2018 iPhone may sport three-lens camera system to boost image quality

24

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 61
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,340member
    avon b7 said:
    All 3 lenses on Huawei P20 have OIS. Wonder if this will be the same with the next iPhone. The P20 camera is getting really good reviews.
    They also have AIIS  running through the NPU and predictive AF which is what many are calling a 'game changer' in smartphone camera technology.
    Dual lens and computational imaging were together the "game changer".

    Everything that follows that is just evolution, including this three lens P20, which sets the bar today, but likely isn't the innovation that Huawei really needs.


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 22 of 61
    hmlongcohmlongco Posts: 537member
    I'd probably expect the third lens (sensor) to be B&W only. Removing the color filters should boost low-light sensitivity and help improve edge detection.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 23 of 61
    macplusplusmacplusplus Posts: 2,112member
    I have used the iPhone X & it does feel like the future.
    But I just like the home button so much. I feel like buying a 256GB iPhone 8 rather than a 10.
    Any opinions ?
    Actually iPhone 8 Plus is the fastest of the latest iPhones, including X. Face ID plus OIS on both lenses and OLED put iPhone X ahead of 8 Plus. If you don’t need the Plus form factor I suggest definitely iPhone X.
    edited April 2018 watto_cobra
  • Reply 24 of 61
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    Are we just going to keep stacking lenses on to the phone? Maybe it’s for 4x zoom this time?
    It's going to quickly become like Gillette razor blades. Yes, there are benefits to having more than just one blade, but at some point you're just going to be adding additional blades in order to have some way to distinguish your product. I don't think we've quite reached that point with cameras on phones, but I worry it will go that way.
    curtis hannahwatto_cobra
  • Reply 25 of 61
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,693member
    tmay said:
    avon b7 said:
    All 3 lenses on Huawei P20 have OIS. Wonder if this will be the same with the next iPhone. The P20 camera is getting really good reviews.
    They also have AIIS  running through the NPU and predictive AF which is what many are calling a 'game changer' in smartphone camera technology.
    Dual lens and computational imaging were together the "game changer".

    Everything that follows that is just evolution, including this three lens P20, which sets the bar today, but likely isn't the innovation that Huawei really needs.


    Everyone has their opinion:

    "Conclusion: Game changer

    We are used to every new smartphone camera generation being slightly better than the previous one, but looking at the images and test results from the P20 Pro, it seems Huawei has skipped one or two generations. The results are simply that good. The P20 Pro’s triple camera setup is the biggest innovation we have seen in mobile imaging for quite some time and is a real game changer."

    https://www.dxomark.com/huawei-p20-pro-camera-review-innovative-technologies-outstanding-results/


    KITA
  • Reply 26 of 61
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    anome said:
    Are we just going to keep stacking lenses on to the phone? Maybe it’s for 4x zoom this time?
    It's going to quickly become like Gillette razor blades. Yes, there are benefits to having more than just one blade, but at some point you're just going to be adding additional blades in order to have some way to distinguish your product. I don't think we've quite reached that point with cameras on phones, but I worry it will go that way.
    Why worry about something that isn't really your concern? Do you work at Apple? If not, don't worry.
  • Reply 27 of 61
    clarker99 said:
    OLED Plus - 3 lenses
    OLED - 2 lenses
    LCD - 1 lense

     Gonna be tough to not go with the 3 lense Plus variant, if this is true. 
    Why should iPhone users be obliged to buy an oversized phone in order to have the best camera?

    The success of Phone was in part that iPhone was similar to Coke as Warhol described:

    What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

    Once you could buy iPhone and know you’d got the best mobile phone. Now that is no longer the case.

    edited April 2018 curtis hannah
  • Reply 28 of 61
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    anome said:
    Are we just going to keep stacking lenses on to the phone? Maybe it’s for 4x zoom this time?
    It's going to quickly become like Gillette razor blades. Yes, there are benefits to having more than just one blade, but at some point you're just going to be adding additional blades in order to have some way to distinguish your product. I don't think we've quite reached that point with cameras on phones, but I worry it will go that way.
    Why worry about something that isn't really your concern? Do you work at Apple? If not, don't worry.
    Well, if it's none of my concern because I don't work there, why should anyone be reading websites like this one? Let alone comment on it. How many comments on threads here are complaining about Apple adding "unnecessary" features that are perceived as adding no real value?
    curtis hannah
  • Reply 29 of 61
    KITAKITA Posts: 393member
    supadav03 said:

    All 3 lenses on Huawei P20 have OIS. Wonder if this will be the same with the next iPhone. The P20 camera is getting really good reviews.
    Just wonder how many lenses are really necessary. Feel like we’re getting into razor territory “our new razor has 5 blades!” Google’d Pixel has a pretty great camera, mostly on par with the X & S9, while only having 1 lense. I’d be surprised if this triple lens prediction comes true. 
    The Pixel 2 and 2 XL use dual pixels on the rear camera for depth. 

    "The Pixel 2 doesn't have dual cameras, but it does have a technology called Phase-Detect Auto-Focus (PDAF) pixels, sometimes called dual-pixel autofocus (DPAF). That's a mouthful, but the idea is pretty simple. If one imagines splitting the (tiny) lens of the phone's rear-facing camera into two halves, the view of the world as seen through the left side of the lens and the view through the right side are slightly different. These two viewpoints are less than 1mm apart (roughly the diameter of the lens), but they're different enough to compute stereo and produce a depth map."



    Google Blog
    supadav03
  • Reply 30 of 61
    Get the iPhone X.  I can’t get over how freaking awesome it is!  The home button seems archaic.  Heck, if for no other reason than yer getting nearly three times as many pixels!
  • Reply 31 of 61
    big kcbig kc Posts: 141member
    It's sounding more and more like there will no longer be a 4.7" form factor model moving forward. BIG mistake IMHO, especially if they position the LCD 6.1" variant as "entry level", which is not what anybody wants to hear about their still-expensive Apple product. The 4.7" phone is the perfect compromise for me size-wise, and in the case of the iPhone 8, is 100% on par hardware-wise, other than the camera, which is still excellent, with the X & 8 Plus. I hope that they continue something in this form factor that also stays current. I fear that they will continue to sell the 8 but offer no upgraded 4.7" option. If that happens, not only will I stick with my 8 for at least another year, I think a LOT of other people will stick with their 7's & 8's for a longer time, which will stifle overall sales numbers. Hopefully this isn't how it all plays out.
  • Reply 32 of 61
    big kc said:
    It's sounding more and more like there will no longer be a 4.7" form factor model moving forward. BIG mistake IMHO, especially if they position the LCD 6.1" variant as "entry level", which is not what anybody wants to hear about their still-expensive Apple product. The 4.7" phone is the perfect compromise for me size-wise, and in the case of the iPhone 8, is 100% on par hardware-wise, other than the camera, which is still excellent, with the X & 8 Plus. I hope that they continue something in this form factor that also stays current. I fear that they will continue to sell the 8 but offer no upgraded 4.7" option. If that happens, not only will I stick with my 8 for at least another year, I think a LOT of other people will stick with their 7's & 8's for a longer time, which will stifle overall sales numbers. Hopefully this isn't how it all plays out.
    I doubt it would hurt sales. People said the same thing about the X not having Touch ID. There will be a vocal minority but most will adapt. 
    curtis hannah
  • Reply 33 of 61
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,337member
    clarker99 said:
    OLED Plus - 3 lenses
    OLED - 2 lenses
    LCD - 1 lense

     Gonna be tough to not go with the 3 lense Plus variant, if this is true. 
    Why should iPhone users be obliged to buy an oversized phone in order to have the best camera?

    The success of Phone was in part that iPhone was similar to Coke as Warhol described:

    What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

    Once you could buy iPhone and know you’d got the best mobile phone. Now that is no longer the case.

    Prior to the X wasn’t this already the case ... the camera on the plus being the better of the two models of iPhone ? 
    sellerington
  • Reply 34 of 61
    jcs2305 said:
    clarker99 said:
    OLED Plus - 3 lenses
    OLED - 2 lenses
    LCD - 1 lense

     Gonna be tough to not go with the 3 lense Plus variant, if this is true. 
    Why should iPhone users be obliged to buy an oversized phone in order to have the best camera?

    The success of Phone was in part that iPhone was similar to Coke as Warhol described:

    What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

    Once you could buy iPhone and know you’d got the best mobile phone. Now that is no longer the case.

    Prior to the X wasn’t this already the case ... the camera on the plus being the better of the two models of iPhone ? 
    Yes. It began with the iPhone 6. The 6 Plus got optical image stabilization, the smaller 6 did not. The accepted explanation at the time was that there was room for OIS in the bigger phone but not the smaller one. I have no idea if that's true, though.
    selleringtonmuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 35 of 61
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,725member
    KITA said:
    supadav03 said:

    All 3 lenses on Huawei P20 have OIS. Wonder if this will be the same with the next iPhone. The P20 camera is getting really good reviews.
    Just wonder how many lenses are really necessary. Feel like we’re getting into razor territory “our new razor has 5 blades!” Google’d Pixel has a pretty great camera, mostly on par with the X & S9, while only having 1 lense. I’d be surprised if this triple lens prediction comes true. 
    The Pixel 2 and 2 XL use dual pixels on the rear camera for depth. 

    "The Pixel 2 doesn't have dual cameras, but it does have a technology called Phase-Detect Auto-Focus (PDAF) pixels, sometimes called dual-pixel autofocus (DPAF). That's a mouthful, but the idea is pretty simple. If one imagines splitting the (tiny) lens of the phone's rear-facing camera into two halves, the view of the world as seen through the left side of the lens and the view through the right side are slightly different. These two viewpoints are less than 1mm apart (roughly the diameter of the lens), but they're different enough to compute stereo and produce a depth map."



    Google Blog
    Would that not come at the cost of lower sensitivity as less light is captured on each “half pixel”? Also, I’d assume that the further the pixels apart (bigger parallax) the more accurate the calculated depth Information is. But maybe for the intended use it’s enough. 
  • Reply 36 of 61
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,725member
     
    I have used the iPhone X & it does feel like the future.
    But I just like the home button so much. I feel like buying a 256GB iPhone 8 rather than a 10.
    Any opinions ?
    My wife has the X while I’m still on my 6s (no Plus). Every now and then I’m using her phone so here is my experience about the X:
    - superb feel in hand, and also less slippery than my 6s. (Still, purely ergonomically the 3GS was best in hand for me)
    - FaceID obviously doesn’t work for me as currently you can set it only to one person. For her it works most of the time (specific sunglasses excluded)
    - best part of th X IMO is the camera. No discussion for me here. It’s light years away from my 6 and though I cannot compete to the 8 picture quality I just feel it’s a great camera. 
    - I have not so big hands and I said goodbye to one handed use except for when I’m back on my SE. the size difference to the X is not that of a difference regarding use most of the time. What I feel slightly disturbing is having to each far up to the right hand side corner to pull down the sheet which on my 6 I get by easily swiping up. But the overall screen estate increase is noticeable and very welcome compared to the 6s’ screen
    - notch is not disturbing at all
    - reading in the dark is much more eye friendly due to the pitch black black if the OLED
    - it’s slightly easier to see the screen in sunny outside compared to the 6, a welcome plus 
    - water resistance is soothing 
    - being all glass she put it in the Apple leather enclosure and while I don’t like it due to the increase of size and overall impact on the look it probably already saved her few times from a drop crack (small kids in the house)
    - verdict: if I wouldn’t have access to my wife’s phone for the camera I’d consider buying it. However, I prefer waiting for 2nd gen FaceID (having the speed difference between 1st and 2nd gen touchID in mind and hoping for things such as multiple people being recognized) plus further lessons learned by Apple on this new form factor. 
    avon b7radarthekat
  • Reply 37 of 61
    analogjackanalogjack Posts: 1,073member
    A camera lens arms race, this is not going to end well.
  • Reply 38 of 61
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,303member
    Obviously you'll make the ultimate decision, but I have discovered over the years that my view of a given technological feature or change is very different if I only try it in a store for a couple of minutes versus if I really sit down and spend a couple of hours (at least) or days (preferably) with it. Most often, things I found "meh" in short trial use become "this is great" things after I have more seriously used them (or "gotten used to them," take your pick).

    The most recent example was the keyboards of the MacBook and latest MBPs (there's a slight difference/improvement in the latter, but for the sake of this discussion they are functionally the same). It was quite a change from the previous MBP and on first trying it I was more than happy to pronounce it "too flat," as did many others. But then a funny thing happened.

    I was house-sitting for a friend with a MacBook (the really flat keyboard!), and was generously allowed use of a subsidiary account. So I beat on that keyboard for hours a day, and I very quickly noticed that the flatness was not as much of an issue as I'd first thought, and in fact my typing accuracy and speed had gone up (probably thanks to the larger keys -- I have big hands). Every time I would go back to my "old" MBP, the accuracy would go back to previous levels. So I've completely changed my mind about this.

    I could cite other examples where this has happened in the past ("the iPhone 6s is so huge!", "how will I live without a built-in Superdrive?" and so on) and I'm not saying that will happen to everyone, but if possible bring an open mind and some real "quality time" with the given change to the table and you might find yourself surprised. I have been not so much surprised as shocked at how much of my work I now do on an iPad compared to when I bought my first iPad ...
  • Reply 39 of 61
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    clarker99 said:
    OLED Plus - 3 lenses
    OLED - 2 lenses
    LCD - 1 lense

     Gonna be tough to not go with the 3 lense Plus variant, if this is true. 
    Why should iPhone users be obliged to buy an oversized phone in order to have the best camera?

    The success of Phone was in part that iPhone was similar to Coke as Warhol described:

    What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

    Once you could buy iPhone and know you’d got the best mobile phone. Now that is no longer the case.

    Of course it’s still the case.  All iPhone models run iOS.  No other phones run iOS.  You can’t get a phone that runs anything better than iOS.  So if you buy an iPhone you know you’ve got the best.  Unless you agree having a liter of coke is better than having a 10oz bottle.  Then, yes get the liter and feel you’ve truly got the best.  And drink it while holding your iPhone X.  
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 40 of 61
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator

    anome said:
    anome said:
    Are we just going to keep stacking lenses on to the phone? Maybe it’s for 4x zoom this time?
    It's going to quickly become like Gillette razor blades. Yes, there are benefits to having more than just one blade, but at some point you're just going to be adding additional blades in order to have some way to distinguish your product. I don't think we've quite reached that point with cameras on phones, but I worry it will go that way.
    Why worry about something that isn't really your concern? Do you work at Apple? If not, don't worry.
    Well, if it's none of my concern because I don't work there, why should anyone be reading websites like this one? Let alone comment on it. How many comments on threads here are complaining about Apple adding "unnecessary" features that are perceived as adding no real value?
    I’ll bite... how many?  
Sign In or Register to comment.