Sony releases the IMX586-- a stacked CMOS image sensor for smartphone cameras with effective resolution of 48 megapixels (8000 x 6000), the highest yet according to the company, within a 1/2-type (8mm diagonal) unit.
The sensor uses 0.8-micron pixels, also the smallest on the market. However, small pixels are not essentially a good thing in digital photography, since they can lead to noisy images in low light. Sony does claim to have a solution, since the sensor features uses a quad Bayer colour filter array to boost light sensitivity by allowing each pixel to use signals from the 4 adjacent pixels.
The result, Sony says, is a sensor with the sensitivity equivalent of a 12MP sensor using 1.6-micron pixels, resulting in "bright, low noise images." In addition, the sensor carries Sony exposure control technology and signal processing functionality to capture images with real-time output and superior dynamic range x4 greater than conventional units.
Sony is still to tell when smartphones featuring the image sensor will hit the market.