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Apple Supplier Sony Debuts 21-Megapixel Image Sensor With Ultra Fast Autofocus, 4K HDR Video

Presumably a 21-megapixel sensor would create better quality 10-megapixel images than a 10-megapixel sensor. The same thing for 4k down to 1080p.

There is no need to waste space with massive files.

That said, Apple need to go 32GB, 64GB, 256GB with their iDevices in the next Gen. 16GB makes modern smartphone usage virtually impossible. A high capacity option would also be a good idea for those who want lots of music, video, photos and apps on their device.
 
taptic said:
Yep. 4K video will definitely fix the limited storage problem.

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I think if they had a 21 megapixel camera it would definitely be a 6s.
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Maybe Apple should fund one or more of its suppliers to build an SSD manufacturing plant dedicated to Apple's storage needs.
 
JoEw said:
How thin are these new sensors? I think Apple has purposefully stayed at 8mp to keep shrinking the devices.
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Well Xperia is 7.3mm (vs 6.9mm for iPhone 6) but only has double the battery life to go with that extra thickness and 21MP sensor. But iPhone 6, being thinner is a superior phone. Also the iPhone 6 megapixels are physically larger so the iPhone 6 camera is better. All of these things have been explained to me on these forums.
 
I'm on the fence here. I would like the option to shoot at 21MP, but would like to shoot most of my day to day pictures at 8-12 MP.

Improving other aspects of the camera are more important to me, OIS, autofocus, lowlight performance - if those three are worthless...so is digital zoom (MP).

P.S. Can you currently adjust the MP's you are shooting with?
 
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd there would be a reason to upgrade my iPhone 6+

I don't want to, because as Tim said - these are the best phones Apple have ever made - I can't pass up 4K video though.
 
downpour said:
Presumably a 21-megapixel sensor would create better quality 10-megapixel images than a 10-megapixel sensor. The same thing for 4k down to 1080p.
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No, the 10-megapixel sensor would provide the better image. Each pixel would be bigger on the sensor, so allowing more photons in. The more photons, the more accurately each pixel is recreated.
 
taptic said:
Yep. 4K video will definitely fix the limited storage problem.

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I think if they had a 21 megapixel camera it would definitely be a 6s.
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I dont think apple will jump from 8MP to 21MP. They are slow in terms of câmera improvements. Next Iphone will be like the Samsung S4 13MP then 16MP and then 21MP In 2017 lol
 
downpour said:
Presumably a 21-megapixel sensor would create better quality 10-megapixel images than a 10-megapixel sensor.
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Unless other improvements are made, ncreasing pixels degrades quality. This chip apparently has other improvements, so maybe in this case?

I would like to know about this 4K business. I thought 4K was demanding. How do mobiles like the Xperia deal with it? Rubbish battery life? Horrible compression? Compression is my guess. Once again go mad on the pixels then dump most of the data and compress the rest to death. And how do you transfer it to a 4K device? Does the phone have the ability to deliver the stream in its full glory?
 
iphone495 said:
Just don't make it protruding like the iPhone 6. PLEASE DON'T!
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I was surprised that they didn't go with a slightly thicker device and non-protruding camera.

brianvictor7 said:
And what does that actually get you in terms of photo quality?

Never mind. I just read the article. "The sensor also includes support for full 21-megapixel HDR pictures and 4K HDR video, resulting in better lighting in high-contrast scenes. HDR or High Dynamic Range imaging captures separate images with different exposures, combining them into one image that improves detail and color."

Okay, this is cool.
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It's basically marketing language, which ignores that you won't always want everything to appear in range in a high contrast scene. If it's well implemented, it may be helpful. There's definitely a challenge in making something like that controllable to some degree without running into unintended side effects on some scenes or a sharper learning curve.
 
Can somebody explain why nobody is pointing out the iPhone 6 (and 6+) cameras already use on-sensor PD AF (as this new Sony sensor does) and also offers one-shot HDR (as this new sensor does). These were touted as the two technical headline features of the new camera in the iPhone 6 models back in September and at that time, at least the on-sensor PD AF, were a first for phone cameras.
 
Northgrove said:
I wouldn't like more than 12-16 MP on smartphone photos. Way too large and just wasted space for my needs. Who prints poster sized smartphone photos anyway? Heck those resolutions are even enough for that too. What is the need for this? Even many prosumer DSLR's far better than this one don't do 21 MP photos. I'm currently sporting a Fujifilm X-T1 @ 16 MP right now and it made me stop lusting for full frame.
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This is true, but a good solution might be to use the 21 MP sensor, so 4K video is possible, and downscale images to 12 MP or so. I don't know how good 4K video would be from a sensor so small, but I'd love the option.
 
Don't see Apple using this on the 6S. It'll be a modded version of the current 16MP (or even 13MP) sensor from Sony probably.

"We've doubled the amount of resolution and pixels whilst maintaining/improving the excellent image quality you've come to expect"

Tsuchiya said:
...the camera in my 6 Plus was introduced in 2012?

2012.

Seriously?!
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No. It wasn't. Speculation.
 
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manu chao said:
Can somebody explain why nobody is pointing out the iPhone 6 (and 6+) cameras already use on-sensor PD AF (as this new Sony sensor does) and also offers one-shot HDR (as this new sensor does). These were touted as the two technical headline features of the new camera in the iPhone 6 models back in September and at that time, at least the on-sensor PD AF, were a first for phone cameras.
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The development is the stacked arrangement - integrated on-chip signal processing. This, arguably, is a bigger deal for manufacturers than photographers - reduced component count, reduced space requirements, etc.
 
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