With smartphone ownership spreading and their incorporated cameras improving with every iteration, it’s little wonder the compact camera market is shrinking rapidly. But when it comes to features like image stabilization, there’s still room for improvement as far as mobile phone cameras are concerned.
Picture quality on smartphones has vastly improved in recent years, but the problem of camera shake lingers, with many smartphone shooters left feeling disappointed when a blurry shot ruins the attempted capture of a special, or indeed fleeting, moment.
In a bid to deal with the issue, Samsung has been working on a special 13-megapixel camera module for smartphones and other mobile devices.
According to Japan-based technology news site Tech-On, the module can handle about twice the usual amount of shake of current smartphone cameras, meaning blurry images caused by a windy day, too many beers, or a particularly nervous disposition could soon be a thing of the past.
Even better, the new module performs far better than the preceding version in low-light situations, with images up to eight times brighter possible. It also draws less power from a device’s battery.
The Korean tech giant is already some way down the road with the development of the camera module, having produced a sample version for demonstration.
Tech-On says the electronics company expects to mass produce the new kit in the first half of next year and is in “business negotiations with global smartphone giants”, meaning all handset owners could soon be taking sharper shots, not just those with a Samsung device.
[via Engadget]