is even higher.
• Capture clear photos on the move. Not during an off-road sprint, but while walking or from the window of a shaking bus, for example.
• Compensate for shaking in video recordings. Even if you stomp your feet very sharply or sway slightly under the weight of the bag in your second hand, this will not be as noticeable in the video as in smartphones without an optical stabilizer.

Therefore, optostab (OIS, as it is called in English) is an extremely useful thing in a smartphone camera. It’s also possible without it, but it’s sad - the camera must be of high quality “with a margin”, and the automation will have to shorten (worse) the shutter speed, because there is no insurance against shaking in a smartphone. When shooting video, you have to “move” the image on the fly so that the shaking is not visible. This is akin to how in old movies they simulated the speed of a moving car when it was actually standing still. The only difference is that in films these scenes were filmed in one take, and smartphones have to calculate the shaking and deal with it on the fly.

There are vanishingly few smartphones with a good camera, which without stabilization takes pictures no worse than competitors with stabilization - these are, for example, Apple iPhone 6s, the first generation of Google Pixel, OnePlus 5, Xiaomi Mi 5s and, with some stretch, Honor 8/ Honor 9.

What not to pay attention to

• Flash. Useful only when shooting in pitch darkness, when you need to take a photo at any cost. As a result, you see the pale faces of people in the frame (all of them, because the flash is low-power), eyes squinted from the bright light, or a very strange color of buildings/trees - photographs with a smartphone flash definitely do not carry any artistic value. As a flashlight, the LED near the camera is much more useful.
• Number of lenses in the camera. “Before, when I had 5 Mbps internet, I wrote an essay in a day, but now, when I have 100 Mbps, I write it in 4 seconds.” No, guys, it doesn't work like that. It doesn’t matter how many lenses there are in a smartphone, it doesn’t matter who released them (Carl Zeiss, judging by the quality of the new Nokia cameras, too). Lenses are either high quality or not, and this can only be verified with real photographs.

The quality of the “glass” (lenses) affects the quality of the camera. But the quantity is not

• Shooting in RAW. If you don’t know what RAW is, I’ll explain:

JPEG is the standard format in which smartphones record photos; it is a “ready-to-use” photo. Like the Olivier salad on a festive table, you can take it apart “into its components” in order to transform it into another salad, but it won’t turn out to be of very high quality.

RAW is a hefty file on a flash drive, in which all brightness, clarity and color options for a photograph are sewn in its pure form, in separate “lines”. That is, the photo will not be “covered with small dots” (digital noise) if you decide to make it not as dark as it turned out to be in JPEG, but a little brighter, as if you had set the brightness correctly at the time of shooting.

In short, RAW allows you to “Photoshop” a frame much more conveniently than JPEG. But the catch is that flagship smartphones almost always select the settings correctly, so apart from the smartphone’s RAW memory being polluted with “heavy” photos, there will be little benefit from “Photoshopped” files. And in cheap smartphones, the camera quality is so poor that you will watch poor quality in JPEG, and the source in RAW is just as bad. Don't bother.

• Camera sensor name. They were once super important because they were a “quality seal” for a camera. The size of the matrix, the number of megapixels and pixel size, and minor “family characteristics” of shooting algorithms depend on the model of the camera sensor (module).

Of the “big three” manufacturers of camera modules for smartphones, the highest quality modules are produced by Sony (we do not take individual examples into account, we are talking about the average temperature in a hospital), followed by Samsung ( Samsung sensors V Samsung smartphones Galaxy is even better than the coolest Sony sensors, but the Koreans are selling something absurd on the side), and finally, OmniVision, which produces “consumer goods, but tolerable”, closes the list. Intolerant consumer goods are produced by all other basement Chinese companies, the name of which even the manufacturers themselves are ashamed to mention in the characteristics of smartphones.

8 - execution option. Do you know how this happens in cars? The minimum configuration is with “cloth” on the seats and a “wooden” interior, the maximum is with artificial suede seats and a leather dashboard. For buyers, the difference in this figure means little.

Why, after all this, should you not pay attention to the sensor model? Because with them the situation is the same as with megapixels - Chinese “alternatively gifted” manufacturers are actively purchasing expensive Sony sensors, trumpeting at every corner “our smartphone has a super-high-quality camera!”... and the camera is disgusting.

Because the “glass” (lenses) in such mobile phones is of appalling quality and transmits light a little better than a plastic soda bottle. Because of these same bastard “glasses,” the camera aperture is far from ideal (f/2.2 or even higher), and no one is tuning the sensor so that the camera selects the colors correctly, works well with the processor, and doesn’t spoil the pictures. Here is a clear example that the sensor model has little effect:

As you can see, smartphones with the same camera sensor can shoot completely differently. So don't think that the cheap Moto G5 Plus with IMX362 module will shoot as well as the HTC U11 with its amazingly cool camera.

Even more annoying is the “noodle on the ears” that Xiaomi puts on the ears of buyers when it says that “the camera in Mi Max 2 is very similar to the camera in the flagship Mi 6 - they have the same IMX386 sensors! They are the same, but the smartphones shoot very differently, the aperture (and therefore the ability to shoot in low light) is different, and the Mi Max 2 cannot compete with the flagship Mi6.

1. The additional camera “helps” take photos at night with the main one and can take black and white photos. The most famous smartphones with such camera implementations are Huawei P9, Honor 8, Honor 9, Huawei P10.
2. The secondary camera allows you to “shove in the impossible,” that is, it takes pictures with an almost panoramic viewing angle. The only proponent of this type of camera was and remains LG - starting with the LG G5, continuing with the V20, G6, X Cam and now the V30.
3. Two cameras are needed for optical zoom (zooming in without losing quality). Most often, this effect is achieved by simultaneous operation of two cameras at once (Apple iPhone 7 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8), although there are models that, when zoomed in, simply switch to a separate “long-range” camera - ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom, for example.

How to choose a high-quality selfie camera in a smartphone?

Best of all - based on examples of real photographs. Moreover, both during the day and at night. During the day, almost all selfie cameras produce good photos, but only high-quality front cameras are capable of shooting something legible in the dark.

It is not necessary to study the vocabulary of photographers and go deeper into what this or that characteristic is responsible for - you can simply memorize the numbers “this much is good, but if the number is higher, it is bad” and choose a smartphone much faster. For an explanation of terms, welcome to the beginning of the article, and here we will try to derive the formula for a high-quality camera in smartphones.

I don't want to understand the characteristics! Which smartphone to buy with good cameras?

Manufacturers produce countless smartphones, but among them there are very few models that can take good photographs and shoot videos.

More and more people prefer smartphones to compact cameras. Yes, of course, in terms of image quality they are still not up to par with professional DSLRs, but they can easily shoot at the level of digital point-and-shoot cameras. Considering that in addition you get advanced multifunction device, sometimes implemented even in a smaller case than that of compacts, then the choice is quite obvious. With a high degree of probability, independent amateur-class devices are already reaching their end, and the future still belongs to smartphones.

Recently, the situation in the production of mobile cameras has changed significantly for the better. Dual modules began to appear, manufacturers began to seriously think about implementing full-fledged optical stabilization, and almost all top products learned to support 4K and HDR. So who has managed to become the market favorite this season?

Samsung Galaxy S7

There was always filming strong point Koreans, and the Galaxy S7 is no exception. After the unsuccessful launch of Note 7, Samsung focused its attention on the spring flagship, which, by the way, is quite good. It’s so good that it easily outperformed even the very promising iPhone 7 Plus in comparison.

The main module of the smartphone is built on a 12-megapixel Sony IMX260 sensor with a pixel size of 1.4 microns and a glass lens with F/1.7 aperture. The sensor is made to special order and is not found in other models. There is a proprietary Dual Pixel focusing technology, which uses dual photodiodes on each of the pixels of the matrix. This made it possible to achieve high pointing accuracy even when shooting in dimly lit areas and the best operating speed among competitors.

The smartphone is capable of shooting video with 4K resolution, making animated panoramas, as well as slow-motion, time-lapse and hyperlapse videos. You can save photos in RAW format. Ensure natural color rendering and good quality Pictures at dusk are helped by Britecell technology, and the presence of optical stabilization increases sharpness and prevents image shake when recording video.

In general, the camera on the Galaxy S7 is rightfully considered the best in the world. All that remains is not to regret 45-50,000 rubles to get the desired gadget.

iPhone 7 Plus

Some people love apple products, others just hate them, but... latest iPhone 7 with the Plus label, the developers managed to make one of the highest quality cameras on the market, which also became the first module in a smartphone format to receive a 2x optical zoom.

It is implemented through a combination of two 12-megapixel sensors and two six-lens lenses, one of which is regular and the second is telephoto. In addition to the optical zoom, a 10x digital zoom is provided, equipped with pixelation smoothing algorithms. The picture is completed by the use of a powerful dedicated processor and an advanced optical stabilization system.

Those who want to take advantage of advanced photo post-processing capabilities will appreciate support for RAW format. Fans of portrait and subject photography, as well as fans of various experiments, will love the special algorithm for shifting the focus point in the frame with blurring of background objects, working with ready-made frames.

Thanks to a high-quality, fast lens with a maximum aperture of F/1.8, the camera shows the best results among smartphones when photographing in sunny weather, outperforming even the Galaxy S7 in detail, but losing to it in the twilight and when shooting portraits. If there is still not enough light, you can use a bright four-LED flash. The cost of a smartphone, depending on the configuration, ranges from 63 to 120,000 rubles.

Google Pixel

The youngest brand in our review, which appeared just over two weeks ago, has a very eminent parent, which is Google. The device uses a 12.3-megapixel Sony IMX378 sensor with a pixel size increased to 1.55 microns and a lens with a maximum aperture of F/2.0. There is optical stabilization, laser and phase focusing, as well as an HDR+ extended dynamic range mode, which is indispensable when shooting in difficult lighting.

To confirm the very good technical characteristics, Google cites the results of testing carried out by DxO Labs, which publishes the results on the authoritative resource DxOMark, in which the smartphone’s camera took first place among all competitors. The device has not yet gone on general sale, but you can already pre-order it at a price of $650.

HTC 10

The top three are good for everyone, except for the cost that is too prohibitive for many. A good alternative at a price starting from 37,000 rubles could be the HTC 10. The smartphone has a 12-megapixel matrix, but not a regular one, but a BSI one, with support for UltraPixel 2 technology, which makes it possible to achieve a large pixel measuring 1.55 microns. There is optical stabilization, laser autofocus and a two-tone flash. It is possible to save photos in RAW. The F/2.0 lens copes well with shooting in dark rooms.

LG G5

LG's February flagship, which has a dual camera, could also be a good option in the mid-price segment. It should soon be replaced on the market by the more advanced V20, equipped with the same set of photo modules. Since the model has already been announced, but has not yet gone on sale, we will limit ourselves to the equally high-quality G5. Initially, the smartphone was conceived as modular, but the idea did not find the proper response among buyers.

Meanwhile, its camera will give a head start to many competitors. The design uses a main module with a 16-megapixel Sony IMX234 sensor, a lens with an F/2.0 aperture, laser autofocus and optical stabilization. The auxiliary module uses an 8-megapixel sensor and a lens with a 136-degree viewing angle. In the final picture, the two captured frames are combined into one wide-screen one, on which a higher-quality image captured by a 16-megapixel sensor is superimposed in the center. The cost of the device in Russia starts from 30,000 rubles.

Huawei P9

The P9 was the world's first smartphone to feature Leica-certified lenses. The model received a dual main module carrying a pair of 12-megapixel Sony IMX286 sensors, one of them color and the other black and white. The monochrome sensor can capture more light, resulting in sharper, wider images when combined with an image captured by a full color sensor. dynamic range and increases detail when shooting in low light conditions. There is laser autofocus, LED flash and the ability to save photos in RAW format. Smartphone price depending on quantity installed memory varies from 30 to 45,000 rubles.

Meizu MX6

Despite not the highest price, the device boasts one of the best cameras in the Meizu range, surpassing even more expensive flagships. The model is somewhat inferior to LG and Huawei, but for its price range it has very impressive quality that can compete with many competitors. The module is built on the basis of a 12-megapixel Sony IMX386 matrix, where the size of each pixel is 1.25 microns. Paired with the sensor is a lens with a six-element optical system with an F/2.0 aperture, and phase detection autofocus will help you quickly capture the desired object in the frame.

The camera handles daytime shooting well and supports 4K video resolution, but noise starts to appear in low light conditions. The matter will be partially helped by a double flash, which, unfortunately, is not relevant for all scenes. You can buy an MX6 for 18 thousand rubles or more.

ZTE Nubia Z11

The cute frameless Nubia not only looks great, but also takes photos quite well. The rear camera is equipped with a high-quality 16-megapixel Sony IMX298 sensor and a lens with a 6-element optical system, covered with sapphire glass, which protects the lens from scratches and acts as an IR filter.

Complement the design modern system optical stabilization, phase detection autofocus and dual-tone LED flash. Additionally, there is an algorithm designed to reduce noise when shooting at dusk. The smartphone was introduced in Europe at the end of August and is just starting to go on sale. The cost of the new product, depending on the configuration, will be 500-600 euros.

Conclusion

If we compare all the models with each other, then the Samsung Galaxy S7, iPhone 7 Plus and Google Pixel can be conditionally classified as top-class. HTC 10, LG G5 and Huawei P9 will be a little simpler, and Meizu MX6, ZTE Nubia Z11 and a number of other models from this group, with their fairly high image quality, are somewhat inferior to the smartphones of the first two groups.

We are witnessing the emergence of a new marketing feature to attract smartphone buyers - a 48 megapixel camera. Mobile phone manufacturers seem to have conspired and are trying to “buy” users with record megapixels. Some have already released their smartphones with a record-breaking camera resolution, while others are just preparing devices with such a module. They will differ in the sensor that will form the basis of the camera. You have to choose between two: and Samsung ISOCELL Bright GM1. Is there a difference between them and which one is better?

Honor General Product Manager Xiong Junmin decided to answer this question. But before that, let us remind you that Sony and Samsung presented their 48 MP modules last year. The size of both sensors is decent - 1/2 inch, but the pixel size is only 0.8 microns. But the trick of these sensors is that the pixels can read information from four neighboring pixels and this allows you to create 12 megapixel photos with large 1.6 micron pixels. This adaptation should improve the quality of shots taken at night.

According to the top manager Honor, Sony IMX feature 586 in color filter Quad Bayer . With it, neighboring pixels of the same color are grouped according to a 2x2 pattern into one to an equivalent pixel of 1.6 microns in size. This increases the sensitivity of the sensor, and it “turns” into a 12 megapixel module. In theory, this should be useful specifically when shooting shots at night and will allow you to get bright images with a low noise level. Herself Sony announced that the sensor will be able to produce “honest” frames measuring 8000x6000 pixels without interpolation.

In the case of a sensor Samsung Galaxy Bright GM 1 it creates frames measuring 4000x3000 pixels and this figure corresponds to a camera with 12 million effective pixels, where each size is 1.6 microns. With this sensor, whose physical resolution is 12 megapixels, the smartphone will actually be able to produce images with a resolution of 48 megapixels, but this effect will be achieved through interpolation and the price for this is loss of detail. Whereas Sony IMX586 will create clearer frames.

Conclusion of the General Product Manager of Honor - Sony IMX586 produces “honest” 48 megapixel frames obtained by transforming the pixel structure, while pictures with a similar resolution from Samsung GM1 are only the result of artificial image enlargement. The extent to which its conclusion corresponds to reality can only be verified by comparing pictures taken with the camera of the Redmi Note 7 and Honor V20/Huawei Nova 4. It will be interesting to see how both sensors work in practice and how noticeable the difference will actually be between photos taken at 48 and 12 Mp. Still, there is an assumption that 48 megapixel photos are obtained using a Sony sensor, not without the help of digital image processing.

Sony has a lot of matrices for smartphone cameras in its arsenal, and the range is constantly being updated. Along with radically new solutions (like the IMX400, which supports video shooting at 960 FPS), matrices are also being produced that are modified (improved or cheaper) versions of previous models. One of them was the Sony Exmor RS IMX386, which is actually an updated variation of the IMX286, released six months earlier.

Sony Exmor IMX386 is a photographic matrix, according to marketing ranking, located on the border of the middle and flagship price categories (closer to the flagships). It found application in smartphones priced at $250–$500, released in late 2016 and early to mid-2017. Sony review Exmor IMX386 will take you closer to the technical specifications and capabilities of this camera.

Specifications Sony Exmor IMX386

The basis of the Sony Exmor IMX386 is a CMOS matrix, made in 4:3 proportions, standard for photographic equipment. Its size is 1/2.9", the physical diagonal is 6.2 mm. The full sensor resolution is 3968x2976 pixels or 11.8 megapixels. There is a phase-detection autofocus system with selective placement of the corresponding sensors (there is no Dual Pixel technology).

Due to the increased diagonal (compared to the most popular 1/3.06") and reduced resolution (versus 13 megapixels), the camera has an increased pixel size. The dimensions of the pixel cell are 1.25x1.25 microns, which gives a 25% larger light-absorbing area than cameras with 1.12x1.12 µm: 1.56 µm2 versus 1.25 µm2. In theory, this should give more high quality and the detail of the photo in low light conditions, but how it works in practice – we’ll see later in the review.

Not all camera modules based on Sony IMX386 are equipped with an image stabilization system. Flagships have it, while mid-range models are equipped with sensors housed in a simpler housing. The optics of the cameras are also different: based on Sony IMX386, modules are created whose lenses contain 5 or 6 lenses, with an aperture from F/1.6 to F/2.2. Therefore, the final quality of photos and videos may vary on different devices.

Video recording from the camera can be recorded in resolution up to 4K. The maximum frame rate when recording video in Slow-Mo, with a reduced resolution, can reach 240 FPS, but is limited by the capabilities of the chipset. Therefore, in existing smartphones with Sony IMX386, the video recording speed is usually lower.

Smartphones with Sony Exmor IMX386 camera

As of the end of August 2017, the Sony IMX386 matrix was of interest only to leading Chinese smartphone manufacturers. Companies from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan have not yet released their devices with such a camera, but Xiaomi and Meizu liked this sensor. Companies have created a number of mid- and high-end devices with such matrices.

In , the flagship of 2017, the main camera is based on Sony IMX386. It is made as part of a module with a 4-axis optical stabilization system and a six-element lens. The lens aperture is F/1.8. In the middle class, Xiaomi equipped phablets and . The main camera of both differs from the flagship in a simplified module system and cheaper optics. These smartphones do not have optical stabilization, the lens consists of 5 lenses, and the relative diameter of its pupil is F/2.2.

Meizu also did not ignore the Sony IMX386. The first device with this camera was , released in the summer of 2016. Its matrix is ​​made in a body without OIS, with optics with an F/2 aperture. The same configuration is used in the fashionable glass mid-ranger Meizu M3X. But in Meizu Pro 6S and Pro 6 Plus have a more advanced main camera configuration. The lens aperture has not been improved, but the module received a 4-axis optical stabilization system and laser autofocus.

The latest Meizu devices with this camera are the flagships Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus. They use a dual camera based on color and black and white Sony IMX386 sensors. Their optics have an F/2 aperture and consist of 6 lenses.

Huawei and AGM each have one device with Sony IMX386 matrices. The first equipped it with a mid-range phablet, which is equipped with a dual camera. The main one of the pair is precisely the object of review. The module configuration is simple, without a stabilization system and five-lens optics with an F/2.2 aperture.

The latest smartphone presented, equipped with Sony IMX386, is AGM X2. He has two of these matrices, color and black and white. The smartphone is not yet on mass sale, so there is no detailed verified information about its cameras yet, but since the company is not the most famous, most likely, a simple module configuration is used, without OIS and improved optics.

Examples of photos from a camera based on Sony IMX386

To evaluate what the Sony IMX386 matrix is ​​capable of in mid-range smartphones and flagships, we offer a selection of photographs taken from it. To take examples, we used Xiaomi Mi6 and Mi Max 2 equipped with this matrix. The photographs were taken in approximately the same lighting conditions so that you could look and see how the quality and aperture of the optics affects the quality of the pictures.

Flash shot on Xiaomi Mi6

Night, dark, photo with flash (Mi MAX 2)

Daytime, cloudy, shot in the shade of trees on Xiaomi Mi6 (1300 lux)

Daytime, cloudy, shot in the shade of trees on Mi MAX 2 (1300 lux)

During the day, cloudy& Shot on Mi6 (2000 lux)

Daytime, cloudy. Mi MAX 2 (2000 lux)

Daytime, cloudy. Mi6 (5000 lux)

Daytime, cloudy. Mi MAX 2 (5000 lux)

As you can see, despite the same IMX386 matrices, Xiaomi Mi6 is slightly superior to Mi MAX 2 in image quality. In addition to the matrix, the chipset, software, optics, etc. play an important role.

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