{"id":32364,"date":"2022-06-01T17:50:19","date_gmt":"2022-06-01T17:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/smartphones-will-kill-off-the-dslr-within-three-years-says-sony\/"},"modified":"2022-06-01T17:50:19","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T17:50:19","slug":"smartphones-will-kill-off-the-dslr-within-three-years-says-sony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/smartphones-will-kill-off-the-dslr-within-three-years-says-sony\/","title":{"rendered":"Smartphones will kill off the DSLR within three years says Sony"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>Smartphone cameras and DSLRs have been moving in opposite directions for the past few years, and image quality from phones will finally trump that of their single-lens reflex rivals by 2024, according to Sony.<\/p>\n<p>As reported by Nikkei Japan<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span>the President and CEO of Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS), Terushi Shimizu, told a business briefing that &#8220;we expect that still images [from smartphones] will exceed the image quality of single-lens reflex cameras within the next few years &#8220;.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"hawk-nest\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p>Some fascinating slides<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span> presented during the briefing were even more specific, with one slide showing that, according to Sony, &#8220;still images are expected to exceed ILC [interchangeable lens camera] image quality &#8220;sometime during 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Those are two slightly different claims, with &#8216;ILCs&#8217; also including today&#8217;s mirrorless cameras, alongside the older DSLR tech that most camera manufacturers are now largely abandoning. <\/p>\n<p>But the broader conclusion remains &#8211; far from hitting a tech ceiling, smartphones are expected to continue their imaging evolution and, for most people, make standalone cameras redundant. <\/p>\n<p>So what tech will drive this continued rise of the best phone cameras?  Sony points to a few factors, including \u201cquantum saturation\u201d and improvements to &#8220;AI processing&#8221;.  Interestingly, Sony also expects the sensor size in &#8220;high-end model&#8221; phones to double by 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The larger pixels on these sensors will, it says, allow phone makers to apply multi-frame processing that &#8220;realizes a new imaging experience&#8221;, including improved Super HDR modes and zooms that combine folded optics (as on the Sony Xperia 1 IV) with AI algorithms. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:2000px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" alt=\"A laptop screen showing a Sony slide on the future of mobile imaging\" class=\" lazy-image-van\" onerror=\"if(this.src &amp;&amp; this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/vanilla.futurecdn.net\/techradar\/media\/img\/missing-image.svg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue-320-80.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue-970-80.jpg.webp 970w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue.jpg\"\/><source type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"A laptop screen showing a Sony slide on the future of mobile imaging\" class=\" lazy-image-van\" onerror=\"if(this.src &amp;&amp; this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/vanilla.futurecdn.net\/techradar\/media\/img\/missing-image.svg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue-320-80.jpg 320w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue-970-80.jpg 970w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/NQW2bm3KJCFD2UEaaifGue.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">A slide from Sony&#8217;s &#8216;Imaging &#038; Sensing Solutions&#8217; briefing, taken from the full presentation<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span>. <\/span><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sony also highlighted the development of its &#8216;two-layer transistor pixel technology&#8217;, which we heard about last year, which promises to drastically improve the dynamic range on phone cameras and help reduce low-light noise.<\/p>\n<p>Similar advances are coming for video too, according to Sony&#8217;s presentation, with the higher read-out speeds of next-gen sensors supporting 8K video, multi-frame processing (including video HDR) and a general realization of &#8220;AI processing for video&#8221;.  In other words, computational video techniques like Apple&#8217;s Cinematic Mode.<\/p>\n<p>While it isn&#8217;t unusual for Sony to make bold predictions about a sector it&#8217;s heavily invested in, there does seem to be substance behind its predictions for the continued evolution of phone cameras at the expense of DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. <\/p>\n<p>And that&#8217;s significant for all smartphones, because according to Statista<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span>Sony has 42% of the global image sensor market for phones, while teardowns of the iPhone 13 Pro Max show that it uses three Sony IMX 7-series sensors.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2 id=\"analysis-phones-continue-their-meteoric-rise\">Analysis: Phones continue their meteoric rise<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1600px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:56.25%;\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" alt=\"A diagram showing Sony's two-layer transistor pixel technology\" class=\" lazy-image-van\" onerror=\"if(this.src &amp;&amp; this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/vanilla.futurecdn.net\/techradar\/media\/img\/missing-image.svg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-320-80.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-970-80.jpg.webp 970w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK.jpg\"\/><source type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"A diagram showing Sony's two-layer transistor pixel technology\" class=\" lazy-image-van\" onerror=\"if(this.src &amp;&amp; this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/vanilla.futurecdn.net\/techradar\/media\/img\/missing-image.svg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-320-80.jpg 320w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-970-80.jpg 970w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK.jpg\"\/><img alt=\"A diagram showing Sony's two-layer transistor pixel technology\" class=\" lazy-image-van\" onerror=\"if(this.src &amp;&amp; this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/vanilla.futurecdn.net\/techradar\/media\/img\/missing-image.svg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-320-80.jpg 320w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK-970-80.jpg 970w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK.jpg?ssl=1\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/YfYLdArStQDZjcPENWHzvK.jpg?ssl=1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Predictions about the demise of DSLR cameras are nothing new &#8211; without saying anything explicitly, Canon and Nikon have both admitted that DSLRs are a legacy format by discontinuing some models, such as the Nikon D3500, without replacing them.  But Sony&#8217;s latest statements highlight that phone cameras still have a long way to go before they hit their tech ceiling.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest advances in recent years have come in multi-frame processing, otherwise known as computational photography.  But Sony was understandably keen to stress the role that new hardware will play in lifting phone cameras to new photographic heights.<\/p>\n<p>Its prediction that the sensor sizes in high-end phones will double by 2024 is slightly surprising, given that this is limited by factors like lenses.  For example, the Sony Xperia Pro-I became Sony&#8217;s first phone to have a 1-inch sensor last year, but its lens wasn&#8217;t able to project a large enough image circle to cover the whole of that sensor, so it could only take 12MP photos rather than the native 20MP resolution.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps more significant is Sony&#8217;s new stacked CMOS sensor with two-layer transistor pixels, which effectively exposes each pixel to twice as much light as a standard sensor.  This sounds like a hardware advance that computational algorithms could definitely get their teeth stuck into in order to boost dynamic range and noise performance.<\/p>\n<p>But given how good the latest phones are at photography, the most noticeable advances over the next few years are likely to be in video.  Sony&#8217;s presentation highlighted this with references to multi-frame processing and its Edge AI platform, which promises to boost both video performance and support for augmented reality apps.<\/p>\n<p>While DSLRs and mirrorless cameras will always have an audience among hobbyists and pros due to their handling, creative control, viewfinders and single-shot image quality, the kinds of advances outlined in Sony&#8217;s presentation show that the next few years are going to be a particularly exciting time for phone cameras.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Smartphone cameras and DSLRs have been moving in opposite directions for the past few years, and image quality from phones will finally trump that of their single-lens reflex rivals by 2024, according to Sony. As reported by Nikkei Japan (opens in new tab)the President and CEO of Sony Semiconductor Solutions (SSS), Terushi Shimizu, told a &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/smartphones-will-kill-off-the-dslr-within-three-years-says-sony\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Smartphones will kill off the DSLR within three years says Sony<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/UbMNagctMRvH3eFsCi7BeR-1200-80.jpg?ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/UbMNagctMRvH3eFsCi7BeR-1200-80.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32364"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}