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Posts Tagged ‘Front’

ZTE appears to be getting ready to launch smartphone with 32MP front camera

01 Feb

Smartphone front cameras used to be overshadowed by their counterparts on the rear of mobile devices, offering low pixel counts, fixed focus lenses and generally simple specs. This is changing quickly, however, with some front cameras on the latest high-end smartphones featuring high-resolution sensors, AF-systems, computational bokeh modes, HDR and other advanced functions.

It looks like ZTE is now about to take things to a new level by launching a smartphone with a 32MP front-facing camera. The new device, which is said to be the ZTE Blade V10, has emerged in a regulatory filing on China’s TENAA website and is thought to use Samsung’s ISOCELL GD1 sensor.

The latter comes with a 0.8 micron pixel pitch and pixel-binning technology, merging four adjacent pixels into one for better dynamic range and lower noise levels. The sensor also comes with real-time video HDR, so the ZTE could be a good option in difficult high-contrast scenes.

Other specs put the new model into the mid-range bracket of the market. There’ll be a 6.3-inch full-HD+ LCD display, an octa-core chipset and a 3,100mAh battery, according to the filings. The main camera comes with a 16MP primary sensor and a 5MP secondary sensor, likely for depth sensing.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Samsung launches 1/3.4″ 20MP sensor for use in smartphone front cameras and tele modules

23 Jan

Smartphone camera technology is moving faster than ever and in recent times we have seen two new developments on a variety of mid-range and high-end devices. More and more rear cameras come with secondary modules with longer focal lengths, usually a 2 or 3x zoom factor when compared to the primary shooter. At the front the latest trend are “hole punch” cameras that are pretty much hidden underneath the display and only peek through a tiny hole.

Both these trends require small sensors to enable designers and engineers to maintain the slim form factors of current premium devices. Samsung has today launched its new ISOCELL Slim 3T2 20MP 1/3.4″ sensor which comes with a 0.8?m pixel pitch and is Samsung’s smallest 20MP sensor, making it ideal for such applications.

‘The ISOCELL Slim 3T2 is our smallest and most versatile 20Mp image sensor that helps mobile device manufacturers bring differentiated consumer value not only in camera performance but also in features including hardware design,” said Jinhyun Kwon, vice president of System LSI sensor marketing at Samsung Electronics. “As the demand for advanced imaging capabilities in mobile devices continue to grow, we will keep pushing the limits in image sensor technologies for richer user experiences.’

In addition to tiny dimensions the new sensor offers, when used in front facing cameras, Samsung’s Tetracell technology, which merges four pixels to work as one for brighter exposures and less noise in low light conditions. Samsung claims Tetracell increases the color filter array’s light sensitivity to that of a 1.6?m-pixel image sensor at 5MP resolution.

For applications in rear cameras, for example in a tele-module, the sensor uses an RGB color filter array instead of Tetracell. Samsung says the sensor’s small dimensions reduce the height of the tele-camera module by around seven percent when compared to the company’s current 1/3-inch 20MP imagers. Compared to the existing 13MP sensor with the same module height, the 3T2 offers, thanks to the higher pixel count, better performance when digital zoom is thrown into the mix.

The Samsung ISOCELL Slim 3T2 is expected to be in mass production in the first quarter of this year.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Samsung and Huawei introduce the ‘hole-punch’ front camera in their latest smartphones

12 Dec

Smartphone manufacturers are facing a dilemma these days. Consumers want a display that covers as much of the front of the device and has bezels that are as thin as possible. On the other hand some components, for example the front camera, proximity and light sensors or the earpiece have to be placed onto the front of the device as well to work efficiently, taking away some of the available real estate from the display.

This has resulted in the much-dreaded display-“notch” as it was first popularized by the iPhone X and since then has appeared on most other high-end phones as well.

Apple iPhone XR with display notch

Samsung and Huawei are now going down a different route, however, with their new A8s and Honor View20 models, respectively. Both new smartphones feature a so-called ‘hole-punch’ front camera which is designed to be less obtrusive than a ‘notch.’

In this design the camera is hidden behind the display which comes with a small circular hole for the lens to peek through. It’s worth noting however, that unlike many current high-end models neither the A8s nor the View20 come with any face recognition features that would require additional sensors at the front. Both new devices are placed in the mid-range bracket of the market which makes them more suitable for the new design.

Samsung Galaxy A8s with “hole-punch” front camera

The View20’s main camera also comes with a promising specification. The camera features the same 1/2″ Sony sensor with 48MP resolution that we are also expecting to see in an upcoming Xiaomi device. The sensor’s high pixel count is used for high-quality digital zooming and computational frame-stacking methods, though, so don’t expect any medium-format resolution out of your smartphone any time soon.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Dual-screen Vivo NEX 2 expected to ditch front camera

04 Dec

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo has been teasing its upcoming Vivo NEX 2 flagship model on its own website and Youtube and it looks like the new model will introduce an interesting new concept that – if widely adopted – could make smartphone front cameras a thing of the past: Dual screens.

The teasers are in line with previous rumors and indicate that the NEX 2 will come with a smaller secondary display on the rear of the device. From a camera point of view this means that the need for a front camera has been eliminated as the rear main camera can be used to capture selfie portraits or video, and record footage for video calls.

No front camera likely also means no display “notch”, allowing the main display to occupy the entire front of the device. Other rumored specs include an option with 10GB RAM and 128 GB storage, Snapdragon 845 chipset and AMOLED display technology.

Judging by one of the teaser animations, the main camera will likely combine three sensors and lenses in a circular module that is surrounded by a circle of flash LEDs.

We’ll know more on December 11 when the new model is expected to officially launch but if rumors and teasers are anything to go by it already looks like the Vivo NEX 2 could be one of the most innovative new smartphones of 2018.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Report: Apple working to fix aggressive iPhone Xs, Xs Max front camera “beautification”

01 Oct

Apple’s new iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max have only been available to buy for a short period of time but it seems some users are not particularly happy with the image quality of the front camera, specifically when shooting self-portraits.

According to multiple threads on Reddit, Apple’s front camera image processing creates images that looks like “really poor Photoshopping,” or as if a Snapchat filter had been applied. In some of the posted samples users have also seen the subject’s skin color rendered in a quite unnatural colors. Vlogger Unbox Therapy has even produced a video on the issue, shared below.

Image: Reddit / user chemicalsam

The good news is that, according to reports, Apple is already on the case. AppleInsider has confirmed with sources who are not authorized to speak on behalf of the company that the problem is being investigated. Reddit user chemicalsam, who posted the first message about the problem, also says Apple has been in touch and is “working on this issue actively.”

It also seems that the over-aggressive “beautification” or skin-smoothing effect is not applied across all shipped devices. AppleInsider says it is not noticeable on any of the iPhone Xs or Xs Max devices that its staff has purchased for review or personal use.

Some degree of “beautification” is being applied to front camera images from almost all manufacturers and in many cases is user-adjustable. In any case, the problem should only be a software issue and therefore easily fixable via an update.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony’s updated 3D Creator app can use your smartphone’s front camera to scan your face

21 Apr

Sony’s 3D Creator app with its 3D-face-scanning function was first introduced with the Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact last year. Now the Japanese manufacturer is rolling out the update to version 2 of the app.

The most important upgrade of the new version is the ability to create 3D models of your face with your smartphone’s front camera. This means, unlike with the previous version, you don’t need the help of another person to create a 3D-model of your face and head. Of course, the option to use the main camera and get someone else to do the job is still available.

The updated app also lets you share the results straight to Facebook or order a 3D-printed copy of your model. And version 2.0 also comes with “post-scan cloud processing,” which allows you to render 3D models with 4K resolution textures for better detail and realism.

3D Creator 2.0 is compatible with the Xperia XZ1, XZ1 Compact, and XZ Premium. If you’re lucky enough to own one of these devices, you can download the newest version of the app from the Play Store now. If you are an iPhone X user, check out the Bellus 3D app for similar face scanning capabilities.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Lomography adds ultra-wide Naiad 15mm F3.8 front lens to the Neptune system

06 Apr

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Following its successful campaign for the Neptune Convertible Art Lens System, Lomography has added the new ultra-wide 15mm F3.8 front lens to the lineup. The so-called Naiad 15mm Art Lens has a 135° FOV and is designed to capture sharp images up to 1cm away from the subject. It also features a lens hood that doubles as a filter mount.

The Naiad 15mm front lens features 9 elements in 7 groups, 100mm filter compatibility, a multi-colored lens coating, and support for Canon EF, Nikon F, and Pentax K mounts via the Lens Base. Though Naiad was made for full-frame systems, Lomography says the lens is suitable for crop sensors as well, with a 24mm equivalent focal length on APS-C cameras and 30mm on M43 systems.

Images captured with Naiad feature bright, highly saturated colors and “punchy contrast,” according Lomography. And the integrated lens hood—which can rotate 360-degrees—supports rectangular filters with thickness up to 2mm so you can further customize your results.

Here are a few sample images captured with the Naiad 15mm:

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The Naiad 15mm can be purchased from Lomography’s website now for $ 450 USD by itself, $ 700 USD with the Lens Base, and $ 800 USD with a full filter set. Lomography is also offering the full Neptune Convertible Art Lens system, with Naiad, for $ 1,140; of you can buy the full set, plus Naiad, plus the full range of Naiad filters, for $ 1,250.

Press Release

Naiad 3.8/15 Art Lens: A 15mm Front Lens for the Neptune Convertible Art Lens System

Open Up Your World — Capture Ultra-Wide Shots Steeped in Saturated Colors and Punchy Contrasts

  • A Brand New, Ultra-Wide 15mm Front Lens – After the success of the Neptune Convertible Art Lens System on Kickstarter just nine months ago, Lomography got to work on a ultra-wide 15mm front lens: Naiad.
  • With a 135° Field of View to Fill with Punchy, Saturated Colors – Stretching your field of view, Naiad pushes you to shoot fuller frames steeped in the saturated colors and punchy color contrasts that define the Lomo look.
  • Shoot Super Sharp Shots from as Close as 1cm – Get outstandingly near to your subject and use Naiad to dramatize the crispest details up close.
  • Finetune Your Shots with a Range of Fantastic Filters – Naiad’s lens hood doubles as a filter holder so you can balance your shading and stop stray light from entering your shots.
  • An Expandable System to Grow With Your Creativity – The latest front lens to be added to the Neptune Convertible Art Lens System, Naiad is now available in the Lomography Online Shop and Gallery Stores worldwide. Pick up up yours with a Lens Base for as little as $ 699 USD.

A Brand New, Ultra-Wide 15mm Front Lens

The Neptune Convertible Art Lens System offers unlimited stylistic possibilities to a whole new generation of photographers. Lomography is proud to present a new star in the system: Naiad. Built for ultra-wide eyed explorers, this brand new 15mm lens will jolt you on a journey of extraordinary angles. Simply attach it onto the Lens Base and you’re ready to jump into a world of sensational, sweeping vistas. Designed for full frame shots but suitable for crop sensor cameras too, Naiad works with Canon EF and Nikon F mount and is available now in the Lomography Online Shop and Gallery Stores worldwide.

With a 135° Field of View to Fill with Punchy, Saturated Colors

Exemplifying the very best of mind-bending modern optics, Naiad’s panoramic capability lets light enter and curve. Straight lines appear to bend, and the further away they are from the optical centre, the greater the barrel-like distortion—ideal for street scenes as well as pronounce portraits. Filling each and every frame with strong, saturated colors and punchy contrasts that define Lomography’s signature look, Naiad will drive your shots to ever-more epic proportions.

Shoot Super Sharp Shots from as Close as 1cm

Using its impressive closest focusing distance of 0.01m, Naiad invites you to take a step closer towards your subject, blur the background and plunge into the foreground. Play around and magnify portraits, exaggerate tiny features and puff up personalities. Watch the foreground dilate and the background contract as you amplify the world around you.

Finetune Your Shots with a Range of Fantastic Filters

Naiad’s integrated lens hood doubles as a filter holder so that you can master the shading in your shot. Compatible with rectilinear filters with a maximum thickness of 2mm, Naiad’s lens hood rotates a full 360° to give you complete creative freedom. Control the amount of light that falls onto your raw images with a Neutral Density Filter, bring out the subtleties in skies with a Neutral Density Graduated Filter, and use orange and blue Temperature Filter Set to give shots a light, sunny glow or a cool, cinematic feel.

An Expandable System to Grow With Your Creativity

The Neptune Convertible Art Lens System is comprised of three interchangeable lenses, each of which can be attached to the Lens Base to shoot at a fixed focal length of 3.5/35mm for Thalassa, 2.8/50mm for Despina, or 4/80mm for Proteus. And now, Naiad promises to be yet another portal to an even more powerful wide-angle perspective with a fixed focal length of 3.8/15mm. Now available in the Lomography Online Shop and Gallery Stores worldwide.

Price List

  • Naiad with Lens Base for just $ 699 USD.
  • Naiad with full range of filters for $ 799 USD.
  • Complete Neptune Convertible Art Lens System (including Naiad) for $ 1139 USD.
  • Neptune Convertible Art Lens System (including Naiad) with full range of Naiad filters for $ 1249 USD.

Technical Information

Naiad

  • Focal Length: 15mm
  • Aperture Range: f/3.8 – f/22
  • Closest Focusing Distance: 0.01m, or 0.4 inches
  • Field of View: 135°
  • Convertible Lens Base Mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F or Pentax K
  • Multi-Scaled Diaphragm Aperture: f/3.8 – f/22
  • Lens Construction: 9 elements in 7 groups
  • Filter Compatibility: 100mm (width) x ?10mm (length) x 2mm (depth) rectangular filters
  • Lens Coating: Multi-coated
  • Electronic Contacts: No

Designed for full frame but suitable for crop sensors.
Equivalent focal length on APS-C: 24mm
Equivalent focal length on M43: 30mm

Neptune Convertible Art Lens System

  • Focal Length: 35mm, 50mm, 80mm, front element group convertible
  • Aperture: Dual aperture system
    Multi-scaled diaphragm aperture: 35mm: extended, f/3.5 – f/22 , 50mm: f/2.8 – f/22, 80mm: extended, f/4 – f/22
    Drop-in aperture plates
  • Field of View: 35mm: 63°, 50mm: 46°, 80mm: 30°
  • Lens Mounting Profile: Canon EF, Nikon F or Pentax K
  • Closest Focusing Distance: 35mm: 0.25m , 50mm: 0.4m, 80mm: 0.8m
  • Lens Construction:
    Front Lens: 4 elements in 4 groups for each focal length
    Lens Base: 3 elements in 3 groups
  • Filter Thread: 52mm
  • Lens Coating: Multi-coated
  • Electronic Contacts: No
  • Focusing Mechanism: Helicoid

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Smartphone front cameras might soon be placed underneath the display

21 Jan
Photo by Julián Gentilezza

With smartphone displays getting larger and moving to an 18:9 (or 2:1 if you prefer) aspect ratio and display bezels shrinking at the same time, there is hardly any space left at the front of new devices for physical controls or other components.

Physical home buttons and fingerprint readers have already largely disappeared from the front and moved to the rear or edges of devices; however, moving the front camera to the rear isn’t really an option (for obvious reasons) which is why devices like the iPhone X or the Essential Phone have ended up with unsightly notches at the top of their displays.

A new patent by Samsung could offer a solution: moving the front camera and other components, such as the earpiece and proximity and ambient light sensors, underneath the screen. A camera that can see through the display would also offer an additional advantage, allowing manufacturers to place it towards the center of the screen so that the camera and the face of the person you’re talking to would be roughly in the same spot.

While Samsung’s idea definitely looks like an elegant answer to the space limitations at the front of modern smartphones, nobody has built a suitable camera yet. That said, an earlier patent that has been referenced by Samsung, Apple and LG among others, suggests using an OLED display with a very high refresh rate. The system could then activate and deactivate the screen at a very fast rate and allow for camera recording during the inactive periods.

As usual with patents, there is no way of knowing if and when the technology will make it into a production device, but the idea of a totally seam- and bezel-less display is certainly an appealing one.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The next iPhone may record 4K 60fps video with front camera

05 Aug

A firmware leak for the Apple HomePod has already revealed that the upcoming generation of Apple’s iPhone might use ‘SmartCam’ AI to adjust to different scenes on the fly. But that’s not the only gem developers have managed to dig out of the code. Further analysis of the source code has now found that at least one of the new models might also be capable of shooting 4K video at 60 frames per second on both front and rear cameras, making it the first smartphone to offer this video specification.

The function is mentioned in a section of code related to the HEVC, or H.265 video codec that will be included in both iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra, both due out this fall. HEVC is capable of maintaining high levels of image quality while using advanced compression algorithms to keep the file size down. This allows for 4K video capability to be installed in devices with limited storage or processing power.

Considering Apple’s current FaceTime front cameras only offer a 7MP stills resolution and 1080p video this would mean a huge jump in performance. The image sensor would need a bump in resolution, but presumably Apple’s new chipset will provide enough processing power to crunch the large amounts of data generated when shooting video at 4K resolution and fast frame rates.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Alcatel Flash features front and rear dual-cams

05 Apr

TCL-sub-brand Alcatel might not be the best-known smartphone manufacturer out there but some of its models definitely deserve some attention from mobile photographers. The Flash, which was announced today, is such a device. Its main imaging module uses a dual-camera setup that applies a similar concept as the cameras used in recent models from Huawei, combining a monochrome sensor with an RGB chip for improved image detail, noise levels and dynamic range.

The camera module houses two 13MP image sensors. One is a monochrome variant, the other a 1/3.06″ Sony IMX258 RGB sensor. Both 6-element lenses come with F2.0 apertures and Alcatel claims on-sensor phase-detection allows for focus speeds as fast as 0.15 sec. 4K video is supported as well. As if that weren’t enough, the Flash also offers a dual-cam at the front, albeit a much simpler setup. An 8MP main sensor is supported by a 5MP chip for shallow DoF-effects. As on the back, both front lenses come with an F2.0 aperture and you also get a dual-LED flash at the front as well. 

The rest of the specification looks very solid, too. Images can be viewed on a a 5.5″ FullHD IPS display and processing power is provided by a Mediatek Helio X20 deca-core CPU. There are 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable internal storage, a 3100mAh battery and a rear-mounted fingerprint reader. Unfortunately, Alcatel has not released any information on pricing and availability yet.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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