Samsung introduces 64- and 48-megapixel camera sensors for smartphones
Samsung today announced two new camera sensors for smartphones. The South Korean company will offer a whopping 64-megapixel ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor and a version with a slightly less impressive number of pixels, the ISOCELL Bright GW2 with a 48-megapixel sensor.
Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today introduced two new 0.8-micrometer (μm) pixel image sensors – the 64-megapixel (Mp) Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 and 48Mp ISOCELL Bright GM2. With the addition, Samsung expands its 0.8μm image sensor lineup, the smallest pixel size currently available in the market, from existing 20Mp to ultra-high 64Mp resolutions.
“Over the past few years, mobile phone cameras have become the main instrument for recording and sharing our everyday moments,” said Yongin Park, executive vice president of sensor business at Samsung Electronics. “With more pixels and advanced pixel technologies, Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 and GM2 will bring a new level of photography to today’s sleekest mobile devices that will enhance and help change the way we record our daily lives.”
ISOCELL Bright GW1 is a 64Mp image sensor that features the highest resolution in Samsung’s 0.8μm-pixel image sensor lineup. With pixel-merging Tetracell technology** and remosaic algorithm***, GW1 can produce bright 16Mp images in low-light environments and highly-detailed 64Mp shots in brighter settings. To take pictures resembling the way the human eye perceives its surroundings in a mixed light environment, GW1 supports real-time high dynamic range (HDR) of up to 100-decibels (dB) that provides richer hues. In comparison, the dynamic range of a conventional image sensor is at around 60dB, while that of the human eye is typically considered to be around 120dB.
GW1 is equipped with a Dual Conversion Gain (DCG) that converts the received light into an electric signal according to the illumination of the environment. This allows the sensor to optimize its full well capacity (FWC), utilizing the collected light more efficiently especially in bright environments. Sharper results can be delivered through Super PD, a high-performance phase detection auto-focus technology, and full HD recording at 480 frames-per-second (fps) is supported for smooth cinematic slow motion videos.
ISOCELL Bright GM2 is a 48Mp image sensor that also adopts Tetracell technology in low-light environments and a remosaic algorithm in well-lit settings, bringing highly-detailed pictures with natural and vivid colors. GM2, like GW1, adopts DCG as well for added performance and Super PD for fast autofocus.
Samsung ISOCELL Bright GW1 and GM2 are currently sampling and are expected to be in mass production in the second half of this year.
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Junior Member
Posts: 1
Joined: 2019-05-09
They left the mirrorless ilc market (Samsung NX) awhile ago. Those new sensors are probably quad bayer sensors so 4 pixels are merged together (the photosites are so small the noise levels are probably pretty nuts) e.g 48mp produces 12 and 64 to 16.
Senior Member
Posts: 430
Joined: 2013-08-09
"Flagship" phones will ship with 1TB of storage by the end of the year, or beginning of 2020, so storage of large 64/48MP images won't be an issue for high-end phones.
Senior Member
Posts: 10399
Joined: 2006-02-14
A 48 or 64 MP camera on a phone seems kinda stupid in most cases. In order to really take advantage of that level of quality, the file sizes are going to be absurdly huge. Considering the limited resources on phones and Samsung not typically including SD slots in flagship models (which these cameras are obviously going to be used on), really gets me to wonder what the point of this is. Seems like a good sensor for a standalone camera, but not for a phone.
On the note of standalone cameras, I was thinking "why doesn't Samsung make DSLR or mirrorless full-body cameras?" and to my surprise: they do. Sure gets me to wonder though if their sensors are as good as they claim, seeing as I've never once heard of a professional photographer mention them.
Samsung get a lot wrong, but they do include Micro SD card slots on their phones, flagships included.
And I doubt they'll use the 64 MP sensor to take crappy 64 MP photos. It'll probably combine information from multiple pixels and take a much lower res photo, at higher quality than what's available now.
Senior Member
Posts: 328
Joined: 2013-03-06
You know what would be awesome: if a 64MP would take 4 16MP(or 16x4MP) images at the same time and stack them(like in photoshop->smart object->stacking). This would result in images that look VERY clean. Right now cameras do it by taking mutiple successive images which introduce artifacts due to movement.
(if each pixel is defined by a number and the number shows the image number it belongs to (out of 4))
12341234...
34123412...
12341234...
34123412...
. . . . . . . . ...
Senior Member
Posts: 7163
Joined: 2012-11-10
A 48 or 64 MP camera on a phone seems kinda stupid in most cases. In order to really take advantage of that level of quality, the file sizes are going to be absurdly huge. Considering the limited resources on phones, really gets me to wonder what the point of this is. Seems like a good sensor for a standalone camera, but not for a phone.
On the note of standalone cameras, I was thinking "why doesn't Samsung make DSLR or mirrorless full-body cameras?" and to my surprise: they do. Sure gets me to wonder though if their sensors are as good as they claim, seeing as I've never once heard of a professional photographer mention them.