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Interesting, if there is one thing I hope Apple takes away from this, it is the adjustable aperture. But time will tell whether a moving part will last long on

Interesting, if there is one thing I hope Apple takes away from this, it is the adjustable aperture. But time will tell whether a moving part will last long on a smartphone. Though I fear that, like with Google's dual CMOS, they are too committed to the multiple cameras and removing one may come off as a downgrade to consumers whether or not a single one can satisfy all the same functions.

bigdubs 9y ago
One thing I'm not understanding here; don't most lenses (and by extension cameras) have adjustable apertures? What is so special about having a F1.4 vs. F2.4 apertures available to the camera? Is it because they can both fire at the same time and compose the two exposures?
- smnscu 9y ago
  MKBHD has a good explanation (starts at 2:43): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83sZrz9XTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83sZrz9XTc Basically this is the first(?) camera phone with adjustable aperture, albeit it only has 2 presets. PS: Might be useful(?) https://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography https://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography
  - bigdubs 9y ago
    I didn't realize small camera's didn't have an adjustable aperture typically, that makes more sense now.
  - hug 9y ago
    Not the first: https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/01/samsung-w2018-flip-phone-variable-aperture-china/ https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/01/samsung-w2018-flip-phone... Buuuut probably the first flagshippy camera with a variable aperture.
- throwahey 9y ago
  Most if not all smartphones have a fixed aperture. A lower F-stop allows more light to enter through the lens. This is advantageous in low light but during the day it may cause pictures to wash out. Because ISO can only go so high before minor hand movement seriously blurs a photo, it is better to have a larger aperture, again for low-light conditions. So a single adjustable lens over a single sensor can allow for a variety of ideal combinations depending on the conditions.
- oldcynic 9y ago
  Most camera lenses do, and generally give a wide range of stops, often down to f22. Phones have, until now, fixed aperture, fixed lenses. Given how tiny phone camera lenses are I'm surprised to see variable, given how little range you get from two fixed stops. Course it may be the first move towards having a proper range of f stops, which can only be a good thing.
  - gomox 9y ago
    At the expense of a moving part, having the option to close down the aperture will probably improve image quality in daylight. With a fixed aperture, increased low light sensitivity usually brings lower resolution (so called "fast" lenses generally have improved optical characteristics with their aperture stopped down). That is unless these dinky sensors are diffraction limited at f/1.5, which I doubt.
oatmealsnap 9y ago
I assumed they want to use two sensors as a means of reading depth for their special camera filters, and being able to make one a wide-angle and the other magnified is an added benefit. It's neat to see all the creative takes on cameras, though. Google seems to have proven that you can get good results mimicking depth using one sensor, but I'm sure there are still benefits to be found with two.

bigdubs 9y ago

One thing I'm not understanding here; don't most lenses (and by extension cameras) have adjustable apertures? What is so special about having a F1.4 vs. F2.4 apertures available to the camera? Is it because they can both fire at the same time and compose the two exposures?

smnscu 9y ago
MKBHD has a good explanation (starts at 2:43): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83sZrz9XTc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83sZrz9XTc Basically this is the first(?) camera phone with adjustable aperture, albeit it only has 2 presets. PS: Might be useful(?) https://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography https://photographylife.com/what-is-aperture-in-photography
- bigdubs 9y ago
  I didn't realize small camera's didn't have an adjustable aperture typically, that makes more sense now.
- hug 9y ago
  Not the first: https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/01/samsung-w2018-flip-phone-variable-aperture-china/ https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/01/samsung-w2018-flip-phone... Buuuut probably the first flagshippy camera with a variable aperture.
throwahey 9y ago
Most if not all smartphones have a fixed aperture. A lower F-stop allows more light to enter through the lens. This is advantageous in low light but during the day it may cause pictures to wash out. Because ISO can only go so high before minor hand movement seriously blurs a photo, it is better to have a larger aperture, again for low-light conditions. So a single adjustable lens over a single sensor can allow for a variety of ideal combinations depending on the conditions.
oldcynic 9y ago
Most camera lenses do, and generally give a wide range of stops, often down to f22. Phones have, until now, fixed aperture, fixed lenses. Given how tiny phone camera lenses are I'm surprised to see variable, given how little range you get from two fixed stops. Course it may be the first move towards having a proper range of f stops, which can only be a good thing.
- gomox 9y ago
  At the expense of a moving part, having the option to close down the aperture will probably improve image quality in daylight. With a fixed aperture, increased low light sensitivity usually brings lower resolution (so called "fast" lenses generally have improved optical characteristics with their aperture stopped down). That is unless these dinky sensors are diffraction limited at f/1.5, which I doubt.

oatmealsnap 9y ago

I assumed they want to use two sensors as a means of reading depth for their special camera filters, and being able to make one a wide-angle and the other magnified is an added benefit. It's neat to see all the creative takes on cameras, though. Google seems to have proven that you can get good results mimicking depth using one sensor, but I'm sure there are still benefits to be found with two.