It seems pretty clear that smartphones have become the point-and-shoots of our time. The latest smartphone cams on the market have resolutions up to 41 megapixels (Mp), well more than the 10Mp of my old Canon PowerShot S90. Even the average top-end smartphone sports a lens that delivers at least 16Mp.
So, other than driving the point-and-shoot guys out of business, what have they achieved, these super-cam smartphones? Well, a lot, and they’re going to do more.
Now, 16Mp will support any format of the new 4K displays, which have roughly 4,000 pixels along the horizontal edge. In fact, depending on the standard, they can vary from 3,840 to 5,120, and have anywhere from ~7Mp up to ~16.3Mp total, but the standard for ultra high definition television (UHDTV) uses just a bit more than 8Mp.
For the industry, the holy grail is 4K movies, which, in practical terms is one of those 8Mp frames every 1/30 of a second. And that is being done. Some smartphones can both capture and play 4K video. Watching that on 5.1” screen may seem like overkill, but playback can be thrown to a nearby monitor, which really highlights 4K in all its wondrous detail.
And certainly, some of the photos that these cameras have produced are fantastic.
The following panorama was snapped with a Samsung Galaxy S5, which has a 2.5GHz
This one was produced by a Sony Xperia Z2, which has a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 and a 20.7Mp camera.
This one was made with an LG G2, which runs on a 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 and a 13 Mp camera.
Other Uses
3D is an obvious way to absorb all the extra pixels. A 3D image must have at least twice as many pixels as a 2D one. Essentially, each eye gets its own set of pixels.
Barry Sandrew, founder of Legend3D, a San Diego-based company that converts 2D films to 3D for big studios, is one among many who say that 4K is going to become standard over the next few years.
But Sandrew argues that 3D will not be the driving force behind 4K adoption in the home. In his experience, 3D is fine for theaters, but is failing to attract much of a home audience. He argues on behalf of better rather than more pixels.
“Aren’t all pixels created equal?” I hear you asking.
What he’s talking about is human perception. Many of those pixels are wasted because people can only see clearly in a small circle in the middle of their field of vision. If the pixels in the center of the screen are brighter and have more contrast, your perception of photo quality is that much higher. With 8-bit color, a system can create 24 million colors. With 24-bit color, it can make billions.
Sandrew believes that where 4K is really going to shine is in high-dynamic range (HDR) photography and video. You may be acquainted with HDR. It “brackets” the “correct” exposure with at least two others, one on either side, which are essentially darker and lighter than the original. The overexposed one will have details of the dark areas not visible in the main shot, and the underexposed frame will bring out features in areas bleached out in the central photo. The three frames are then analyzed and combined to make a single photo with the best details from all three. Again, making video out of this magic involves queuing up at least 30 of these frame per second.
The difference between regular and HDR images is so stark that the superior visuals will work not just in theaters but in the home as well.
With so many uses, 4K will establish itself quickly, but it may be through HDR visuals that it really makes its mark.
