Sony teases greater smartphone camera focus abilities for IFA
A few unofficial teasers and leaks regarding some upcoming smartphones from Sony have been gradually trickling out over the past couple of weeks, but now we have an official teaser from Sony Xperia GB. The tweet is all about some new camera technology, which the company appears to have planned for a new smartphone release taking place at IFA on September 2nd.
Get ready for a smartphone with greater focus. All will become clear on 02.09.2015. pic.twitter.com/Mm7HjWKojA
— Sony Xperia GB (@sonyxperiagb) August 24, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
All of the references to cameras and focusing leads me to believe that the upcoming handset will likely make use of Sony’s latest Exmor RS IMX230 or IMX240 image sensor. The IMX230 features 21 megapixels, which is typical for Sony’s flagship devices, along with 192 point phase detection autofocus technology (PDAF), for faster and more accurate object focusing. Sony unveiled its PDAF and traditional contrast hybrid auto-focus technology with the launch of the Xperia M5 less than one month ago, which may also feature in this new handset.
Unfortunately, we can’t really see the phone because of the blur in the image, but the design looks the same as the company’s existing Xperia series, although the size perhaps suggests that a Compact variant is on the way. Last week, a press shot of the Xperia Z5 Compact leaked online and pictures from earlier in the month hint that an entire Xperia Z5 range might be on the way.
We don’t have too many other specification rumors to go on at this point. One or more of Sony’s upcoming devices may be making use of Sony’s 4K X-Reality display software and a fingerprint scanner is also said to be included.
The teaser leaves us with a date set for September 2nd, meaning that there’s a little over a week left to wait until we see what Sony has to offer.
Selfie reveals a 5MP front-facing camera for the upcoming LG Nexus 5 2015
A Google employee has reportedly captured a selfie using the upcoming LG Nexus 5 smartphone. The selfie was uploaded to Google+ earlier today and reveals a 5MP front-facing camera. The post was listed with code name “Bullhead” thus further indicating this is indeed the upcoming LG Nexus handset.
The selfie reveals that the LG Nexus 5 (2015) will have a 5MP snapper 1944 × 2592, and include an aperture of f/2.0 for better low-light photos. The picture is blurred in order to keep the identity of the Google employee hidden. This means that this obviously wasn’t planned to be any sort of teaser for the upcoming handset.
Rumors and recent reports of the handset indicate a late October/early November launch alongside the release of Marshmallow. We can’t wait to see what the two companies have in store for us time come this fall.
Source: TechTastic.nl
Come comment on this article: Selfie reveals a 5MP front-facing camera for the upcoming LG Nexus 5 2015
QuantumFilm image sensors explained
Smartphone cameras have come a long way recently, with sensor and lens setups in some of this year’s flagships offering up some seriously good looking results, just look at the Galaxy S6 or the LG G4 for example. However, even the best smartphone cameras still suffer from limited versatility, often have poor low light performance, and heavy noise and crosstalk when compared with higher end sensors found in DSLR cameras.
Furthermore, the resolution race has seen increasingly high-resolution cameras in smartphones, but our testing and experience has shown us that the cameras with the most pixels aren’t necessarily producing the best results. That being said, HTC’s attempt to buck this trend with its Ultrapixel technology failed to produce superior results either. The fact of the matter is that sensors, and therefore pixel sizes, in smartphones are limited by their compact size.
See also: LG G4 vs Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge – Camera Shootout
InVisage, a fabless semiconductor company, is planning to bring its unique QuantumFilm technology to market, which might provide a big leap forward in image quality for small form factor mobile devices.
The problem
The crux of the issue is down to the compromises made with module size and light capture. For a little background, modern CMOS image sensors are built up of lots of sensor/pixel cells, each configured with a filter to detect how much red, green, or blue light is in the scene and in which locations. But these sensors aren’t perfect, there is a certain amount of reflection and loss as light enters a sensor and there can also be cross talk between adjacent cells and electronic interference, which manifests as noise and color artifacts.
Low light pictures often expose the weaknesses of a sensor.
These problems are more pronounced in compact smartphone sensors, as the cells are smaller and packed in closer together. Further increasing the resolution of a sensor compounds these problems, leading to more noise and worse performance in low light conditions.
The image sensor industry has come up with a number of innovations to help combat these problems. Moving over from frontside to backside illumination sensors helped reduce loss as the light reached the base of the cell, while Samsung’s Isocell aimed to better insulate nearby cells from each other, resulting in less crosstalk. These are fine solutions, but don’t completely eliminate the aforementioned probems.
QuantumFilm’s solution
InVisage’s QuantumFilm technology aims to address these problems by tweaking traditional sensor designs to make use of its own light sensing layer, which promises to capture more light and avoid crosstalk. Much of the design remains the same as today’s CMOS sensors, instead it is the QuantumFilm layer that is of particular interest.
Rather than using silicon photodiodes, InVisage’s sensors use their own metal-chalcogenide quantum-dot film to capture much more light near the surface of the sensor. This film is built from quantum dots, a small nanocrystal with quantum mechanical properties, arranged in a colloid, a solution made up of evenly distributed small particles.
This layer is connected in between the usual filter layer and the electrode circuitry. When a certain color of light reacts with the QuantumFilm layer, the circuit can detect the region in which this reaction occurred to determine the pixel’s color. This way, the camera’s resolution does not affect the amount of light captured in the way that traditional CMOS sensors do and there’s apparently less crosstalk than solutions which require larger photosensitive cells. In other words, the resolution of the filter layer and density of the detecting circuitry determines the resolution, while the film layer remains unchanged.
The video below offers a pretty comprehensive explanation of what the company wants to achieve, without the techno-babble.
This whole idea seems rather well suited to smartphones, where compact hardware is essential. QuantumFilm has a few benefits in this regard, as it can be produced at very thin sizes, cutting up to 0.8mm off the very smallest CMOS sensors, which is a small, but valuable space saving inside a smartphone.
Furthermore, QuantumFilm boasts a light absorption capacity up to eight times greater than some silicon CMOS sensors, allowing for greater dynamic range and better low light shots, less noise, and it can also be used for infrared light detection, opening the door for new and interesting compact product ideas.
How soon?
Like many other up and coming pieces of technology, the big problem with QuantumFilm is that it remains untested in real world consumer products. There has been a lot of talk for a number of years, but nothing for us to really sink our teeth into.
As a small company, InVisage is currently only producing a small number of wafers, but is looking to ramp up production in the second half of this year. TSMC will be helping InVisage further increase production with additional capacity next year.
We are still probably in for quite a wait until the first smartphones appear sporting the technology, but QuantumFilm is certainly something to keep an eye on.
Razer’s 3D-sensing camera brings motion tracking to your games
Razer has been big on immersive gaming as of late, and it’s reinforcing that by unveiling a 3D-sensing camera at the Intel Developer Forum. The ominous-looking gadget uses Intel’s RealSense to track your movement in games, whether you’re sitting at a desktop or sporting a VR helmet (including Razer’s own OSVR, naturally). For example, it can follow your head movements when you look to the side in a race car’s cockpit. There aren’t many more details to speak of just yet, but this hardware should arrive in the first quarter of 2016.
Filed under:
Gaming, Peripherals, Intel
Tags: camera, gaming, idf2015, intel, motiontracking, peripherals, realsense, virtualreality, vr
Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Sony RX100, how good is today’s smartphone camera?
Many of us use our smartphones as our primary cameras. We’re aware that they cannot compete with real cameras. Their lenses are too small. But that’s okay, they’re good enough. But for the curious folk, how good exactly?
We continually see OEM’s pushing the technological capabilities of our tiny shooters. To us faint of heart, they look superb, don’t they? Is it justified that we cower in submission when our buddies, who lug their humongous DSLR everywhere, scoff at our puny, insignificant excuse of a camera?
Well, I wouldn’t dare to say that it isn’t justified from a quality perspective. But, I can argue that they’re not as bad and insignificant as they could be perceived. This is why I thought a camera shootout should be in order.
The Galaxy S6 camera is one of the best (if not the best) camera offerings in an Android smartphone. And the contender? Well, I felt it’d be frivolous to compare it to a DSLR. They’re no where in the same league. But what about a renowned compact camera? On the opposing corner we have the Sony RX100 (Mark II).
Yes, I know. Sony’s compact flagship is up to the Mark IV generation currently. The Mark II is what I have in my arsenal. Both models use a similar Carl Zeiss lens, it’s close enough.
Before I begin, know that I’m no professional photographer. But for this kind of comparison, I think that’s a good thing. I won’t overdo the analysis and bore with technicalities. I’m more interested in what the average user is interested in: What is the grade of the pics coming out of my flagship smartphone camera? Should I not be using it as a dedicated camera, am I unknowingly missing out?
These are great questions to ask, which no one is asking. And the results from my tests are quite surprising. I went around shooting the same shots with both cameras, of random things.
The Galaxy S6 camera shoots 16:9 at 16MP (I’m actually using the S6 Edge variant, but they both have the same camera). The RX100 has 20 MP at 3:2 natively, but I set it at 16:9, which lowers the resolution to a more comparable 17 MP. Furthermore, both cameras were set to their Auto modes (on the RX100, I used Sony’s Superior Auto setting). The settings on the RX100 are far more adjustable than the S6 camera, but most people simply point and shoot.
Let’s take a look at the results. The Galaxy S6 images will be on the left and the RX100 images will be on the right. I’ve made three category of images: flowers/landscape, indoors, and outdoors/beach.
Flowers/Landscape
The details here are extremely close. I can’t really tell a difference, other than that the Galaxy S6 image looks a tad brighter.
It’s the same deal here. The detail of the butterfly and flowers are all there in both images. Focusing is a tad different. The RX100 appears to start defocusing at a shorter distance.
This image shows a more interesting result. The sun is shinning directly on the pansies, and that seems to throw the Galaxy S6 camera off. Not drastically, but you can say that the pedals are slightly washed-out. The RX100 captures their colors more deeply. Also, the RX100 has more dramatic focusing going on with the background.
On this landscape image, I think it’s clear too which wins. But again, we’re not looking at stark differences. The colors of the plants in the RX100 image have deeper colors, and the overall tone isn’t as washed-out.
I saw my dog laying still, so thought it’d make a good pet photo (his name is Ian). I actually prefer the Galaxy S6 shot on this one. The RX100 image looks slightly washed-out this time. And that plant he’s laying on looks clearer on the Galaxy S6 image.
This last one shows an angry spider on a daisy. I think the RX100 is the clear winner here. The RX100 captures detail on the small spider much better and the purple color of the daisy is deeper.
Indoors
While great detail is captured by both cameras, the RX100 wins out with truer color reproduction. To me, the Galaxy S6 image has a slight red tint to it.
What came out most noticeably in this comparison is the difference in focus depth. The RX100 actually tends to be too aggressive with its pin-pointed autofocusing, for me. To adjust it, you have to mess with lens aperture setting.
The Galaxy S6 camera is able to capture the detail in the waffle and the moisture reflections of the banana. I think it looks great.
This was an interesting, sort of low-light shot. Because of the aggressive defocusing of the RX100, the Galaxy S6 actually captures the spider detail better (the RX100 focused on the bottom/right area of the web). But like usual, the RX100 captures the scene colors better. As seen before, the S6 camera’s overall color tone can be affected largely by the lighting situation.
For the next pair of shots, I wanted to see how far I could push low light capture of both cameras. I grabbed my trusty R.A.T. 9 gaming mouse and cut the lights slightly, and then tried an even dimmer spot.
The first pair of shots show that the Galaxy S6 camera starts to become grainy at lower light, but can still pull the detail it needs out of the subject. Being that the RX100 has a larger lens, it can pull in more light, but it does start to show some blurryness. When the light is removed even more, the S6 shot suffers in all areas. Impressively, the RX100 is still able to find light, but it struggles more with the blurryness.
Outdoors/Beach
I was impressed with the detail of the beach logs from both cameras. My only complaint is that the Galaxy S6 image has a slighy peachy tint in comparison.
To me, this one is a win for the Galaxy S6. The colors look richer on its image. The detail from both cameras are present.
Very similar image here. I have a preference for the Galaxy S6 image again, solely because it looks brighter to me.
When I zoomed on a traveling ferry, I already knew which device would win. The RX100 has optical zoom, the Galaxy S6 doesn’t. I just wanted to see how wide the difference was.
The RX100 can zoom a max of 3.6X, so this is how much I zoomed on the Galaxy S6. As expected, just about everything is clearer/sharper on the RX100 image.
More fairly, I got a shot when the ferry docked. An interesting point is the sunlight’s reflection on the mostly-white vessel. To me, the Galaxy S6 camera slightly overblows the lighting on ship’s body.
I prefer the RX100 in this image. I don’t know if it’s the lighting bouncing off the surrounding buildings, but the color of the flowers look richer to me in the RX100 shot.
The detail of the gate and de-focusing around it are captured beautifully in both images. But notice the color of the lawn. For some reason the greenery is over-saturated on the Galaxy S6 image.
Both of these images came out great, to me. I think I see that slight peachy tint on the Galaxy S6 image, but at the same time, it’s brighter. So it may come down to preference.
This last one was when I sat down with a cup of coffee. This was a shaded area, on a bright day. Interestingly, both cameras reacted differently. The S6 camera was more concerned with the overall shot, maintaining the contrast with the buildings in the background, but dimming the closer-up subjects (brick wall and chair).
The RX100 appears to wash-out the surrounding buildings, but captures the direct subjects much better. Notice the floor to the left, the RX100 is able the detail much better.
Final Thoughts
I was enormously impressed by the Galaxy S6 camera. To a causal picture-taker, such as myself, it can totally compete with a good dedicated camera. And this is saying a lot, because the RX100 is roughly the same cost of the Galaxy S6 itself.
Yes, there were clear moments that the RX100 won. To sum it up, the Galaxy S6 camera can lose color richness and have a tint with certain lighting conditions, it can’t zoom well (like other digital zooming cameras), and it can’t keep up in low-light shots.
But none of those negatives were drastic, it’s just nit-picking. And on some of those comparisons, I had to reach deep to comment on something negative. Do you agree with my assessments?
The post Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Sony RX100, how good is today’s smartphone camera? appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google and MIT researchers demo their photo reflection removal algorithm
I’m sure we have all witnessed those pesky reflections while trying to grab a photograph through a window, but those days may soon be behind us, thanks to research conducted by Google and MIT. The group presented a paper at Siggraph 2015 and has published a video demonstrating its algorithm for removing reflections from your pictures.
The software isn’t just good for reflections though, it can also be used to analyse and remove other obstacles from your pictures, such as raindrops on the glass and even a chain-link fence that partially obstructs your view. It’s not 100 percent perfect, but seems to do a pretty good job at mostly removing these annoyances in a wide range of scenarios, include tough low-light scenes.
The developers state that the algorithm works using a short video clip that could, for example, be capture from your phone. At this stage, the algorithm sorts out the depth of the scene using edge detection differences in the successive frames and can figure out any obstructions in the foreground. A somewhat similar idea is used for techniques like post processing depth of field adjustments and 3D parallax images, which rely on multiple points of view.
From here, the software can fill in the obstructed space with information from other frames, resulting in a clearer final picture. One creepy “side effect” of the technology is that it can also quite accurately recreate a clear image of whatever is contained within a reflection or occlusion.
The video below has a really detailed explanation about how this is accomplished and a few more examples, which is well worth a watch if you’re keen on details.
This type of technique has been tried before, but previous result have been rather mixed. Google and MIT’s implementation seems the best so far. Unfortunately we don’t know if or when this type of technology will become available for smartphone cameras. Here’s hoping that someone picks up the idea and brings it to consumers.
What is the least important feature on a phone? [Poll]
We spend lots of time talking about the best features on smartphones and what makes them so great. But what if we decided to turn the tables? Today, we are not talking about what feature has to be included on the phone you buy, but rather which feature you could live without. So here is the setup for this question.
Y
ou are walking through the woods when you come upon an old shack. Inquisitive, you decide to check out what is inside and discover an old magician sitting in the corner reading a book, Android for Dummies. He sees you and begs you to help him figure out how to use his new Android smartphone. As a self-proclaimed tech whiz, you get him all set up and prepare to leave. He says he must reward you and promises to create you the perfect smartphone. His describes the phone to you as he works his magic.
The screen is beautiful and perfectly sized for your hand. The gorgeous 2K resolution makes pictures and text pop. You are not sure what magical screen technology the wizard used, but the colors are perfectly accurate and the blacks are true. Even better, outdoor visibility is amazing!
The performance on this phone is second to none. No matter how much stress you put on it, you will never experience any lag. It flies through multitasking, gaming, web browsing, videoing, and anything else you can throw at it.
The build quality is strong yet light. You know that no matter what you do to this phone, it will never chip, scratch, shatter, or dent. The materials feel comfortable in your hand, and no matter how much you use it, the phone never gets hot.
The speakers make sound come alive and fill the room you are in. The audio quality would bring tears to an audiophile’s eyes. Best of all, the speakers are front-facing but take up no room on the bezel. Magic, you say? Well…yes.
The camera takes pictures that look more real life that the world outside. Every feature and add-on you want is already included, and there is not even a camera hump. Just for fun, the magician throws in a best-in-class selfie camera, too.
The battery life is unbelievable! No matter how much you use it, the phone will always last for days. When you do finally need to charge it, the charging technology is so good you can be back up to full in no time.
Finally, the software is top notch. It is running the latest version of Android, and if you want, you can add any skin on top. Updates become available the day they are announced, and the magician promises your phone will be supported forever.
All of this sounds amazing, and you are eager for the magician to finish his spells and hand over your new phone. Unfortunately, the magician is old and reluctantly tells you he cannot deliver on one of his promised features. In fact, he has to skimp on one of them to deliver the other features he offered.
So now the question is: Which feature would you give up in order to have an otherwise perfect phone?
To make this more interesting, I am going to tell you what you will have to endure depending on what you choose.
If you choose the screen as least important, the size will be unbearable for you. Either too large or too small, depending on which you hate more. The resolution matches 5-year-old budget phones, the colors look terrible, and you will never be able to see it outside.
For those of you who do not think performance is important, you will find yourself will a phone that cannot even handle basic tasks. Texting, browsing the web, using social media, and switching apps cause your device to lag and stutter until you are frustrated beyond comprehension.
Choosing build quality will give you the cheapest built phone you could ever imagine. The materials are flimsy and weak, and the phone creaks every time you touch it. It feels like the phone might just shatter if you set it down to quickly. And this is a problem that no mere case is going to fix, regardless of the brand or materials.
If you go with speakers/sound quality as least important, you will never want to listen to anything on this phone again. First, the speaker will be placed in a way that you will almost always muffle it. The audio itself is distorted, crackly, tinny, and just plain terrible. Unfortunately, the problem persists even if you use headphones or a Bluetooth speaker.
Choosing camera as unimportant will net you a camera that 2009 Android phones could beat. The megapixel count is extremely low, the sensor is absolute trash, the colors in every picture look wrong, low light performance does not exist, and you are stuck using a bare-bones camera app.
If you do not think battery life is important, you will be sorry once you have to use this phone. With top of the line specs, this phone will never last you through a day. When you are forced to charge during your lunch break, you will find no Quick Charge technology here. A slow trickle barely fills your battery at all, and you will be back to the outlet in no time.
Finally, choosing software as least important will leave you with an extremely powerful phone running an outdated, ugly, terribly skinned version of Android Froyo. With a guarantee that no updates will ever reach your device and absolutely no root community, you will be stuck in the past forever.
So now the time has come to vote! Which awful feature you choose to endure to have all the other features in the top list? Select you answer in the poll below, and they let us know what you chose and why down in the comments!
What is the least important feature on a phone?
The post What is the least important feature on a phone? [Poll] appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Motorola’s new focus on cameras shows with the Moto G (2015)
Motorola devices have been haunted for years by bad cameras. There was an opportunity to change the poor camera quality perception in 2013 when Motorola reinvented itself; however, critics and consumers were only left disappointed yet again when the Moto X (2013) failed to deliver a camera comparable to that of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and LG G2. Motorola’s low-end and mid-range devices obviously suffered from awful cameras, too. The Moto G (2013) had a 5MP camera while the Moto G (2014) raised that to 8MP. As we all know, megapixels mean nothing on paper. This year, with Lenovo overseeing the company, Motorola seems to have found itself a pretty good camera of 13MP on the Moto G (2015).
Here is how Motorola describes the new Moto G’s camera:
The new Moto G delivers high-quality photos in any environment. Even in low light, the ultra-fast f2.0 lens produces crystal-clear images, and the color-balancing dual LED flash preserves color and clarity. What’s more, High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging helps you capture both the brightest highlights and darkest shadows, just as your eyes see them.
Below you are going to see images taken by the Moto G. Interestingly, Motorola has the phone’s camera set to capture images in widescreen. This means that they are taken at 9.7MP and 16:9 aspect ratio. Taking pictures at the standard 13MP alters the aspect ratio to 4:3. We have images of both varieties to show you. Also, high-dynamic range (HDR) is set to automatic for all of them.
Indoors (widescreen)
Indoors (standard)
Outdoors (widescreen)
Outdoors (standard)
Closing
What’s left to say? For a phone that starts at $179, the camera performs well above expectations. Motorola’s new commitment to sell devices with good cameras is evident in a sub-$200 phone.
Come comment on this article: Motorola’s new focus on cameras shows with the Moto G (2015)
Sony teases new Xperia phone on August 3rd
Sony Mobile has just let us in on a new Xperia phone coming our way soon. It’s just a tease, so not much was said. But we know that its camera abilities are in focus.
Lately, we’ve been seeing manufacturers ramp up autofocusing speed in their smartphone cameras, using either phase detection or laser autofocus methods. Last year, Sony revealed that they managed to squeeze their 192-point phase detection focusing technology into a mobile Exmor RS sensor. It was assumed that the Xperia Z4 would have arrived touting it, but now Aug. 3rd appears to be the day.
What’s also interesting is the timeframe of this announcement. This robust camera technology seems fit for an Xperia flagship. However, Sony typically launches their Fall flapship at IFA in September. Could Sony be following Samsung’s lead to move forward their launch to avoid butting heads with Apple?
Either way, we’re always excited for new smartphone camera development. Sony’s new sensor is said to be 21 megapixels and capable of 4K recording at 30fps (with HDR support at this resolution).
Assuming this phone comes stateside, are you excited to see another contender for the top smartphone camera spot?
The post Sony teases new Xperia phone on August 3rd appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Nokia OZO is a VR camera for professionals
Nokia may not be making its own smartphones anymore, but they are ensuring their future in the tech industry in multiple ways. We first heard about their newest venture last week, and today the company enters a new market by announcing the Nokia OZO, a VR camera specifically designed for professionals. Of course, this camera can create video for headsets like Google Cardboard and the Oculus Rift.
While it may seem odd to see Nokia making a virtual reality camera, their eccentric gadget looks promising. This spherical camera holds 8 shutter sensors and 8 microphones. The camera is also special in that it has sensors pointing upwards and downwards, unlike some other 360-degree cameras, which only capture horizontally. This will give videos a much more immersive nature, with both video and audio being completely multi-directional.
The Finnish company also makes sure to lure possible customers by offering some enticing software features. For starters, the camera allows for real-time viewing, as well as quickly rendered low-resolution footage (for testing). The OZO also manages to discard the need for pre-assembling your 360-degree content, which can be a convoluted process.
These software and hardware improvements will make it simpler for content creators to produce VR videos for our head-mounted displays. VR production company Jaunt even committed to support OZO by using the camera and supporting OZO content through its post-production software.
We can say virtual reality is a bit immature, at least in terms of consumer products and readily available content. The concept needs to be more polished, and I can honestly say the OZO is looking to be the most elaborated VR camera I have seen. It is well designed, simplifies workflow and should output “professional” quality footage.
Details such as specs and price are still kept under the veils, but Nokia tells us we should expect shipments to come in Q4 2015. We are pretty sure it won’t exactly be cheap, though! It is a professional tool, after all. Are any of you guys looking to take advantage of a Nokia OZO camera?
AIVAnet 