This New OmniVision Sensor For Smartphones Can Capture Quad Full High Definition (4K) Video

Sometime in the future, your smartphone or tablet will be able to not only record videos with Full High Definition 1080p (1,920×1,080 pixels) resolution, but beyond that. In fact, when smartphones and tablets armed with these newly-unveiled OmniVision camera sensors hit the stores, they’ll be able to capture videos with Quad Full High Definition 4K (3,840×2,160 pixels) resolution.

On Tuesday, OmniVision announced their OV16820 and OV16825 sensors capable of 16-megapixel burst photography and 4K2K video at 60 frames per second.

Just to give you an idea of how large that video screen size is, here’s a graphic from Wikimedia which explains it all:

OmniVision’s Devang Patel said in a statement that “It was an industry-wide assumption that smartphones would cut into DSC/DVC sales; but at higher resolutions, we’re seeing a very distinct divide between the two markets and both remain strong.”

“Industry experts have observed that mainstream DSC products are shifting to 16-megapixel resolutions and are offering improved image quality and optics. The OV16820 supports such offerings, allowing DSC/DVC manufacturers to provide consumers a high-resolution, feature-rich point and shoot photography experience, while the OV16825 provides top-tier imaging and video recording capabilities for flagship smartphones,” the senior product marketing manager at OmniVision added.

Because of the massive pixel count of the new sensors, Omnivision said that they could shoot full-HD 1080p video at 60 frames per second with extra pixels for electronic image stabilization. This means, in layman’s terms, that these sensors will result in better videos even if their capabilities are limited to shooting full-HD 1080p videos. That 16MP burst photography capability will also be handy for software which can meld several photos into one to produce a better single photo.

With advancements like these, the smartphone is looking like it will surely replace point-and-shoot cameras. What do you think? Tell us more in the comments.

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