Smartphones have evolved by leaps and bounds in recent years and have absolutely changed the game in the field of photography.
Manufacturers now have a wealth of options at their fingertips for explosive improvements in shooting quality thanks to the world of professional cameras.
From generation to generation, technologies from the “older” class appeared in mobile devices, but one completely unnoticed completely changed the rules of the game.
From a mechanical point of view, the result of the finished frame is influenced by 4 factors:
And the last point turned out to be, no matter how strange it may sound, the most difficult for high-quality implementation, since it is the most difficult to make universal.
Below we will look at how the most popular type of stabilization works, why it is optimal and how much it affects the final photos and videos.
Why we shoot video examples
The comparison was made using the main and ultra-wide-angle cameras of the Infinix ZERO 40 5G
A comparison between the work of optical and electronic stabilization was made on a new Infinix ZERO 40 5G for 39,990 rubles.
This is the new mid-budget smartphone from Infinix, which was introduced on September 24, 2024. His cameras placed great emphasis not only on photography, but also on video.
▸ Matrix the main module with resolution 108 MP comparable in size to current flagships costing 100,000+ rubles, which allows it to capture a lot of light and produce a clear picture.
Built-in optical stabilization allows you to get sharper photos and smoother videos without cropping. More on this from a technical point of view below.
▸ Matrix ultra wide angle module has a resolution of 50 MP and supports three types electronic stabilization (no smoothing, high And maximum).
Thanks to the high pixel density, it was convenient to crop video shot with an ultra-wide-angle camera without a noticeable loss in clarity in order to see the difference in stabilization with the main module.
Why do cameras without stabilization take poor pictures?
Example shot with intentionally strong image shake
Under normal conditions, you can get by with a small sensor and not the brightest lens, but poor stabilization will create problems for even the best photographers.
Hands are always shaking, objects are constantly moving, and it is necessary to compensate for this.
Or, no matter how clear, contrasting and crystal clear the picture in the video is, it smoothness has always been a defining quality. When everything in the frame is shaking, it’s unpleasant to watch any video and you immediately want to turn it off.
In cinema, for smooth camera movement, massive structures are used that are placed directly on the operator, rails and even mechanized robots, the movement of which is programmed in advance.
However, no one will use them to shoot video from a smartphone. And therefore, engineers need to rely on the two most popular types of stabilization: electronic And optical.
Electronic stabilization is still the only one on some smartphones. She cuts the frame a lot
In the early years, smartphone camera modules were small. Movable components were difficult and expensive to place, so it was popular electronic stabilizationalso called EIS or Electronic Image Stabilizer.
It works by converting information from the gyroscope and accelerometer into shaking data.
During video recording, algorithms heavily cut off the edges and leave a piece of finished footage in the center. At the same time without physical stabilization for optimal results, approximately 40% of the material removed from the entire matrix area may be lostand the end result is a blurry mess. Especially from mobile cameras, which already receive little light.
The disadvantages of the first smartphones were also strong “jelly” effect And unnatural inhibition with a sudden change of frame.
It is for this reason that most Android smartphones a few years ago (and budget ones still) lagged behind in video shooting.
It was necessary to come up with a more effective solution, and it was found in the interchangeable optics of “adult” cameras.
Optical stabilization provides natural smoothness
Camera lenses are expensive because, in addition to glass of varying complexity, they contain a mechanism that compensates for shaking, shaking and vibration.
The lens receives information from motion sensors inside the camera and moves back a combination of springs, magnets and metal rings to compensate for smearing.
They did the same in smartphones. The mechanism differs only in that The moving element of optical stabilization in a mobile camera is located not inside the lens, but outside. It is surrounded by a set of magnets that moves the lens up, down, left and right, based on the smartphone’s accelerometer and gyroscope.
Interestingly, the larger the module, the more noticeable the effect, since the amplitude of movement increases.
This is how a camera with optical stabilization works
At the same time, the effective surface of the sensor does not fall due to this type of stabilization.
The lens is designed so that the amplitude of its movement always covers the sensor completely. Correctly developing a lens with such a wide coverage is precisely one of the challenges facing engineers.
The result is smooth video and sharper photos that take less time to capture the light and thus avoid blurring the frame.
Exception Typically, ultra-wide-angle cameras are used by smartphone manufacturers optical Stabilization is not installed, since shaking is not so noticeable on them due to the wide angle. But due to the use electronic you can achieve luxurious smoothness, which is what one of the modes in Infinix ZERO 40 5G takes advantage of.
There is a third type, but with big disadvantages
In recent years, a new technology has emerged called sensory stabilization. It works due to the fact that it is not the lens that moves, but the matrix. The main advantage is that it is easier to change the position of the sensor due to the lighter weight, so this stabilization works faster.
However, there are two disadvantages at once, and both are related to size.
For touch stabilization, magnets are attached to the base of the matrix, thereby increasing the module up to two times.
This not only makes it difficult to place microphones, flash, antennas and other hardware nearby, but also limits camera improvements in the future. If the sensor becomes larger, you will have to install larger magnets, and this will instantly increase the size of the module.
This also increases the thickness of the module, which causes the cameras to protrude even more from the body.
For example, this is precisely the reason why Apple has not increased the sensor size for the third year in a row, when almost all Chinese competitors have overtaken the company.
Optical stub gets the best of both worlds
iPhone 15 Pro Max. Download the fragment and compare it yourself: here (30.7 MB)
Infinix ZERO 40 5G. Download the fragment and compare it yourself: here (43.1 MB)
Look at the examples above. Pay attention to the smoothness, not the color.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max uses touch stabilization, while the Infinix ZERO 40 5G uses optical stabilization.
There is a difference; Apple’s smartphone has a smoother transition, but it’s not immediately noticeable. In addition, the iPhone has a head start in the form of a wider shooting angle, and this, as I pointed out about ultra-wide-angle modules, always makes the picture smoother.
As a result, the difference between the models is about 100,000 rubles in price, and the “exhaust” is noticeable by 10%.
You can find out what other differences are between a typical Apple and Infinix smartphone in our comparison.
Is it possible to shoot decent videos on Android smartphones after the iPhone? What about 4K quality, let’s compare
Optical stabilization is compact and more accessible as a technology. Therefore, it is easier to improve the quality of shooting with it.
Stabilization is integrated into the lens, allowing it to occupy the same area as the camera sensor base. Therefore, the entire module with the same matrix size is smaller and thinner than with sensor stabilization.
This creates more space for the battery and other components while still maintaining effective and natural anti-aliasing in video.
And saving space allows engineers to install cameras with larger sensors in mid-budget models.
Moreover, taking into account the additional use of electronic stabilization along with optical stabilization, it turns out to crop the frame less and thereby maintain the original quality.
Infinix ZERO 40 5G actually has a top-end camera module
The size of the sensor in the camera determines how clear and bright the photos will be, and how little noise they will contain. The larger it is, the better.
The Infinix ZERO 40 5G has a 1/1.67 matrix. This is approximately 95% from the indicator in flagships, which allows you to capture more light and therefore get more details without losing image clarity compared to smartphones in the same price segment.
To achieve maximum smoothnessin the main camera, if desired, you can enable the enhanced anti-aliasing mode. Due to the high resolution of the 108 MP sensor and its large physical size, in this scenario edges are minimally cropped and clarity remains high.
Plays an additional role three electronic stabilization modes: “no stabilization”, “maximum” and “super-stabilization”.
In addition, the Infinix ZERO 40 5G has a large 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, 12 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of internal memory, a 5000 mAh battery and even support for 20 W wireless charging using the new magnetic standard Qi2. More details about the experience of use were described in the review.
While high-profile Chinese manufacturers are trying to ride on their reputation and begin to put price tags of more than a hundred thousand on their best models, Infinix continues to trample the path of the “people’s” brand.
I remind you that the new product is worth from 39,990 rubles. And for its specifications, the Infinix ZERO 40 5G has few competitors.
Source: www.iphones.ru
