Sony’s new CMOS smartphone sensors will bring HDR video recording to mobile

By: Asim on 1:07 AM

Sony may not own the biggest slice of the pie when it comes to overall smartphone market share, but smartphone cameras are a different story. Sony’s smartphone sensors can be found in a number of handsets available all across the globe, where they’re constantly pushing the limits of what a smartphone camera can do. Their latest handsets, the Xperia Ion and S, both come with 12 megapixel Exmor CMOS sensors capable of capturing beautiful pictures in a multitude of different scenarios. But they aren’t stopping there.
Sony has just announced a new CMOS sensor the company is currently developing, that will eventually launch with “RGBW Coding” which will enable HDR video capture. By “stacking” the circuits that go into their new backside-illuminated CMOS sensors, Sony is able reduce the size of current senors, along with power consumption. That translates to better cameras, in smaller places, that don’t use as much battery.

 

Sony has also announced RGBW coding for these new sensors which adds a white pixel to the conventional arrangement of red, green and blue pixels. By utilizing signal processing, RGBW coding will allow for much higher sensitivity in low-light situations, without any added noise or loss of quality. RGBW coding will also allow for HDR video recording for added contrast and clarity in bright light situations.
Look for Sony’s new CMOS sensors to start shipping this spring. An 8 megapixel sensor without RGBW will ship in March, while a 13 megapixel and 8 megapixel sensor with RGBW coding will ship in June and August respectively.

Via: The Verge

Source: Sony