Today and one of the features you'll want to pay close attention to is the rear-facing camera, which may come with multiple lenses.
Samsung Galaxy s20 Ultra
Example of how telephoto lens works
Several smartphone cameras have a sensor dedicated to taking monochrome shots. The real benefit of black-and-white photos is sharpness, which is why some photographers prefer images without any color in them. Modern phones are smart enough to blend that sharpness with information coming through color sensors to produce a shot that is, theoretically, more accurately lit.
Still, the use of a monochrome sensor remains rare.
If you find a phone with a depth sensor, it's designed to do exactly that—sense depth. This means professional-style blur effects and better augmented reality rendering, through either the front or rear camera.
Time-of-flight cameras, or ToF cameras, are becoming an increasing common feature on mobile phones, also known as depth cameras, they map out the surroundings creating a basic three-dimensional representation of what is in front of them
Each camera has a lens for directing light and a sensor for capturing it, both of which affect the quality of the finished shot. In recent years, manufacturers have added more and more lenses to the back camera, spawning designations such as "dual-lens", "triple-lens" and "quad-lens."
Here, I'll answer that question and explain why different types of lenses might be useful.
Wide or Ultra Wide-Angle Lenses
Quite simply, these lenses fit more in the shot, whether it's a sweeping landscape or a row of friends' faces. They're the equivalent of taking a few paces back with a standard camera so you get more in the frame. Ultra- or super-wide lenses, of course, let you take more figurative steps back.
A bit of distortion might creep into photos taken with an ultra-wide lens, but the best modern-day smartphones can make the necessary adjustments to keep everything looking as natural as possible.
In the camera specs, look at focal length (measured in millimeters) and field of view (measured in degrees) to understand how much is going to fit in a photo. Lower focal lengths and higher fields of view allow you to capture more of a scene.
In the camera specs, look at focal length (measured in millimeters) and field of view (measured in degrees) to understand how much is going to fit in a photo. Lower focal lengths and higher fields of view allow you to capture more of a scene.
Telephoto Lenses
Telephoto lenses are about as common as wide-angle ones, but rather than getting more in the shot, they allow for some optical zoom. The field of view on this type of lens is narrower than others, but by using a telephoto lens with a second lens and a sensor, your phone's camera can get closer to the action without any moving parts.
Telephoto lenses are also used to create those fancy bokeh or focus effects in portrait mode. By combining the data from multiple lenses, your phone is able to understand how close objects are, blurring the background and bringing the foreground into focus.
Monochrome Sensor
Several smartphone cameras have a sensor dedicated to taking monochrome shots. The real benefit of black-and-white photos is sharpness, which is why some photographers prefer images without any color in them. Modern phones are smart enough to blend that sharpness with information coming through color sensors to produce a shot that is, theoretically, more accurately lit.
Still, the use of a monochrome sensor remains rare.
Depth Sensor or ToF Sensor
If you find a phone with a depth sensor, it's designed to do exactly that—sense depth. This means professional-style blur effects and better augmented reality rendering, through either the front or rear camera.
The easiest way of thinking about time-of-flight is that is like a sonar system – except it uses light rather than sound to detect things.
Time-of-flight cameras, or ToF cameras, are becoming an increasing common feature on mobile phones, also known as depth cameras, they map out the surroundings creating a basic three-dimensional representation of what is in front of them
What is Dual Aperture?
Dual Aperture is a rear camera feature first introduced on Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, and Galaxy Note9. With two f-stop modes, F1.5 mode and F2.4 mode, the dual aperture camera automatically adjusts to the ambient light, almost like the human eye. This helps ensure that your photos come out well in different kinds of light. When it's bright all around, the lens will shift to F2.4 to keep your photo clear and in focus. While in a dimly lit room or in the dark of night, the lens opens wide to F1.5 to bring in more light and help illuminate the scene before you shoot, so the resulting photo comes out clear. This feature is on by default in Auto mode, so it's simple to just start snapping away. And if you're looking for more control, switch to Pro Mode and tweak it to get the photo you want.
Dual Aperture is available on Galaxy Note10, Note10+, S10e, S10, S10+, Fold, Note9, S9, and S9+.
Dual Aperture is a rear camera feature first introduced on Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, and Galaxy Note9. With two f-stop modes, F1.5 mode and F2.4 mode, the dual aperture camera automatically adjusts to the ambient light, almost like the human eye. This helps ensure that your photos come out well in different kinds of light. When it's bright all around, the lens will shift to F2.4 to keep your photo clear and in focus. While in a dimly lit room or in the dark of night, the lens opens wide to F1.5 to bring in more light and help illuminate the scene before you shoot, so the resulting photo comes out clear. This feature is on by default in Auto mode, so it's simple to just start snapping away. And if you're looking for more control, switch to Pro Mode and tweak it to get the photo you want.
