Samsung’s new mobile image sensor packs 200MP and new pixel-binning tech
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Samsung’s new mobile image sensor packs 200MP and new pixel-binning tech
Samsung launched not one, but two image sensors for phones - the ISOCELL HP1 and ISOCELL GN5. These image sensors are currently available to manufacturers for sampling, and will likely end up inside one of your future smartphones.
ISOCELL HP1
The ISOCELL HP1 image sensor is the first of its kind to have 200MP, according to Samsung. It squeezes everything in with really tiny pixels (at 0.64μm pixel size), promising an “astonishing amount of detail” even when you crop or resize photos shot on it.
Also on this mobile image sensor is a new Samsung-made pixel-binning technique, ChameleonCell. As implied by its name, ChameleonCell changes to suit the shooting requirements. Before pixel-binning, it looks at the scene ahead to decide if it needs better low-light handling. It even chooses pixel layouts - used by ChameleonCell are 2x2, 4x4, or full pixel, depending on the low-light environment.
ISOCELL HP1 can go up to 2.56μm (by merging pixel data from 16 neighbouring pixels) if needed. Conventional pixel-binning techniques for phone image sensors are fixed to a single layout and typically do not swap between layouts.
For users, ISOCELL HP1 is capable of shooting 8K resolution videos at 30FPS.
ISOCELL GN5
Another new mobile image sensor is ISOCELL GN5, the latest version of its 50MP sensor series. Dual Pixel Pro returns to this 1.0μm image sensor, offering autofocusing capabilities in both horizontal and vertical directions.
Added to its already-powerful Dual Pixel Pro is Front Deep Trench Isolation (FDTI), where each photodiode can now absorb and hold more light information. This helps increase the ISOCELL GN5’s full-well capacity and decreases any crosstalk within each pixel (see image above).
Source: Samsung
