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Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
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iPhone 4S camera manufactured by Sony

By | October 14, 2011, 12:39pm PDT

Summary: Take a special look at the technology needed to deliver 8 megapixel images and 1080p video at 30 fps.

The guys at Chipworks have been busy tearing down the new 8 megapixel camera found inside Apple’s new iPhone 4S.

Using an infrared microscope that can look through the structure into the base layers, Chipworks discovered these die marking hidden several layers below the surface:

iPhone 4S camera manufactured by Sony

Image credit: Chipworks

Awesome.

Think that’s an awesome shot? Take a look at this X-ray cross-section of the camera. This is the technology needed to deliver 8 megapixel images and 1080p video at 30 fps:

Image credit: Chipworks

I encourage you to take a look at the high-res image of that X-ray cross-section … it’s absolutely gorgeous.

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Topics

Apple iPhone, Sony Corp., Apple iPhone 4S, Camera, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Disclosure

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

All opinions expressed on Hardware 2.0 are those of Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. Every effort is made to ensure that the information posted is accurate. If you have any comments, queries or corrections, please contact Adrian via the email link here. Any possible conflicts of interest will be posted below. [Updated: February 23, 2010] - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other actual/potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted so far on this blog.

Biography

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.

Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.

Talkback Most Recent of 15 Talkback(s)

  • RE: iPhone 4S camera manufactured by Sony
    Hey, doesn't Nokia already have a 12mp camera phone out? I think it has carl zeiss optics too, and I think I heard the optics were glass and not plastic? Which camera is better, this 8mp one or the 12mp one?
    ZDNet Gravatar
    mgrubb@...
    14th Oct
  • Pixel count alone does not determine picture quality.
    @mgrubb@...
    Some people say that cameras with a smaller pixel count have larger sensor elements, which have better light-gathering ability, and therefore work better in low-light situations.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Userama
    14th Oct
  • Is that the case here?
    @Userama
    Or are you totally guessing?
    ZDNet Gravatar
    toddybottom
    14th Oct
  • Not only that; iPhone 4S' aperture is significantly better than Nokia's
    @Userama: the wider aperture, the more light it allows.

    HTC Titan has even better aperture than iPhone 4S (f/2.2 against f/2.4), but the sensor itself in iPhone is better since it is physically bigger and it has IR filter, id est better colours and white balance, and Apple uses A5's built-in Image Signal Processor for that.

    Also, iPhone 4S sensor is times faster than any other, what, among other things, allows to shoot 1080p videos (HTC Titan can not do this).

    For better optical clarity through all width and height of the picture iPhone 4S has additional lens, what is not available in any other smartphone.

    And the video gets not purely software stabilization as usual, but software-hardware-based, using gyroscope and accelerometers for that.

    Overall, iPhone 4S is by far the best for photos and shoots among any smartphone and even better than any cameraphone in certain areas.

    Of course, Sony NEX or bigger DSLR cameras will always shoot and film better, but at least now there is little sense spending $200 on dedicated point-to-shoot camera. iPhone 4S pretty much covers this segment.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    DeRSSS
    14th Oct
  • DeRSSS: again, you are totally guessing
    You have absolutely no idea what the cameras are like in other phones. You are simply assuming that Apple's specs are the best.

    You should stop. You are making yourself look bad.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    toddybottom
    14th Oct
  • Just totally guessing, TB (or should I say NZ?)
    @toddybottom
    As I said, that observation was a general statement I've seen other people make. I have not tried the 4S myself, so have no idea how it works for low-light shots.
    I do know that the 720p video from my iPhone 4 looks pretty dang good on a 47-inch HDTV. The 1080p on the 4S must REALLY be eye-popping.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Userama
    14th Oct
  • Some people get like that, toddybottom
    @toddybottom
    "If it says Apple on it, then it's automaticlly the best there ever was".

    I don't understand it either.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    William Farrell
    14th Oct
  • Where I was 'assuming'?
    @toddybottom:

    Which other smartphone cameras have:
    1) IR filter (better colours, white balance),
    2) additional lens (for clarity and optical uniformity)
    3) use of Image signal processor (multipurpose)
    4) gyroscope and accelerometer-enabled video stabilization?

    There is nothing to assume here, these are the best characteristics for a smartphone camera, period.

    The fifth could be bigger apperture, 2.4/f, but, as I said above, the likes of HTC Titan surpassed iPhone 4S in that. But since Titan's camera is worse in other areas, overall iPhone 4S is by far best for this purpose among smartphones.

    You are ignoring 4S' factual characteristics -- what is it, some belief system that prevents you to accept the reality?

    You should stop. You are making yourself look bad.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    DeRSSS
    14th Oct
  • DeRSSS: Answer this question
    How many lenses do other smartphones have?

    What are they made of?

    You don't know. You don't even know if 5 lenses is better than 3. We already know that 8MP is not necessarily better than 5MP.

    You simply assume that because Apple says the iPhone has 5, that must be better than everyone else.

    I don't know how many lenses other smartphone cameras have.

    Neither do you.

    Stop regurgitating everything that Apple tells you. It makes you look bad.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    toddybottom
    14th Oct
  • Camera elements were dissected already and they are all standard four-lens
    @toddybottom: ... system (unless it is cameraphone, rather than smartphone), so no need to guess. There more about other many points which you could not question.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    DeRSSS
    14th Oct
  • RE: iPhone 4S camera manufactured by Sony
    @DeRSSS You can have the best specs in the world but it isn't going to matter if you don't give people control...

    Crud, I heard all about the iPhone 4 Camera when I was using my HTC Incredible... The Incredible gave me total control over White Balance, ISO and several other functions while the iPhone 4 pretty much just locked me to Auto-WB and Auto-ISO... The End Result, I was able to get much better images in many situations using the Incredible than I am from the iPhone 4.

    As for the two sensors, They're both 8MP BSI Sensors and as far as I know there's been no teardown of the Titan so we can't say if the 4s Sensor is Physically Larger or not but both are very similar.

    Reality, the Droid X was the first Smartphone to put an actual camera in the phone and it had an actual focal plane shutter which Apple is still lacking so Flash Sync Speed is 2nd to the Droid X (on pretty much every phone out there) and that was 8 MP Image Stabilized as well.

    As for being faster, that remainst to be seen and my Nex is better by far.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Peter Perry
    14th Oct
  • DeRSSS: You are lying about other cameras
    You are really making yourself look bad.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    toddybottom
    14th Oct

  • ZDNet Blogger

    RE: iPhone 4S camera manufactured by Sony
    @mgrubb@... Nokia had a 12MP camera in the N8 back in 2010 but that was only capable of 720p video. The N9 has an 8MP cam with Carl Zeiss optics but again that's only 720p when it comes to video.
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
    14th Oct
  • RE: iPhone 4S camera manufactured by Sony
    No that would be the sensor that is made by Sony as are 90% of the small camera sensors on the market so why is this news?
    ZDNet Gravatar
    Peter Perry
    14th Oct
  • RE: iPhone 4S camera manufactured by Sony
    For some, a series of expectations about Apple's next generation phone including various specifications and a predicted name ??? "iPhone 5" ??? were built up in the time preceding its debut.- Unilife Alan Shortall
    ZDNet Gravatar
    liezelee1109
    14th Oct

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