Virtually any phone worth its salt has at least two cameras: a main one and an ultra-wide-angle one. Versatility is always welcome, although it’s starting to worry that mid-2024 ultra wide angle quality is always, always, below what we see on the main sensor.
I have to say the same thing every time I review a phone: “The ultra-wide-angle camera offers versatility, but it’s the least muscular sensor.” The reason? Why doesn’t this happen with telephoto lenses and have more love? The answer is quite simple: cost savings.
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What You Didn’t Know About Ultra-Wide Angle Camera Sensors
There is one key element that largely determines the final quality of a photograph (although processing has a lot to say about it): sensor. Phones like the Google Pixel have proven over the years that a giant sensor isn’t necessary to take good photos, but the brutal advances made by the competition using larger sensors forced Google to make a move.
That’s the key to what’s going on with ultra-wide angle sensors: most phones, even mid-rangers, have more than decent main sensors when the ultra-wide angle is small. And why is it still small?
Ultra-wide-angle sensors are also commonly used for selfie cameras. This makes it inevitable to be small and minor
The curious and incriminating fact about this is that a very common practice on the part of sensor manufacturers is to sell. Hardware that can be used for both selfies and ultra wide angles.
This makes it inevitable that the ultra-wide-angle sensor becomes too small. Without further ado, this week Samsung introduced its new ISOCELL JN51/2.76 optical format and a sensor size of 0.64 μm.
What is the number of telephoto lenses? The new GNJ, recently introduced, is 1/1.57 inch (much closer to an inch), with a pixel size of 1.0 μm, practically twice that.
A better camera size doesn’t help either
And why don’t they put a bigger sensor on the ultra wide angle! First, the reason is this It is a camera secondary in nature. The telephoto lens, which is responsible for our zooming, usually becomes much more important. Ultra wide angles, except for very specific photographers who need that focal range, are generally forgotten.
On the other hand, the space under the camera module is very, very small. Phones continue to augment these modules with improvements to the main sensor and telephoto lens (the latter comes in dribs and drabs more). Adding a large ultra-wide angle, at least if we want to respect the current size, is quite complicated.
A cocktail that leads us to the inevitable: the ultra-wide-angle camera is and will be the weakest sensor on phones for years to come.
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