What does camera 13 mean? 13. Why does a smartphone need a dual camera on the back. The main advantages of a dual camera phone over a conventional one. Improving the clarity, detail and contrast of photos

Let's start with the obvious question: what is a dual rear camera? In essence, this means that instead of one, there are two photo sensors - smartphones with this technology have two different photo sensors that work in a complementary manner to each other. Each of them is listed among the details of the phone as the "main camera".

Typically, the main sensor of a smartphone acts more or less like a regular camera: it produces color images in the best possible way. The second sensor is designed to add elements that cannot be captured by the first sensor, especially when it comes to depth of field. A combination of both images, which is done electronically by the camera application, so the two cameras in the phone give an optimal result. Each smartphone manufacturer has its own strategy for developing dual camera features to maximize the camera's potential. So without further ado, let's dive into this topic in more detail and see what benefits the dual camera offers.


Why do you need a dual camera and what does it give

1. Improvement of special effects

  • Images that are almost three-dimensional... One of the advantages of dual cameras on phones is obviously perspective. Let's take, for example, the Honor 6X or even the Huatex Mate 9. Thanks to the second lens, distances are better analyzed and we can get an almost three-dimensional image. Although this effect allows you to create beautiful photos, it is actually not the main function of the two cameras. This depth-of-field analysis is a key element in achieving other special effects such as those described below.
  • Bokeh effect... Additional surrounding elements captured by the second lens enhance the sharpness of the image. How do I use the dual camera using this function? On Htc one The M8 has the ability to add color effects to the background and front image, or copy portions of images and add them to other photos. The most interesting part concerns the areas that are out of focus, the blur effect can be achieved through the camera lens.
  • Augmented reality... There is another concept in the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro and Asus Zenfone AR: in addition to the traditional RGB camera, there is also a fisheye lens and a camera called “time of flight”. Indeed, it is a kind of 3-in-1 camera. What is such a function for? The idea is simple: thanks to the infrared laser built into the camera, the light is reflected. Depth of field is calculated electronically in such a precise way that it can be detected with RBG sensors. Exactly because of this reason Google interested in these cameras in her Tango project - great results can be achieved for augmented reality. In addition to the depth of field content that has been captured, the smartphone can also detect the user's position in the room.

2. Improving phone photography

  • Photos from a large number details... The Huawei P9, Mate 9 and Honor 8 all have their own strategy. Their second sensor does not sense color (it only sees in black and white), but it is capable of picking up details. Then the color is added to the final image with software... To summarize, this type of technology allows you to get more detailed photos which is of course useful if you want to take the most detailed photograph of your subject.
  • ... even in low light. Lighting control is important in photography, and every photographer's nightmare (hobbyist or not) is not having ideal lighting conditions. Why do we need this function? While the required lighting conditions can be achieved in the professional world, the amateur photographer will find himself in a difficult position when night falls or if the lighting conditions are too poor. Fortunately, there is a second camera for them. It captures all the details and lighting is added afterwards. In general, the resulting image is not always perfect, but it is better than what they would capture with just one sensor.
  • Scaling with minimal loss of quality. Some devices, such as the iPhone 7 Plus, have been optimized to offer a great zoom function that outperforms the digital zoom you'll find on most smartphones. The LG G5 is also different, but in a generally different way: one of its sensors has wide angle which means that it can capture much more wide range(this feature makes it ideal for taking pictures of nature and the surrounding area, landscapes, while the iPhone 7 will be better suited for more specific photos such as portraits). In other words, this wide angle adds another dimension to the image by placing the main image in the background, activating the zoom function. How the dual camera works and what it gives to the smartphone owner - we have found out with you. It remains for you to decide whether these functions are necessary for you to pay a larger amount for a smartphone.

Dual camera - distinctive feature flagship smartphone in 2017 (hello Samsung). Is it really that important for the user? Let's find out.

First of all, what is a dual camera? This formulation implies two sensors instead of one. Smartphones with this technology have two separate lenses, but they can work together.

The main sensor does more or less tasks, capturing the maximum area, while the second camera helps to detail the picture and increase the angle of view, or gives a decent 2x magnification for portrait shots. But in addition to the function of "dividing" into two types of shooting, both cameras can work in tandem. Two pictures from both cameras are merged into one in the camera application.

Each manufacturer has their own algorithms for processing two images, trying to find new applications. Let's compare the existing use cases for a dual camera.

What is the advantage?

One of the advantages of the two sensors is unlimited perspectives. For example, Huawei smartphones do not allow using the second camera as an independent solution, but thanks to two cameras, they better analyze the distance to the object. The picture quality is close to "ideal".

Bokeh effect

A shot from the second camera enhances the clarity of the final photo. In addition, in HTC smartphones(One M8) even has a foreground and background color change function.

The interesting thing is that you can blur the background and out of focus elements. That is, you can adjust this effect after shooting.

Now "bokeh" in smartphones is obtained by software, the optical capabilities of the smartphone's camera are minimally involved. See how it does it Samsung Galaxy S8.

Portraits

The most popular photographs are photographs of people. Until recently, it was impossible to take a portrait on a smartphone with “correct” face proportions without using third-party lenses. Thanks to Apple, now you can do it. It is this opportunity that is implemented in the iPhone 7 Plus, in part it is she who is the fundamental factor when choosing between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus.

But I want to point out that the portrait camera in the iPhone is useful for more than just taking pictures of people. It is also suitable for photographs of architecture. Apple still has a lot to improve on its dual camera, but it already offers more options for daily shooting.

Augmented reality

Devices such as the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro and Asus Zenfone AR also have a fish-eye lens. The idea is simple: all the light is intercepted by the built-in laser, based on this data, a virtual image is created.

Google's interest in augmented reality and the Tango project is because of the large number of use cases. You will see, this is the next trend. Already, there are many applications and games for ordinary smartphones that partially imitate the effect of augmented reality. My son constantly takes his wife's iPhone to run around the apartment and use his smartphone to scatter some virtual objects around the apartment. This option will definitely work.

Better detail and high dynamic range

Second sensors at Huawei smartphones do not perceive colors other than white and black, but they are able to recognize details. The color is added later by software filling.

Thus, the second camera helps in more detail in the image. These smartphones have the best score dynamic range... In photographs with sharp changes in light, details in the light and dark areas can be seen more clearly.

The main aspect in taking a good photo is perfect light. An amateur may not take this into account and the detail of the picture will suffer. A second camera will help to capture more light and solve the problem. This may give rise to a false belief that everything is decided by the “hands”, and not the camera. This is partly true, but imagine how the creative horizons of a craftsman who will use such solutions are expanding.

Is two cameras a maximum?

Now it may seem to you, they say, much more? I am convinced that soon the number of cameras in smartphones will increase. More captured light, more optical capabilities, all of this leads to more cameras in smartphones.

Only one problem remains to be solved - the aesthetic one. We'll have to allocate more space on the body of the smartphone in order to "heap" the cameras next to each other and hide them under a single safety glass so that the smartphone does not look like a three- or four-eyed monster.

A rare novelty on the smartphone market is now produced without two cameras on the back, and some have a couple of modules on the front, but today we are interested in the main dual lenses. Not every user knows what it is for, and what they affect. If you have been asking a similar question for a long time, but could not find an answer to it, then you have come to the right place. In this article, we will answer the question - why a dual camera in a smartphone, how to use it, and what is the point of such technology?

What is a Dual Camera?

To begin with, I would like to clarify that a dual camera is actually one device with two sensors, and by no means a pair of separate cameras. Moreover, each of the modules has its own purpose. If the first is completely ordinary and is responsible for the quality of the shooting, then the second is responsible for capturing the data that the main sensor could not capture, thereby improving the image. The data type may differ depending on the intention of the developer, and below we will analyze the most popular options.

3D effect

Some phones with dual cameras, such as the Honor 6X and Huawei mate 9 the second module is needed to create the effect of volumetric images. This is possible because it enhances the camera's overall ability to analyze distance information of objects. Thanks to this, the user can create almost three-dimensional images.

Bokeh effect

“Bokeh effect” or “portrait mode” is used in most smartphones with a dual camera. What does this effect give? It blurs the background in order to visually emphasize the underlying subject in focus.

Augmented reality

In some smartphones, such as Lenovo Phab 2 Pro and Asus Zenfone AR, the second camera allows you to add a variety of objects and objects to the image of the space captured by the camera and displayed on the smartphone screen. This makes it possible, for example, to see how certain furniture will look in the house, or simply to have fun watching Darth Vader walk around your room.

Detail improvements

Developers are constantly finding new challenges for the dual camera. So, in Huawei gadgets, it is necessary in order to increase the amount of detail in a photo. The first module has a color matrix, and the second has a monochrome one. This combination results in sharper images, this applies to both color photographs and black and white.

Low light shooting

Despite the fact that progress is moving very quickly, many smartphones still cannot take high-quality pictures in the absence of the right lighting. In some gadgets, this problem is partially solved thanks to the dual camera. This is made possible by the fact that the amount of light captured by the two sensors is increased, which improves the quality of a photo taken at dusk or under artificial lighting. This technology is most common, again, in Huawei smartphones.

Zoom

Zooming in the form that is present in compact cameras is not yet possible to implement in smartphones, since the zoom has large dimensions and also consumes decent amounts of energy. However, limited zooming is available without it, thanks to the smartphone being equipped with a dual camera with different focal lengths of the optics. Most often, the first lens has a standard viewing angle, while the second has a telescopic one. This results in the user being able to instantly switch between the two options. A striking example of such a smartphone is the iPhone 7 Plus.

In the LG G5, the developer decided to do it differently - he equipped the second sensor with wide-angle optics, which allows you to capture more space in the frame. With all this, the user can also switch between shooting modes and return to the standard module if desired.

Conclusion

In this article, we talked about how a dual camera works in a smartphone and what are its advantages over a single camera. V different smartphones it is used in its own way and to choose the most the best way objectively it is impossible, since everything depends on the subjective preferences of the user. Some people care about high-quality portrait shots, while others want to have an optical zoom, albeit a little truncated.

In conclusion, we want to say that cheap models with a dual camera should be treated with caution, since this may be a simple marketing ploy and the second module will be fake. However, thanks to our article, you will be able to tell the difference between a real camera and a fake one.

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The trend of recent years is the presence of a dual main camera in a smartphone.

Some manufacturers have gone even further: some have started equipping phones with dual front cameras, others have started using triple modules and others. modern technologies... Why does a smartphone need a dual camera, does it make sense, what advantages and functions does it offer? We will try to figure it out in this article.

Principle of operation

A camera with two sensors works on the same principle as with one - the light passes through the lens, hits the matrix, and the processor processes and reads the information in order to then convert it into a photo or video. A dual camera works on the same principle, only it has two matrices at once, which work independently of each other. The final image is "glued" by the processor from two images, so the final result depends not only on the photo modules, but also on the chipset. The more powerful and advanced the processor is, the better the final result will be.

Also extremely important for devices with dual cameras are the software algorithms and functions of the secondary module. The latter is determined by the manufacturer independently, but in most cases the presence of a dual camera in the phone opens up many advantages and additional functions.

Bokeh effect

One of the most popular and demanded features is the bokeh effect, thanks to which you can blur the background in a photo. Thus, it turns out to create a picture close to SLR cameras. In this case, the additional camera module is used to determine the object in space, and the smartphone does the blurring at the software level.

Photo with bokeh effect on Huawei P20 Lite

Improved detail

Manufacturers often use dual photo modules, one of them has a lower resolution (number of megapixels), but a larger aperture, the second, on the contrary, is equipped with a lower aperture ratio, but a higher resolution. This combination ultimately produces images with stronger, sharper details.

Optical zoom

The presence of conventional and wide-angle sensors provides another advantage for dual cameras. Thanks to this combination, you can enlarge photos with virtually no loss in quality. The fact is that the second module is equipped with an optical zoom. If earlier it was necessary to approach the subject to create a beautiful shot, now you can simply press the button and take a beautiful picture. Unfortunately, not all devices on the market are equipped with this option.

Focus change

In the arsenal of some manufacturers there are smartphones, the camera modules of which can be used to take pictures with interchangeable focus. This allows you to manually change the focus point for an already finished shot. Also, many gadgets are equipped, which provides accurate and instant focusing.

Looking for a dual camera smartphone?

Definitely it is difficult to call it superfluous. The presence of an additional module of the main camera makes the device more attractive against the background of competitors. Such smartphones can take wonderful and high-quality pictures, and an excellent addition is the presence of optical zoom and other important functions.

As mentioned above, manufacturers did not stop at a dual camera, but went further. Not so long ago, Huawei introduced a new flagship smartphone equipped with.