This time the focus is on the 48MP (48 million pixels) quad pixel sensor

As usual, the new iPhone will appear in 2022, and the camera function has evolved as usual.

And as it happens every year, there is a difference in camera performance between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, but I would like to focus on the fact that the difference has widened.

The iPhone 14 Pro's quad-pixel sensor was the number one topic

Let's review the differences between the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro.

"First, the ultra-wide-angle camera." The iPhone 13's ultra-wide-angle camera was equivalent to 13 mm, pan-focus (that is, there was no AF mechanism), and the lens was F2.4. The iPhone 13 Pro's ultra-wide-angle camera is equivalent to 13 mm, but it has an AF mechanism, and the lens has a slightly higher spec of F1.8, and it can be used for "macro photography" because it can focus up to very close distances.

"Then what about the iPhone 14?" The ultra-wide-angle camera of the iPhone 14 is equivalent to 13 mm, pan-focus (that is, there is no AF mechanism), and the lens is F2.4. In other words, like the iPhone 13, it does not have the macro shooting function that the Pro had. A little disappointing.

The iPhone 14 Pro's ultra-wide-angle camera has a larger sensor size and higher performance. He says that the quality of the lens has improved, and the image quality of macro photography has also improved.

The iPhone 14 Pro's ultra-wide-angle camera has improved from the previous model, but the iPhone 14 seems to be the same as the previous model. Is there a difference?

The difference between the 14 and 14 Pro was greater than the 13 and 13 Pro in the ultra-wide-angle camera.

"Then how about a wide-angle camera?" The wide-angle camera of the iPhone 13 has a pixel size of 1.7 μm and a lens of F1.6. The wide-angle camera of the iPhone 13 Pro has a pixel size of 1.9 μm and a lens of F1.5. In other words, the 13 Pro had a larger sensor size and a better lens.

"Then what about the iPhone 14?" The wide-angle camera of the iPhone 14 has a pixel size of 1.9 μm and a lens of F1.5. In other words, it seems that the iPhone 13 Pro's wide-angle camera has come down as it is, and the level is higher than the iPhone 13. This is good.


The iPhone 14's wide-angle camera has specs similar to the unit used in the iPhone 13 Pro. this is good.

But the iPhone 14 Pro has improved so much that the difference is even greater. This time, it is equipped with a quad pixel sensor with 48 million pixels, and the pixel size is actually 2.44 μm (this is a mixture of 4 pixels, so it will be 1.22 μm per pixel).

It is the first iPhone with a quad pixel sensor. It's a 48MP quad, so dividing by 4 gives exactly 12MP



Not only has the number of pixels increased, but it has become equivalent to 24 mm, and AF is possible with all pixels, and the camera shake correction seems to have evolved to a new generation.



Although it is a little smaller than the type 1 used by AQUOS R7 and others, it is a high-end size for smartphones. The lens has become a little wider than the conventional 26mm equivalent to the standard 24mm equivalent for Android devices.

Although the wide-angle lens equivalent to 1x has changed from 26mm to 24mm, the ultra-wide-angle camera remains at 13mm, but the notation on the camera app remains 1x and 0.5x. Well that's fine.

The focus is on this quad pixel.

High-quality 2x zoom is possible by making use of the increased number of pixels


Quad pixel is a sensor pixel arrangement developed on the premise that four pixels are used together.
Normally, the pixels on the sensor are GRGR/GBGB, and in Japanese, they are arranged in green, red, green, red, and green, blue, green, and blue (more green is a specification), but quad pixels have four pixels that are responsible for the same color. are arranged as one, and usually the four are combined and used as one.   


 

     
Quad pixel commentary screen. Achieving high image quality by 
treating four pixels of the same color in a row as one


In that case, each pixel becomes a large sensor and can collect more light and shoot brighter, but not only that, real-time HDR can be realized by changing the sensitivity of each pixel.

Furthermore, when using this sensor in high-resolution mode, the size per pixel is smaller, but the image size is correspondingly larger (that is, 48 million pixels).

For example, if you use a 12MP sensor with a 2x digital zoom, you'll need to cut out the central quarter and inflate it to 12MP (so the details will be loose), but it's 48MP. If you use the pixel sensor in high resolution mode, you only need to cut out the 12 million pixels in the center, so you can get a realistic 12 million pixel 2x zoom image.



A new 2x telephoto has been added to take advantage of the quad pixel

In this area, I would be happy if you could see the article about the Quad Bayer in the article that interviewed Sony Semiconductor Solutions about image sensor technology.

A quad-pixel sensor does not simply increase the number of pixels, but how to use the increased amount is important, which depends on the terminal manufacturer's (that is, Apple's) skills, policies, technology, and so on.

In fact, smartphones with quad-pixel sensors are already commonplace on Android, but they don't all achieve the same quality. I have high hopes because Apple seems to be fully prepared to adopt it.


Nice to see 2x added between 1x and 3x. 2x with one tap


After using the iPhone 13 Pro for less than a year, I'm happy because I want a high-quality 2x.

The telephoto camera on top of that is equivalent to 77mm and the lens is F2.8, which doesn't seem to have changed much from the iPhone 13 Pro. It was barely mentioned at the presentation. However, the new photonic engine seems to improve overall image quality. This area is a must-check in the review of the actual machine.



After all, it seems that up to 4 trillion operations are performed per photo. Even if it's called Trillion, it's hard to imagine


  • In addition, if you want to shoot 48 million pixel size images instead of 12 million pixel size, you should shoot with ProRAW.
A new action mode has been added to the video that won't shake even if you run around handheld. As far as I saw the demo, the angle of view is narrower, but the correction ability seems to be high.



If you record in action mode, you can record without gimbals and it will be very smooth without blurring.

Another thing I want to check is the cinematic mode. It's great that the cinematic mode now supports 4K at 30fps (until now, it stopped at full HD), but personally, I think it's good that it also supports 24fps, which is the same as movies. It feels more like a movie.





You can also choose 24fps in cinematic. maybe more like a movie

It may not be new because it has powerful image stabilization that can be used like an action camera, and the quad-pixel sensor is already used in Android devices, but the ability to cook technology is more important than new technology. Apple is good at showing it, so I'd like to expect it.

So, going back to the beginning, I think the most noticeable thing this time was the adoption of a 48-megapixel quad-pixel sensor. As for the camera, I felt that the iPhone 14 was a little plain, and the difference between the Pro model and the previous model had widened. If you think that the most important thing in an iPhone is the camera, you may want to choose the iPhone 14 Pro, even if it is a little expensive or your wallet is tight due to the weak yen.


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