Sony says smartphone cameras will soon produce better images than DSLR cameras

1 min readUpdated Jun 13, 2022Jun 13, 20225:09 AM

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When it comes time for you to capture an important event by snapping a photograph of it or recording it on video, do you tend to use the camera array on your smartphone or do you turn to a dedicated SLR camera to handle these tasks? Smartphone photography has come such a long way that these days most consumers are willing to trust their handsets to deliver outstanding family photos.

One executive who has a great vantage point showing him the future of smartphone photography is the President and CEO of Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS), Terushi Shimizu. The executive runs the team that is the leading supplier of image sensors for smartphones and as a result, Shimizu has a unique look at what is happening in the industry. Shimizu says that “still images (from smartphones) will exceed the image quality of single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras within the next few years.”

An SLR camera uses a combination of mirrors and prisms so that the image seen through the viewfinder is the same image that will be captured by the photographer. DSLR cameras are Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras that use image sensors rather than film. Sony’s Shimizu made his comment during an industry conference and a slide from that event shows that Sony expects that the quality of smartphone camera images will start to exceed those of interchangeable lens cameras (ILC) in the calendar year 2024.

That is the same as saying that images from smartphone cameras will start to surpass those achieved by DSLR and mirrorless cameras in as soon as two years. One of the reasons for the improvement will be an increase in the size of image sensors to over one inch in size allowing them to capture more data.. Sony also has created a new structure that saturates each pixel with twice as much light to create more dynamic range while reducing noise on pictures snapped in low-light.

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Questions & Answers

Which executive at Sony made these predictions about smartphone camera quality?

Terushi Shimizu, the President and CEO of Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS), made the comments. His team is the leading supplier of image sensors for smartphones, giving him insight into industry developments.

When does Sony expect smartphone camera image quality to surpass that of interchangeable lens cameras?

Sony anticipates that the image quality from smartphone cameras will begin to exceed that of interchangeable lens cameras, including DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, starting in the calendar year 2024.

What technological advancements are contributing to the expected improvement in smartphone camera quality?

Improvements include an increase in image sensor size to over one inch, allowing for more data capture. Also, Sony has developed a new pixel structure that doubles light saturation for better dynamic range and reduced low-light noise.

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