CEO of Sony Semiconductor Solutions Continues Shimizu has just made a surprising prediction about the future of camera phones. Shimizu said the quality of cellphone cameras will beat SLR cameras by 2024.
"We expect photos to rival the photo quality of single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras in the next few years," said Shimizu, as quoted from PetaPixel, Thursday (2/6/2022).
Shimizu explained that the quality of mobile phone cameras will be able to beat SLR cameras thanks to larger sensors and apertures, as well as increasingly sophisticated photography computing technology.
Sony believes that a high-end camera system is currently being developed to increase the size of the sensor. The Japanese tech giant expects camera sensor sizes for high-end phones to double by 2024.
This larger camera sensor will be combined with a more sophisticated image signal processor (ISP). These two factors, combined with 'quantum saturation' and artificial intelligence (AI), Sony believes can make cellphone cameras beat SLR cameras.
Sony's predictions for the future of camera phones don't stop there. By 2025, they predict that smartphone cameras will bring rapid improvements to high-speed video, more megapixels, and more capable autofocus.
These improvements include evolutions in video performance such as high-speed readout supporting 8K video, multi-frame processing for better HDR, and more powerful AI-based processing.
Sony also believes that the use of distance information using a time-of-flight or LiDAR sensor can produce focus more easily, quickly and accurately.
By 2030, Sony predicts that mobile phones will rely entirely on periscope lenses to enhance zoom capabilities, while continuing to develop AI processing technology to produce high-quality photos.
Video with 8K resolution is also predicted to set the new standard, and smartphone cameras will be able to produce bokeh and light manipulation in photos and videos.
Of course, with this positive forecast, Sony predicts that its business in the mobile imaging sector will continue to grow in line with larger camera sensor sizes and begin to dominate the market.
Large camera sensors are indeed coming commercially soon. One of them is a 200 MP mobile camera sensor developed by Samsung. Since it was announced late last year, this camera sensor has not been released publicly and will reportedly debut with the latest flagship phone from Motorola.
