Tiny OmniVision Sensor Brings 1080p/60 Video to Front-Facing Smartphone Cams
The all-mighty selfie has gained a lot of ground over the years — even the Mars Rover Curiosity is doing it — but high-quality has never been its trademark. This is due, in part, to the horrible quality of most front facing smartphone cameras. Having to sandwich a sensor between a whole mess of other stuff leaves little to beef up quality.
OmniVision aims to solve that space issue, and it’s doing so by packing a whole lot of power into an itsy bitsy sensor: the newly announced OV2724.
The 1/6-inch OV2724’s primary function is to bring front facing video up to snuff by shrinking down the typical sensor while simultaneously pushing performance. To that effect, it’s the company’s tiniest full-HD sensor to date.
Able to fit into a module measuring just 5mm x 5mm x 3.5mm, the new chip can handle full 1080p at up to 60fps, all while offering “enhanced high dynamic range and low-light performance.” Additionally, the chip promises “clean and fully stable color images” thanks to some proprietary imaging tech that takes on issues such as pattern noise and smearing.
We’ll be looking forward to seeing the sensor in action IRL, but it’ll still be a few months before that happens. The OV2724 isn’t set to hit mass production until Q3, plus whatever time it takes to make it from the production line into the next generation of razor-thin smartphones, tablets and ultrabooks.
(via Engadget)
Image credit: iPad 2 – Front Facing Camera by William Hook
