Oh, it’s game on now. Qualcomm is actually jumping onto the dual camera craze and it’s about to get real for everyone in the smartphone market. Just about everyone and their aunt is putting out a smartphone with dual camera setups, even Apple couldn’t help themselves. But Qualcomm may have the jump on all of them because as we all know, data from the cameras still have to be processed by the image processor. So Qualcomm leverages on its top dog status in processors by putting out the new Clear Sight dual camera technology, paired of course with the Spectra image signal processor (ISP) found only on the Snapdragon 820 and 821.
Qualcomm’s Clear Sight dual camera technology is being hyped as able to mimic human eye functions. Human retinas contain two types of cells – “cones” and “rods”. Cones capture detailed colors in well-lit environments. Rods function better in the dark, but they don’t carry any color information. The same will be true of the Clear Sight dual cameras. They will basically be the same sensor and focal length, but one will be tasked to carry full color info, the other will capture only black and white but will be better at low light situations.
Of course, this color/monochrome combo is not new. But what Qualcomm says will set their execution apart is pairing it with the Spectra ISP in the SD820 and 821. This ISP boasts of the ability to quickly merge and process data coming from both camera sensors into one high-quality image. This all happens in real-time and not in post-processing. Pretty cool.
So Qualcomm is banking on this combination of the Clear Sight dual cameras and the Spectra ISP to get them into the game of camera modules for smartphones where competition is pretty intense. No information available yet on when this tech will be released to market, but that shouldn’t be long in coming. If you think that the number of phones sporting dual camera setups is already ridiculous, you can probably expect that number to increase by end of year and into 2017.
VIA: SlashGear
