Even though our FOV is maintained for a smaller sensor by decreasing focal length, we can observe that the image quality is poorer than when using a large sensor. I believe this is because the small sensor is not equipped to be able to capture all of the light rays bouncing off of the final details.
nickjiang2378
Intuitively, it makes sense why the image quality is worse on the smaller sensor because the irradiance remains the same, so the total light captured by the sensor will be less.
rcorona
To add to the discussion above, perhaps this effect is also related to the rasterization process?
Assuming that both the large and small sensors have equally sized sensing pixels, then the pixel resolution of the small sensor must be smaller.
Like @nickjiang2378 said, the irradiance remains the same, so that must mean that each pixel in the small sensor will be averaging over a larger region of the image than pixels on the large sensor. In other words, after rasterization, I think the small sensor's image can be thought of as a downsampled version of the large sensor's image.
yangbright-2001
I am still wondering the reason why phones with multiple lenses can improve the photo qualities, especially when taking photos of persons...
llejj
For smartphones, there isn't enough space for a large focal length, is that why we instead use multiple smaller cameras?
sebzhao
From my understanding, the lack of less light can be fixed with increasing the ISO or fixing underexposure in post. Is it also perhaps the visual effect is also from a lower quality lens?
zepluc
When switching from a large sensor to a smaller one, the focal length of the lens must be reduced accordingly to maintain the same field of view (FOV). This means that smaller sensors can achieve the FOV of larger sensors using lenses that are significantly smaller in size. Is this the same concept as the 'equivalent focal length' in photography?
emily-xiao
Adjusting focal lengths on smaller sensors can maintain 'equivalency' in FOV across sensor sizes. However, this adjustment doesn't necessarily compensate for the reduced depth of field and potential increase in diffraction, which can impact image sharpness. A thought to sit on is the contributions of physical lens properties vs. sensor size on image quality.
Alina6618
Considering the trade-offs in image quality due to sensor size, how do computational photography techniques help to mitigate these issues, especially in smaller sensors found in smartphones?
rishiskhare
It seems that most of the smaller cameras today are mirrorless. Do mirrorless cameras have significant differences compared to their traditional mirrored counterparts?
cvankeuren
Like another comment mentioned, the sensors in mobile phones' cameras are much smaller than a normal DLSR and thus capture much lower quality images. That being said, I'm curious just how much worse these images are and how much work is done using computational photography to "improve" the picture happens before we ultimately see it on our phone screen. Is there a way to see the raw image as is before any extra work is done on it?
GarciaEricS
It's interesting to me just how much phone cameras are limited by the fact that they're on a phone. It seems like size is a real limiting factor since phone cameras don't have the space for a large focal length, so they need to keep the sensor small to have wide shots. Maybe if people were fine with more bulkier phones, then phone camera would be more like professional cameras.
antony-zhao
Looking into how phones compensate for their smaller lenses, it seems like they use various methods to close the gap, such as using software to adjust lenses, as well as stabilizing which I believe was another problem mentioned elsewhere in the slides.
Even though our FOV is maintained for a smaller sensor by decreasing focal length, we can observe that the image quality is poorer than when using a large sensor. I believe this is because the small sensor is not equipped to be able to capture all of the light rays bouncing off of the final details.
Intuitively, it makes sense why the image quality is worse on the smaller sensor because the irradiance remains the same, so the total light captured by the sensor will be less.
To add to the discussion above, perhaps this effect is also related to the rasterization process?
Assuming that both the large and small sensors have equally sized sensing pixels, then the pixel resolution of the small sensor must be smaller.
Like @nickjiang2378 said, the irradiance remains the same, so that must mean that each pixel in the small sensor will be averaging over a larger region of the image than pixels on the large sensor. In other words, after rasterization, I think the small sensor's image can be thought of as a downsampled version of the large sensor's image.
I am still wondering the reason why phones with multiple lenses can improve the photo qualities, especially when taking photos of persons...
For smartphones, there isn't enough space for a large focal length, is that why we instead use multiple smaller cameras?
From my understanding, the lack of less light can be fixed with increasing the ISO or fixing underexposure in post. Is it also perhaps the visual effect is also from a lower quality lens?
When switching from a large sensor to a smaller one, the focal length of the lens must be reduced accordingly to maintain the same field of view (FOV). This means that smaller sensors can achieve the FOV of larger sensors using lenses that are significantly smaller in size. Is this the same concept as the 'equivalent focal length' in photography?
Adjusting focal lengths on smaller sensors can maintain 'equivalency' in FOV across sensor sizes. However, this adjustment doesn't necessarily compensate for the reduced depth of field and potential increase in diffraction, which can impact image sharpness. A thought to sit on is the contributions of physical lens properties vs. sensor size on image quality.
Considering the trade-offs in image quality due to sensor size, how do computational photography techniques help to mitigate these issues, especially in smaller sensors found in smartphones?
It seems that most of the smaller cameras today are mirrorless. Do mirrorless cameras have significant differences compared to their traditional mirrored counterparts?
Like another comment mentioned, the sensors in mobile phones' cameras are much smaller than a normal DLSR and thus capture much lower quality images. That being said, I'm curious just how much worse these images are and how much work is done using computational photography to "improve" the picture happens before we ultimately see it on our phone screen. Is there a way to see the raw image as is before any extra work is done on it?
It's interesting to me just how much phone cameras are limited by the fact that they're on a phone. It seems like size is a real limiting factor since phone cameras don't have the space for a large focal length, so they need to keep the sensor small to have wide shots. Maybe if people were fine with more bulkier phones, then phone camera would be more like professional cameras.
Looking into how phones compensate for their smaller lenses, it seems like they use various methods to close the gap, such as using software to adjust lenses, as well as stabilizing which I believe was another problem mentioned elsewhere in the slides.