We've seen plenty of interesting camera phone patents recently, but that doesn't mean that this six-camera beast from Samsung isn't any less exciting. We've recently seen news that Samsung Electronics has been granted a patent for a Galaxy camera phone with six cameras comprised of five wide-angle cameras and one telephoto camera.
However, the number of cameras isn't actually the most interesting part of this patent. Apparently, Samsung is also experimenting with tilting image sensors in order to improve the image quality. This patent was filed in December 2019 with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) and the documentation was then subsequently published on 11 June, 2020.
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The moving image sensors are designed to tilt so that the camera phone can capture a greater focal length. According to Let's Go Digital, this means that four wide-angle lenses and a moving sensor would be able to capture a panoramic image with a 'pano-bokeh effect' – i.e. a panorama with a blurred background.
Another advantage of an array camera with a tilting image sensor is that multiple cameras can work together to create better results when working in challenging conditions, such as a poorly lit environment. According to the Samsung patent, this camera array will also features better focus, higher dynamic range (HDR) and multiple bokeh effects.
While this potential Samsung camera phone sounds very exciting, it's worth noting that not all patents make it into fully realized products. However, even if this concept doesn't come to market in its full six-camera glory, it's more than possible that we will see some version of the technology in the future.
If you want to learn more about this interesting camera phone patent, check out Let's Go Digital's highly informative article (source in Dutch).
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