Howdy,
The Google Camera App on my Android Nexus 5X (12MP) cell phone now defaults to the so called "HDR+" mode as Google calls it (more info here). It's not very recent, this mode has been the default for quite some time now.
I have to say I'm rather baffled by the IQ it provides. In this mode, the app takes multiple shots which are averaged in order to reduce noise and increase DR. For casual shots, it works very well and the IQ is quite impressive given the size of the sensor.
Here are a few full resolution (12MP) snapshots as examples:
To go even further you might be interested in reading this article Experimental Nighttime Photography with Nexus and Pixel.
Impressive, isn't it? Sure, there is a lot of hand made work, but it just shows what's possible today.
As computational power and sensor read-out increases, this shows what will soon be automatically performed by our cell phones.
Here are the major 3 points I foresee for the future of mainstream photography:
</ul>I sadly think that's what the future holds for us. We still have time to enjoy our real cameras, but the clock is ticking...
What do you guys think?
The Google Camera App on my Android Nexus 5X (12MP) cell phone now defaults to the so called "HDR+" mode as Google calls it (more info here). It's not very recent, this mode has been the default for quite some time now.
I have to say I'm rather baffled by the IQ it provides. In this mode, the app takes multiple shots which are averaged in order to reduce noise and increase DR. For casual shots, it works very well and the IQ is quite impressive given the size of the sensor.
Here are a few full resolution (12MP) snapshots as examples:
To go even further you might be interested in reading this article Experimental Nighttime Photography with Nexus and Pixel.
Impressive, isn't it? Sure, there is a lot of hand made work, but it just shows what's possible today.
As computational power and sensor read-out increases, this shows what will soon be automatically performed by our cell phones.
Here are the major 3 points I foresee for the future of mainstream photography:
- Sensor size will become mostly irrelevant (1).
- Both DR (2) and DOF (3) will likely become irrelevant as well because of computational power and the advancement in algorithms:
<ul><li>The hardware will have the ability to take dozens or hundreds of shots and average them to decrease noise and increase DR, all of it in real-time and automatically.
- The software will feature post-processing algorithms that will let users decide what aperture to use after the shot. It already exists and doesn't look great. It's just a matter of time until it's good enough that 95% of the population won't be able to distinguish a shot taken with a phone + simulated DOF and one taken at f1.4 with a FF sensor. The application will probably let you choose the character of the lens, bokeh, etc. rendering special lenses obsolete.
</ul>I sadly think that's what the future holds for us. We still have time to enjoy our real cameras, but the clock is ticking...
What do you guys think?