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> Perhaps the most significant change this year comes in the S7’s new 12-megapixel camera. It’s lower resolution than last year’s 16-megapixel shooter, but Sams

by lqdc13 11y ago

> Perhaps the most significant change this year comes in the S7’s new 12-megapixel camera. It’s lower resolution than last year’s 16-megapixel shooter, but Samsung says its larger pixels let in 56 percent more light than before for better low light images. What?

vinay427 11y ago
Sounds just like what HTC did with the HTC One in 2013: http://www.androidcentral.com/megapixels-ultrapixels-samsung-galaxy-s4-versus-htc-one-camera-shootout http://www.androidcentral.com/megapixels-ultrapixels-samsung... >The HTC One trades sheer megapixel count for larger (2-micron) pixels on the sensor itself, allowing for improved low-light capabilities when combined with its wide-angle f/2.0 lens. >the HTC One runs rings around the Galaxy S4 in night shots
- lqdc13 11y ago
  Interesting. TIL.
- massysett 11y ago
  "the HTC One runs rings around the Galaxy S4 in night shots" Maybe Samsung is doing something right here...but the HTC One had an awful camera. I bought it for the low-light camera performance. But it had some sort of hardware flaw that caused low light photos to have a purple haze. HTC had a replacement program, which would have required me to go without a phone for weeks. So I got Verizon to replace my phone with a refurb, which was actually worse. I just sent the refurb back and kept the purple haze phone. After this I switched to iPhone, not least because if it is defective an exchange just takes a trip to a retail store.
  - kweks 11y ago
    I had the same phone, bought for the same reason, and had the same problem. It was a hugely expensive phone, with terrible, terrible lowlight photos and broken AF. Furthermore, HTC refused to replace it under their replacement policy, as I had placed a custom ROM on the phone. The woman on the phone actually said: this is a known hardware issue, but you changed your ROM, so bad luck. Never would buy another HTC phone again.
    - lqdc13 11y ago
      Should put original ROM back. It's the same with all phones.
brianwawok 11y ago
Think of a CPU going from 4 GHz (Pentium 4) to 3 Gz (Core 2) and still being faster, because of a higher IPC. You can do the same thing with cameras to a degree, megapixel is not the end all be all measurement device.
jonknee 11y ago
Sensor size and quality are much more important than megapixels. Bigger pixels have a better dynamic range which makes for better pictures in both bright and dark situations (which is a huge boon on a smartphone). There are more pixels in the photo than the display you view it on, you might as well make sure the recorded pixels are the best they can be.
Bluestrike2 11y ago
Here's a decent explanation of the phenomenon they're referring to [0]. Marketing departments usually boil it down to "larger pixels = less noise in low light" but that's a really simple explanation. 0. http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/does.pixel.size.matter/#sensorconstant http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/does.pixel.size.matter/#...

by lqdc13 11y ago

vinay427 11y ago

Sounds just like what HTC did with the HTC One in 2013: http://www.androidcentral.com/megapixels-ultrapixels-samsung-galaxy-s4-versus-htc-one-camera-shootout http://www.androidcentral.com/megapixels-ultrapixels-samsung... >The HTC One trades sheer megapixel count for larger (2-micron) pixels on the sensor itself, allowing for improved low-light capabilities when combined with its wide-angle f/2.0 lens. >the HTC One runs rings around the Galaxy S4 in night shots

lqdc13 11y ago
Interesting. TIL.
massysett 11y ago
"the HTC One runs rings around the Galaxy S4 in night shots" Maybe Samsung is doing something right here...but the HTC One had an awful camera. I bought it for the low-light camera performance. But it had some sort of hardware flaw that caused low light photos to have a purple haze. HTC had a replacement program, which would have required me to go without a phone for weeks. So I got Verizon to replace my phone with a refurb, which was actually worse. I just sent the refurb back and kept the purple haze phone. After this I switched to iPhone, not least because if it is defective an exchange just takes a trip to a retail store.
- kweks 11y ago
  I had the same phone, bought for the same reason, and had the same problem. It was a hugely expensive phone, with terrible, terrible lowlight photos and broken AF. Furthermore, HTC refused to replace it under their replacement policy, as I had placed a custom ROM on the phone. The woman on the phone actually said: this is a known hardware issue, but you changed your ROM, so bad luck. Never would buy another HTC phone again.
  - lqdc13 11y ago
    Should put original ROM back. It's the same with all phones.

brianwawok 11y ago

Think of a CPU going from 4 GHz (Pentium 4) to 3 Gz (Core 2) and still being faster, because of a higher IPC. You can do the same thing with cameras to a degree, megapixel is not the end all be all measurement device.

jonknee 11y ago

Sensor size and quality are much more important than megapixels. Bigger pixels have a better dynamic range which makes for better pictures in both bright and dark situations (which is a huge boon on a smartphone). There are more pixels in the photo than the display you view it on, you might as well make sure the recorded pixels are the best they can be.

Bluestrike2 11y ago

Here's a decent explanation of the phenomenon they're referring to [0]. Marketing departments usually boil it down to "larger pixels = less noise in low light" but that's a really simple explanation. 0. http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/does.pixel.size.matter/#sensorconstant http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/does.pixel.size.matter/#...