Back in 2019, most mainstream lower mid-range, upper mid-range, and affordable flagship phones opted to support some form of a 48MP Quad Bayer sensor. In 2020, it seems 64MP will be the new standard resolution for smartphone cameras. Both Samsung and Sony have launched their 64MP sensors in the form of the Samsung ISOCELL GW1 and the Sony IMX686, respectively. Samsung has even gone a step higher by releasing two 108MP sensors in the form of the ISOCELL HMX and the ISOCELL HM1, the latter of which is used in the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra flagship smartphone. While the two companies (Samsung and Sony) battle it out for superiority, a third competitor is quietly unveiling its own camera sensors in the market. The contender is OmniVision, and so far, it hasn’t achieved success yet. It aims to keep trying, though, and it has now launched its own 64MP image sensor in the form of the OV64C.
“TSR estimates there will be 127 million image sensors with 64MP or higher resolution shipped to smartphone manufacturers in 2020,” said Arun Jayaseelan, staff marketing manager at OmniVision. “The OV64C, with its premium resolution and features, is well-positioned to address this ramp in demand among high-end smartphone designers.”
The new OmniVision’s 64MP is a 1/1.7” sensor, as large as the Sony IMX686 and Samsung ISOCELL GW1, two competing 64MP sensors. The OV64C (64MP sensor) has an on-chip 4-cell color filter array and hardware remosaic to provide high-quality 64MP Bayer output in real-time. In low light, the sensor can use “near-pixel binning” to output a 16MP image with 4x sensitivity as it supports a 1.6-micron equivalent performance for previews and still captures. In either case, OmniVision assures us that the sensor can consistently capture the best quality images. It also has a 2x digital crop zoom with 16MP resolution and a fast mode switch.
Furthermore, the sensor features type-2, 2×2 microlens phase detection autofocus (microlens-PDAF) to boast autofocus accuracy, especially in low light. For videos, the OmniVision OV64C sensor is capable of outputting 8K footage at 30fps. It can also record 4K videos at 60fps, and 30fps with Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) enabled.