So does this open up possibilities of true optical zoom or not?
As that would finally make phone cams good enough to be true daily drivers for photogs who want to control all the traditional variables of pespective and depth of field, etc., going back to film SLR's.
Depth of field is dependent on sensor size, aperture and focal length of the lens. This system would not replace a dedicated DSLR style camera.
It's only a matter of time before phones capture images of quality matching today's prosumer DSLR's. And this patent seems to be a step in that direction.
Phones already killed point and shoots.
Um, in the last 5 years Cannon and Nikon made much more money off their point and shoots than DSLRs. Phones have already killed many of those (point and shoot) potential sales. The notion of a detachable lens system on a phone just may very well kill off the rest. And if they do it all enough, entry level DSLRs will be the next to fall.
But don't worry, the DSLR is next.
No it isn't. Physics plays a huge role in photography. The size of the image sensor and the size of the photosites on that sensor matter. You cannot produce a sensor the size of an iphone camera sensor that will ever compete with a full frame camera sensor. It just will not happen in our universe.
There are various things at play here, such as depth of field, dynamic range, lowlight capability and overall resolution. Photons will remain the same size. As it is, smart phone camera photosites are already getting too small for photons. Which means you are gaining nothing in resolution by going up to 12-16MP sensors. All you are doing is unnecessarily increasing file sizes and picture dimensions. You aren't actually gaining anything in resolution.
Furthermore, the smaller the photosites are the less light they collect. Think of them like solar panels, the bigger the panels the more light you can collect, which is useful for both lowlight shooting and the dynamic range of the image.
Uness you increase the size of the image sensor you gain nothing in image quality. But to increase the size of the sensor means you also have to increase the size of the lens, both in diameter and in focal length. Which means that to have a smart phone with the same image quality as a full frame or even m43 or APS-C size camera, you would need a lens just as big as the lenses for those cameras. Which defeats the entire purpose of portability and having a smartphone camera. Might as welll just use a DSLR if the smartphone is going to be the same size.
As I said, this is all physics. There are limitations to certain technologies based on the universe we live in.
Right now phone cameras have a single lens. If you had three lenses, such as 30mm, 50mm, 85mm, you could cover a lot more situations.
That would make the camera bump quite protruded. Longer focal lengths require longer lenses.
That is what the compact camera market said.
There is only one criteria for phones to overtake DSLR's - They have to take pictures as good or better. This mounting system is one part of the many things needed to accomplish that goal.
And the other things that are needed would make the smartphone nearly as big as a DSLR. Definitely the lens would remain the same size. So the point is moot. DSLR sized cameras are here to stay.
As for compact cameras, that's a different market where quality doesn't matter as much. People bought them as a way to just snap photos of events and birthday parties. Plus the way people shared photos changed from prints to online social media sites, where quality mattered even less.
That said, compact cameras can still take better images than camera phones. Don't fool yourself into thinking the quality is equal. The difference is in acceptable losses. Most people don't feel like the loss in quality going to a smartphone is that bad compared to a point and shoot camera. The convenience outweighs the quality loss.
Just like an MP3 versus uncompressed audio. The same will not be true for the DSLR market where quality and ergonomics are king. The only change there will be are more mirrorless cameras. As EVFs and AF systems get better, the need for a reflex mirror will diminish. But even then, some of the cameras will remain just as bulky for the sake of ergonomics. Human hands aren't getting any smaller.
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Personally I would love to see Apple introduce raw and manual controls native to the iphone camera. I would also not be against a recessed bayonet mount for add-on lenses. Or even a mount that springs out like the lanyard mount does on the iPod Touch. I think add-on lenses would be a lot of fun.
But it does seem like a level of complexity I'm not sure Apple would add to their devices for such a niche group of people that might actually take advantage of it. But if they do, please allow it to be an open stardard that other manufacturers can adopt so that people don't have to buy different lenses for different phone brands. That is one of the shortcomings of the actual photo camera market that the smarphone camera market could remedy. No need to be proprietary.
One thing I don't want to see them change is the resolution of their sensor, unless they go bigger with the sensor. I think 8MP is a decent resolution for the size sensor the camera has. The megapixel race in the smartphone camera market needs to end right now because it's not doing any users any good. It's become purely a marketing thing at this point. It's no longer about photo quality.
A thread isn't a destination, it's a journey?