The 50 MP smartphone image sensor with TheiaCel technology provides HDR and low-light performance for images in any lighting condition.
OMNIVISION has launched OV50K40, a smartphone’s 50-megapixel (MP) image sensor. This sensor is notable for being the first smartphone image sensor to incorporate TheiaCel technology. TheiaCel technology is based on lateral overflow integration capacitors (LOFIC) and provides best-in-class single-exposure high dynamic range (HDR) performance, regardless of lighting conditions. This means that the OV50K40 can capture high-quality images in challenging lighting situations, such as sunrise, sunset, or at night, with bright lights in the background.
The company claims that it has 1.2-micron pixels in a 1/1.3-inch format and includes high gain and correlated multiple sampling (CMS) for performance in low-light conditions. The sensor offers 4-cell binning, delivering 12.5MP resolution at 120 frames per second (fps) and 60 fps with HDR, enhancing sensitivity fourfold for superior low-light performance. Its quad-phase detection (QPD) feature provides 2×2 phase detection autofocus (PDAF) across the entire sensor, ensuring complete coverage and rapid autofocus. The sensor’s on-chip QPD re-mosaic facilitates 50MP Bayer output, high-quality 8K video, and 2x crop-zoom capability. Constructed using OMNIVISION’s PureCelPlus-S stacked-die technology, the OV50K40 achieves high resolution with 1.2 µm pixels.
“Consumers have hit their limit with the quality of photos and video from mobile phones on the market today, especially for images taken during sunrise, sunset and at night with bright lights in the background. But today, OMNIVISION has disrupted the mobile phone industry with our new TheiaCel™ technology,” said Arun Jayaseelan, senior product marketing manager, OMNIVISION. “Our OV50K40 image sensor offers the highest single exposure HDR image capture in mobile phones.”
According to Gerrit Schneemann, founder and principal analyst of Ascendo Advisors, “With the launch of the OV50K40 image sensor, OMNIVISION is addressing a key challenge in smartphone photography today: images in challenging lighting conditions. Improvements in these situations are critical for smartphone OEMs to differentiate their handsets from the competition as overall camera quality has improved. The OV50K40 enables OEMs to integrate a sensor with enhanced HDR capabilities to deliver clear pictures in challenging lighting – all with a single exposure.”
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