Samsung has been developing new camera technology for its handsets.
A global shutter could arrive on a future version of the brand's phones.
When you think of the pinnacle of photographic image quality, chances are you're not picturing a smartphone. While that does tend to be the most commonly used device for snapping shots, a proper mirrorless camera or older DSLR will often offer superior quality.
But not if Samsung has anything to do with it. The brand has been hard at work on some new camera technology, which could get rid of one major bug bear for phone photographers.
According to a report from the Korean site, Sisa Journal (via 9to5Google), the brand is working on a global shutter image sensor. That's the kind of technology you'd find in really high-end, professional cameras, making it an unusual thing to have on a phone.
So, what exactly is a global shutter? Well, in essence, it's a different way of capturing data from the sensor, which captures everything at once, rather than in a staggered readout.
That technology offers a suite of benefits, most notably a total reduction of the effects of rolling shutter. That means you'll see next to no motion blur for any moving subjects, which is something beloved by sports and wildlife photographers.
However, there are some drawbacks too, most notably a lower resolution and longer processing times. Neither of those have traditionally been wanted in phone cameras, which does make Samsung's interest more intriguing.
From a technical standpoint, Samsung's shutter system isn't a true global shutter. 2x2 pixel arrays act like a rolling shutter, but those are considerably smaller than having the whole sensor acting in a rolling manner.
According to the report, the brand has also developed an algorithm which can correct for the smaller amounts of roll in those little arrays.
We'll have to wait and see exactly how this technology is implemented on future versions of the Samsung Galaxy phones, but I'm excited to see what they can do.
