Although higher pixel counts don’t always translate to higher quality images, it sometimes never hurts to possess more if you’ll afford it, especially since it’s good marketing. For years now, Samsung has been pushing the envelope when it involves the number of pixels one mobile image sensor can hold, and it’s just announced a replacement milestone with the 200MP ISOCELL HP1. In addition, Samsung also introduces the new ISOCELL GN5 promises upgraded autofocus with a more “normal” 50MP sensor.
108MP or maybe 64MP sensors don’t always use all the pixels to shoot 108MP or 64MP images. Instead, more often than not, they utilize pixel binning, sometimes mentioned as Quad-Bayer filter, to mix adjacent pixels to supply a picture with a smaller pixel resolution but with higher quality and better light absorption. The ISOCELL HP1 works simultaneously but with even more flexibility because of its 200MP 0.64μm pixels.
With less light available, the ISOCELL HP1 merges 16 adjacent pixels to make a 12.5MP sensor with larger 2.56μm pixels. Under bright light, the sensor can fully utilize all pixels for a 200MP image. It also can merge four pixels to rework into a 50MP sensor with 1.28μm pixels, which will record 8K videos at 30 fps.
In contrast, the ISOCELL GN5 sounds almost like a more traditional 50MP sensor but its a 1.0μm pixel size and new autofocus technologies. Building upon Dual Pixel Pro, which uses two photodiodes per pixel for autofocus, a replacement Front Deep Trench Isolation (FDTI) adds a partial insulator within each pixel. This enables those photodiodes to soak up more light while reducing crosstalk within the pixel itself.
Previous rumors claim that the Galaxy S22 won’t benefit the first-ever 200MP camera sensor, which could instead be a Xiaomi phone later this year. However, on the opposite hand, the Galaxy S22 has been leaked to urge a 50MP main camera, and therefore the ISOCELL GN5 fits the bill.
