100 million pixels, the Phone camera era...Why wouldn't a 100-megapixel digital camera sell?
Shutter Talk Samsung Electronics launched the "Galaxy S20 Ultra" and opened the era of "100 million-pixel Phone camera." Higher pixels make photos clearer and rich in color. This evolution of phone cameras is often compared to the performance of existing digital cameras. Why can't a digital camera with 100 million pixels be easily found around when a phone camera has 100 million pixels?
100 million pixels, digital camera...Do you have one? No?
Is it impossible to install 100 million pixels on Fuji Film's GFX100 camera? In conclusion, no. Currently, digital cameras distributed on the market are mostly made up of 20 million to 30 million pixels, but products that support 100 million pixels have actually been released since 2018. It is a specialized exclusive product for some minority enthusiasts and experts.
Among them, hot cellblad "H6D-100c" released in South Korea and "IQ4" by Paze One are representative. These products support more than 100 million pixels, but they are quite expensive. H6D-100c costs 37,500dollar, and IQ4 costs 50,000dollar.
Since then, Fuji film has launched the "GFX100" product with a 12 million-pixel sensor last year. The store price is 10,830dollar. Although it has become considerably cheaper compared to previous 100 million-pixel products, it is hard to see it as a popular product considering that the price of a regular full-frame camera is between 1,666dollar and 2,500dollar.
100 million pixels. How would it be different?Digital camera vs. phone camera
Image sensor size comparison. The smallest size is the APS-C format, followed by the full-frame (35mm) format. Its largest size is the medium-sized format adopted by Fuji film, about 1.7 times larger than the full frame. Digital cameras with more than 100 million pixels mentioned in front of Fuji Film use medium image sensors. Here, medium-sized refers to an image sensor larger than 35mm, commonly called a full frame.
Image sensors are responsible for digitally changing light (image information taken) that is received through lenses. It's like a film when it comes to film cameras. Reason why these products use medium image sensors is because they are advantageous in implementing high pixel count compared to full frame.
Assuming that 100 million pixels are put in the same size for medium and full frames, the pixel size should be smaller than that for medium-sized sensors in full frames with smaller sensors. Noise is easily generated because smaller pixels do not fully accept light. In addition, since pixels are concentrated in a small space, interference between pixels is severe. If the size of the sensor increases, this problem can be supplemented.
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra rear camera/photos courtesy of Samsung Electronics Co.
If so, how did the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which uses a smaller image sensor than a regular digital camera, implement 108 million pixels? Samsung Electronics solved these problems with 'Nanocell' and 'ISOcell Plus' technologies. It is through its own mobile image sensor (ISO Cell Bright HM1; hereinafter HM1).
The HM1 compacted 18 million small pixels, measuring 0.8mm (micrometer, 1 millionth of a meter), into a 1/1.33-inch-sized filming box. The larger the number of pixels, the larger and clearer the photo can be taken. However, if the number of pixels is increased recklessly, it is likely to gain crude images in terms of noise, tone, and depth expression. Nanocell is a technique that allows nine adjacent pixels to act like one large pixel (3x3). It is a technology that can accept more than twice as much light as conventional image sensor methods. Samsung explained that this allows clearer picture quality in dark places, bright places, and bright places.
The more pixels you merge, the more color interference between adjacent pixels. Therefore, it was difficult to implement this technology. Samsung Electronics explained that it applied 'ISOcell Plus', a patented technology that makes separation film between pixels, to prevent interference, light loss and scattering among adjacent pixels that can occur due to the implementation of Nanocell.
However, experts explain that by physical standards, the quality of the video footage taken with a 100-megapixel digital camera equipped with a medium-sized image sensor cannot be compared to the quality of the video quality.
Nanocell implementation method/photos by Samsung Electronics
It could be a 100 million pixel digital camera, but...How do you get a lens that doesn't fit you?
Hot cellblad 'H6D-100c'/photos = Is there any 100 million pixel product that uses full frame or crop sensor that is used for general use of a peninsula camera? Although image sensors have been released, they have yet to be commercialized. The reasons for this are the compatibility of existing lenses and poor performance.
High pixel image sensors require a corresponding lens. Lens are a role that allows light to form into an image sensor, and more demanding technology is required to make light reach the entire 100 million pixels. Due to this reason, lenses that are old for release do not fully support 100 million pixel sensors. Although the camera industry is currently shipping lenses that correspond to high-pixel lenses, they are still lacking. More pixels will also increase data used in photography and video shooting. For example, it will be disadvantageous for continuous shooting or long-term video shooting compared to 20-megapixel products. In addition, more data can be used to track fast-moving subjects, which can lead to poor computational performance.
An official from the camera industry said, "A large number of pixels does not necessarily produce good pictures, and the quality of pictures should match the size of image sensors and other factors," and added, "It is not a good idea to release a main body with 100 million pixels."