vantage point
The evolution of the quintessential smartphone camera – Tornado Pan, Country Manager (Huawei Brand), Consumer Business Group, Huawei India
It might sound like a bit of an exaggeration, but some of today’s smartphone cameras can put a few DSLRS out there, to shame. A few advanced functionalities, which were once solely available in bulky and expensive DSLRS have today forayed into the palm of your hands. However, as we all know, this scenario has on its back, more than two decades of R&D, technological advancements and run-of-the-mill innovations.
Let’s wind the clocks back, a few years ago. You behold a beautiful full- moon on a clear starry night. As the moonlight seeps through the wintry branches along the far-away-meadows, you quickly take out your mobile phone to take that one-of-a-kind shot, maybe for your social media profile. But much to your dismay, the pictures don’t quite translate to being close to what you intended it to be. Those were the initial days of smartphone photography. Today’s mobile cameras, on the contrary, help you to click professional grade images in numerous lighting conditions, sometimes even under water. The best part is, these cameras fit right into your pocket, enabling to you to take stunning pictures with meticulous detailing and much more, without having you to bother about carrying the entire kit around.
Therefore, it would not be wrong to state that mobile camera technology have undergone an evolution unparalleled, if compared to any other single feature in our beloved devices. The journey had been fascinating in the true sense of the term. While camera phones of the yesteryears could barely deliver clear discernible images with resolutions meagrely between 0.11 to 0.35 megapixels, forget about low light photography - some of today’s smartphones can capture celestial bodies, finding its rightful place in the astrophotographer’s bag.
Further, the very first camera phones introduced in the year 2000 could at best save upto 15 to 20 images, owing to their low storage space. Many of us can remember as to how we used to physically connect our phones to the computer in order to view snapshots of the pictures that we had clicked.
As the years went by, new camera technologies began to emerge, including basic flash features, modest editing modes or filters, such as black, white and sepia, primitive zoom functionality, with resolutions still varying in the range between 1.3 to 1.5 megapixels. However, these phones were capable of wirelessly transmitting images and even printing them. By 2010, began the influx of new technologies that can be considered as the genesis/predecessors of today’s advanced smartphones. Functionalities such as video recording, touchscreen, colour filters, panoramic photos, and the coming in of built-in software features for image editing, filtering, and retouching are shaping the way smartphones cameras are evolving.
Today, in 2019, the most advanced smartphones boast of triple
cameras setups, the ability to shoot in formats such as wide-angle or telephoto mode, low-light photography super-fast autofocus, and optical image stabilisation for steady capture. Similarly, many phones have a built-in Portrait mode that can blur the background of a scene, and manual exposure mode, which allow the photographer to manipulate everything from shutter speed to white balance, focus, and ISO.
In fact, the recently launched Huawei P30 Pro is touted for unmatched low light photography & videography dexterity, low range photography, landscape photography and astrophotography. The device features a 40 megapixel primary camera with Huawei Superspectrum Sensor, a 20 megapixel ultra-wide angle camera, an 8 megapixel telephoto camera fitted with Superzoom Lens (supports high fidelity magnification of 5 times optical zoom, 10 times hybrid zoom and 50 times digital zoom) and Huawei TOF Camera and a 32 megapixel front camera that takes selfies to a new level. The all-new sensors, lens arrangement, image signal processor (ISP) and neural processing unit (NPU) work in tandem to capture incredible photos and videos.
Moreover, the 1/1.7-inch Huawei Superspectrum Sensor looks at light in a fundamentally new way. The RYYB HUAWEI Superspectrum Sensor deviates from the traditional RGGB Bayer filter by replacing green pixels with yellow pixels, yielding a high maximum ISO rating of 409,600 - something that is unheard of in any DSLR till date.
Thus, as we can see, several different software and hardware strategies had made inroads, making marked improvements in areas such as exposure (scene analysis), stabilization (optical stabilization and software buffering), autofocus (more AF sensors), zoom, bokeh effect and much more.
Today, mobile cameras have truly come off age. Now, mobiles can detect and click pictures of objects that even the human eye cannot see in the dark. Such low light capabilities allow users to capture subjects as they see it, in both bright as well as dark lights. Moreover, users are also able to create captivating super slow-mo videos to share with their friends and also make GIFS, using their smartphones. No doubt, more and more professional photographers nowadays are picking up their smartphones and ditching their traditional cameras to shoot breath-taking photos and videos. Smartphones have become the primary go-to camera for millions of people who love captivating memories. ■