In recent years, smartphones have been able to provide better and better photos. According to Terushi Shimizu, President and CEO of Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS), speaking at a corporate business briefing, images taken with smartphone cameras will surpass those taken with single-lens reflex cameras in the coming years.
Image Source: Sony
Additionally, slides were shown predicting that smartphones will be able to take better photos than interchangeable lens cameras as early as 2024. At the same time, cameras with interchangeable lenses include both SLR models and mirrorless cameras, which are gaining more and more popularity among professionals.
According to Sony, the evolution will optimize “quantum saturation”, improve AI processing algorithms, and sensor sizes in premium smartphones should double by 2024. The larger pixels of these sensors will allow smartphone makers to perform “multi-frame” processing using new techniques, including improved Super HDR and the ability to combine zoom using sophisticated compact optics and AI algorithms.
Other improvements are expected – last year the company introduced image sensors with a “two-layer transistor pixel.” According to the Sony website, “new technology allows for increased dynamic range and noise reduction by approximately doubling the saturation level”. It is expected that the video recording process will also be improved.
It is uncharacteristic for Sony to make bold assumptions regarding a sector in which the company is investing a lot of money – it seems that the data regarding the imminent replacement of DSLRs and mirrorless cameras have a real basis. According to Statista, the company owns 42% of the global smartphone sensor market, including flagship models like the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
New predictions regarding the decline of the SLR market did not come as a surprise. So, Canon and Nikon have already actually recognized the fact that the technology is outdated, stopping the production of some models like Nikon D3500 without coming to replace their successors.
Pretty surprising are Sony’s predictions of a doubling in sensor size. AT Sony Xperia Pro-I the first inch sensor was used, but the camera lens might not project an image of sufficient size onto the matrix, so it is only capable of taking 12-megapixel photos despite the fact that the sensor itself was 20-megapixel.
Image Source: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation
Perhaps even more important is the use of the so-called. “two-layer transistor pixel” CMOS-sensors, allowing to receive twice as much light as standard sensors are capable of capturing.
Although interchangeable lens cameras, including DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, will always have their own audience of fans, Sony’s presentation suggests that smartphones will indeed be able to displace even professional models in the mainstream market.
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