We have seen how over the years mobile telephony has shown great advances, which have also been driven by the significant competition that exists between different manufacturers. that competition has driven much of the progress. In addition, we are in a time when smartphone designs are setting trends, and it is clear that the cameras of the terminals are one of the most important points.
Apart from the size of the mobile phones, their hasty frames, their power … We find that, today, for many users the most important thing is to be able to take the best photos with their mobile , that is why they are looking for a model that has different cameras, without really taking into account the types of lenses that exist, and are only based on megapixels. Therefore, we will explain what you will have to take into account when choosing a mobile for its camera.
Differences between sensor and lens
For those who do not know, those of the photographic type , not only those found in the cameras of mobile devices, are complex mechanisms. And it is that, they have an external structure in which we find a series of elements, both concave and convex. In addition, its objective is to focus the light rays on the sensor of the mobile to be able to create an image.
While a photographic sensor is a chip made up of small cells, which are responsible for capturing light from outside. However, this light reaches them through the lens of the mobile when their camera opens the diaphragm to let it pass. Therefore, here we find the biggest difference between the two, while the latter allows light to pass through, the sensor is responsible for capturing it.
Types of mobile lenses
As we mentioned before, the evolution we have seen in mobile cameras has been incredible, especially in recent years. If we look back, we can see that to have a good and high-quality image we needed a reflex or digital camera, whereas now it is not necessary.
Today, any user who has a terminal with a decent camera can take photos with very good results. And everything has been thanks to the continued development of mobile manufacturers in these for their devices. That is why we will see the different types of lenses that we can find in mobile phones today and what they are for.
Wide Angle and Ultra Wide Angle
Currently, many terminals have a wide angle or ultra wide angle between their cameras. In addition, the main objective of these lenses is to be able to achieve a greater depth of field. What does this mean? Anyone can make the image appear reflected as much as possible of the object, place or people to be photographed, when it is distant or wide.
And it is that this is capable of causing a distortion when the objective is close. However, the goal of most users is to be able to capture landscapes more widely than with the standard lens. Regarding their viewing angles, in the wide angle they can vary between 60º and 180º, while, without a fixed ruler, the focal length is less than 35mm. In the case that it was 24mm, it would be considered an ultra wide angle, which has also started to be seen in many of the mobiles today.
Macro
This is capable of magnifying all the images that it can focus as if it were a microscope. In addition, you get ultra-sharp photos and you can see how every detail is obvious. In addition, having a mobile phone with a macro lens will be ideal to take the best photos of natural landscapes, small animals and plants with great clarity.
Telephoto
The telephoto lens of the terminals can be zoomed in or out. For what it achieves, in most mobile cameras, to zoom when cropping the image and enlarging the result, that is why it is related to optical zoom. And it is that, generally, the telephoto lenses that we find in the terminals usually offer us 2X or 3X optical zoom capabilities, although we are beginning to see 5X optical zoom
The key is in the phone’s sensor
One of the most important points of mobile cameras is found in its sensor. And especially in its size, since the larger it is, it will be easier to reduce noise, increase sharpness and obtain higher image quality. That is why we should not pay so much attention to the megapixels that said camera has, but rather to its size and other characteristics that we are going to mention below.
Sensor size
As we mentioned, the size of the sensor is one of these important factors that must really be taken into account if we are looking for a mobile device with a powerful camera. Therefore, it must be known that the larger said terminal camera sensor is, the more light it will be able to capture and, therefore, the better its results will be.
Monochrome camera
Manufacturers use these sensors to achieve an improvement in image quality , since they combine the images of the main sensor of the mobile and the monochrome. sensors. And it is that the mobiles that have this camera can not only take black and white photographs, but are also used as support for the main sensor. Since the monochrome sensor is capable of providing information in the form of an illumination map of the scene, with the aim of processing a photograph with various enhancements.
ToF sensors
ToF or time-of-flight cameras appeared a couple of years ago in mobile devices, and they are responsible for sending an infrared signal and then recording the delay until the light that has been reflected returns to the sensor. In addition, we can use this sensor both for 3D photography, as augmented reality or to better calculate where the bokeh effect should be performed.
Does the number of cameras matter?
It is common to see how different terminals, whether they are mid-range or high-end, have three, four or up to five rear sensors. However, the number of cameras does not matter, since it is not the main thing to consider if we are looking for a mobile that takes very good photos.
When choosing a mobile that manages to take the best photographs, we will have to take into account its different types of sensors, their sizes and the number of megapixels that each of these has. We will also have to take into account the type that this terminal has, the diaphragm aperture that it can achieve, the focal length and the optimization of its software when taking images.
