Samsung Introduces ISOCELL HM3 with massive 108Mp Image Sensor for Smartphones
Samsung today introduced its latest 108-megapixel (Mp) mobile image sensor, Samsung ISOCELL HM3. With a wide spectrum of advanced sensor technologies, the HM3 can capture sharper and more vivid images in ultra-high resolution with faster auto-focus and extended dynamic range.
“While a pixel is just a single dot of color, when in millions, these dots can be transformed into stunning snapshots of life. With more pixels, images are sharper, with fuller details that can maintain their integrity even when enlarged. Samsung has been at the forefront of bringing the most pixels to mobile image sensors as well as various supporting technologies that take sensor performances to the next level,” said Duckhyun Chang, executive vice president of the sensor business at Samsung Electronics. “The ISOCELL HM3 is the culmination of Samsung’s latest sensor technologies that will help deliver premium mobile experiences to today’s smart-device users.”
The 1/1.33” ISOCELL HM3 with 0.8μm-sized pixels is a new addition to Samsung ISOCELL’s 108Mp product line-up.
For faster auto-focus, the HM3 integrates an improved Super PD Plus feature. Super PD Plus adds AF-optimized micro-lenses over the phase detection focusing agents, increasing measurement accuracy of the agents by 50-percent. The enhanced phase detection auto-focusing (PDAF) solution helps to keep moving subjects in sharp focus and delivers optimum results in dark environments.
In mixed light environments, such as at the end of a tunnel, the HM3 adopts Smart ISO Pro, a high-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging technology which uses an intra-scene dual conversion gain (iDCG) solution. Smart ISO Pro simultaneously captures a frame in both high and low ISO, then merges them into a single image in 12-bit color depth and with reduced noise. As Smart ISO Pro does not require multiple exposure shots to create a standard HDR image, it can significantly reduce motion-artifacts. In addition, with a low-noise mode, it improves the light sensitivity by 50-percent to capture brighter and clearer results in low-light environments than its predecessor.
The HM3’s pixel layout is especially arranged in three-by-three single color structures suitable for nine-pixel binning. By merging nine neighboring pixels, the 108Mp HM3 mimics a 12Mp image sensor with large 2.4μm-pixels, heightening light sensitivity when taking photographs in low-light environments. With an improved binning hardware IP, the HM3 supports seamless transitions between 108Mp and 12Mp resolutions.
Designs of the new sensor have also been optimized to reduce energy usage under preview mode by 6.5-percent, offering added power efficiency to the overall mobile device.
Samsung ISOCELL HM3 is currently in mass production.
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Oh ! More megapixels of noise ! While for extreme zoom it will help a phone is impossible to get a lens big enough to not get tons of noise in such resolutions.
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slight oot
this probably marketing-"bs" things, but apple release this yesterday:
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/01/shot-on-iphone-12-portraits-cityscapes-the-night-sky-and-more/
iphone12 is only 12mp, right?
for whatever reason, aside for production use or maybe big-printing, i think in many people eyes, those pictures already good enough
the things with smartphone camera is that, its a feature that considered main
so it still keep getting improvement for each new release, its quite interesting how they will keep pushing image quality that showing what look nice in our eyes
back to topic, as far as high MP, while its not bringing whole different quality instantly, but there some improvement with high MP sensor, so for me personally as long there improvement why not


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i had a canon mx10 and i compared it with a motorola one power phone (Gcam) app.
The phone decimated the canon MX10 so bad, i ended up selling it.
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Sure, but that are two different price segments. The 18mp camera is not competing against the 50mp one. The 18mp one is using a lot older tech and lower-end tech. That is why you can have it so cheap. The 18mp is an entry level camera. The 50mp is a professional. But the megapixel count has nothing to do with the entry vs professional.
A Megapixel count is just a sampling rate. Just like audio sample rate -> https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/digital-audio-basics-sample-rate-and-bit-depth/-jcr-content/root/sectioncontainer-main/flexcontainer/flexcontainer-center/flexcontainer-center-top/image.coreimg.82.1280.png/1590799216325/increasing-bit-depth-resolution.png
The higher sample rate the finer detail. However. Just because you sample at a higher rate, it does not mean the final product is better as it is not always noticeable for a human or maybe the image/audio is of a low quality and therefor it is wasted sampling at a higher rate.
I am a professional photographer and use a 42mp sony camera on a daily basis. That thing is amazing - if the lighting is right. It has terrible ISO performance because the photosites are so small. My 12mp sony camera however is also fantastic. You think 12mp is not enough these days, but it is. If its made with modern tech. The problem is that we compare 10 old tech with brand new future tech and say "look at the difference! WOW!".
Also. Lower megapixel counts lets you read out data from the sensor much faster and can capture more images with the same space. Those images can then be put together and you can then superresolution them. There is a reason that Apple is still using 12mp cameras. Its because they can manipulate them much faster, take more images and compare difference and then normalise the end result. You dont even notice it just took 20 images and compared them, rotated some, superresolutioned, some in low exposure, some in high all put together to one image.. In the end its the physical size of the sensor and the current tech that says what the quality will be. Megapixels count is just one quantitative factor of a whole pipeline and largely a marketing term. You dont hear all the other numbers of the stuff that is in the tech - only the megapixel count.
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Yeah, I'm not saying they would need to reach the levels of the real high-speed cameras like Phantom. Those can do hundreds of thousands of fps. Something like 600fps at sub-HD resolution surely should be more than reasonable for a DSLR that costs a thousand bucks. It would require a cache memory of the DDR variety, I guess, but if the image resolution isn't that high, not massive amounts of it for limited length videos. The memory would costs tens of dollars at the maximum, which isn't a huge portion of the total price. As I recall, the flagship smartphones are doing it, maybe closer to 1000fps, so heat isn't likely a critical problem at that speed.
The SNR has developed to a better direction constantly over the years, plus better CPUs and algorithms help with it as well. When you have plenty of light, it's less of an issue as well. In less light, you can combine the pixels. With modern UIs, it shouldn't be an issue, unlike in the rather unwieldy UI still present in my old camera.
With technology, it's normal to expect more for the same price.