Science of dual camera and its types in smartphones

Dual camera phone represents phones with two or stereo cameras at the rear but its not only for clear or 3D photos there are different types of dual cameras you should understand it prioritize your preferences before buying a new phone.

Dual camera was a feature which was available only in high-range mobiles but it is now changing slowly with mid-range mobile also featuring them.

Types of dual camera

Depth Sensor Camera

This is the most basic form of dual camera system. In this system, the primary camera is accompanied by a second camera whose only function is to 3D map the area in front of the camera. As humans, we are able to see in 3D because we have two eyes with slightly different perspectives that help us convey depth, especially for things that are close to us.

With the second camera, the system can now roughly judge how far the objects in front of it are with respect to each other. This information is then used to separate the foreground subject from the background.

The most common use of this is to create depth effect, like taking a photo of a person where the person’s (foreground) image is clear and the background is blured a little

Well this technology is not perfect yetas objects with less depth like a sign board can get blured at the edges.

Pros:

• Depth sensing slightly better then single camera

Cons:

• Not very effective over the software effects available with single camera phones
• Is backwards when compared to telephoto implementation

The Monochrome Camera

In this setup secondary sensor is the monochrome camera. In this method, in this method both primary and secondary camera have same configuration including identical sensors, apertures, lenses and focusing systems. The main and usually only difference between the two is that the second sensor lacks an RGB(Red, green, blue) color filter. This means that the sensor cannot capture color information but as there is one less thing blocking the sensor, the monochrome camera can capture more light.

Every time you take a picture, the camera system combines the output of both cameras by layering them into one image. In theory, the two images combined will have greater detail and reduced noise. Alternately, you can also just shoot from the monochrome camera and get slightly better image quality at the cost of all the color information.

Pros :

• Better colours
• Brighter photos
• Can take monochrome photos

Cons:

• Requires identical sensors
• Needs good sensors

Wide Angle Lens Camera

This setup uses a fish-eye secondary camera with higher degrees of view and a primary camera ofhigher megapixels, but the resolution of both the camera should be same

This setup brings advantage of capturing more of a scene without moving backwards holding the mobile can be called as a zoom out feature .

The main problem with this setup is that the wide angle lens brings barrel distortion. This is when your photos appear spherical instead of linear.

Pros:

• creative fish-eye photos

Cons:

• Requires identical sensors
• Spherical photos require trained hands

The Telephoto Camera

This is the most common of all the dual camera systems today is the telephoto camera. In this, the primary camera is paired with a second camera that has a telephoto lens. this is the exact opposite of the wide-angle camera system, wherein it actually lets you zoom into your subject instead of zooming out.

There are many advantages of this system. First is the most obvious, where you get 2x lossless optical zoom instead of digital (software) zoom in traditional cameras

Telephoto lenses are more suitable for portraits than wide angle as they have less distortion and are more flattering to the subject also most manufacturers have add depth effect discussed above

Mostly the second camera is of inferior quality in terms of aperture and stabilization making it even worse in low light conditions, most manufacturers program the software to disable the second camera in low light conditions

Pros:

• Bokeh effect
• 2x zoom

Cons:

• Bokeh doesn’t work in low light
• Poor low light zoom
• 2x optical zoom isn’t always useful

There are also mix of wide angle and telephoto lens phones available at higher price tag

Sources :

www.digit.in

www.gsmarena.com