Sony has recently released an impressive image sensor which is the industry’s highest ever pixel count and the world’s first ultra-compact pixel size of 0.8 micrometers. The 48 MP is packed into a tiny 8-mm sized diagonal unit which is ideal for even the most compact sized smartphones. Last time a phone made to headlines was when Nokia released a 41-megapixel sensor in 2013. The company claimed that the phone would record the details which can never be thought to be possible from a smartphone. The analysts called it the best smartphone camera on the market.
Usually, a high megapixel count on such a small chip can result in poor night time shooting capacities. However, the new sensor called IMX586 deals with that effect using the Quad Bayer color filter. Sony’s advanced filter features adjacent 2×2 pixels in the same color which means it can merge four pixels into one to be used in low light situations. Addition of these four adjacent pixels raises the camera’s sensitivity to an equivalent of a 12 megapixels camera. This makes it even superior to Google’s Pixel 2 XL which is so far the best low-light smartphone camera available on the market.
Light Fusion’s setting combines data from four adjacent pixels into one for more explicit shots. The unique feature of Sony’s latest tech is the combination of the highest pixel count which is balanced by a competent sensitivity adjusting filter. Sony has also built its original exposure control technology and signal processing functionality into its latest image sensor. This combination enables the real-time output and a dynamic range which is four times bigger than that of other conventional models. This means that even highly contrasted scenes that feature both bright and dark sections can be captured in detail with little highlight blowout. IMX586 also gives full-resolution burst shooting at up to 30 frames per second and true-4K video recording at 90 fps.
Sony’s image sensor business has been quite profitable and ranked $5.9 billion in revenues in 2017. The firm also supplies its components to various manufacturers all over the world. The company also vowed to spend $9 billion in research and development in the next three years to become the top camera brand by 2021. The latest 48-megapixel sensor is also a step in the right direction for the company’s future goals. Although Sony has announced the introduction of the new sensor, they still have not released any information on the manufacturers who will be using the tech in their devices.