amera on the back of the phone
Camera performance is the biggest part of the new generation of smartphones. Phone makers are constantly striving to improve the quality of the camera...
25/10/2021
Camera performance is the biggest part of the new generation of smartphones. Phone makers are constantly striving to improve camera quality. Likewise, the camera of the phone is an important factor that users consider before buying the phone. This is the reason why manufacturers are zealous to add Quad-Camera. Subsequently, major brands began to install the Quad-Camera mechanism in their smartphones.
After the
triple camera
, the phones are launched with a quad-camera setup comprising the lenses of different utilities on the back of the phone. One of the leading smartphone makers, Samsung, has launched the Galaxy A9 with a Quad camera on the back. With this launch, Samsung has become the first brand to offer a world-first quad-camera phone.
As part of the growing quad camera trend, more and more smartphone makers are racing to offer multiple sensors. But there are questions such as “What is the meaning of Quad-Camera” and “What are the different purposes of Quad-Camera? Here you will get all these answers. So let's go!
What is Quad Camera?
Quad camera simply means four cameras on the back of a phone. Just as single, dual and triple mean one, two and three cameras respectively, the Quad means four.
Previously, a set of two (two) rear cameras and two (two) selfie cameras on a phone considered quad-camera. But recently things have changed. Now, the four cameras on the back of the phone are considered quad cameras.
What are the different lenses in the quad camera setup?
There are different lenses or sensors in the quad camera setup. Different brands use a different combination of lenses in their quad camera setup. Here are some-
Type-1
Main camera lens
Telephoto
Ultra wide angle lens
depth sensor
Type-2
Main camera lens
Monochrome lens
Ultra wide angle lens
depth sensor
Type-3
Main camera lens
Ultra wide angle lens
Macro lens
Sensor depth
Megapixels and aperture also differ between phones.
How does the Quad Camera work?
Each lens of the camera mechanism has functions, capabilities and work. In the same way, each sensor performs its role for different requirements during a click.
The standard lens or
major
helps to capture an image as usual. This sensor provides detailed photography in bright and low light however, the shooting quality is quite related to its megapixels. The brands offer 24, 48 or 64 megapixels in the main sensors. Particularly,
Realme XT has a 64-megapixel primary lens
.
With a
Telephoto
, the zoom has changed to digital. The lens usually offers 2x zoom for your photos (the Huawei mate 20 Pro lens allows 3x zoom). Apple iPhone 7 Plus in 2016 offered a telephoto lens. Instead of adding an optical zoom to the main camera, manufacturers started adding a telephoto lens.
A
ultra wide angle lens
gives the camera the ability to capture wide-angle shots. A wide-angle lens provides a “field of view” to expand your capture area. Nowadays, the latest phones with quad cameras offer a 120 degree field of view.
The depth sensor
estimates the depth of the background by comparing the subject. By using the depth sensing technique, your camera allows better Portrait and Bokeh. The sensor allows you to easily focus on the subject while slightly blurring the background.
Some manufacturers also offer
Monochrome sensor
as the fourth objective. The monochrome lens takes a black and white image and combines it with the RGB image captured by the main camera. This process allows more detail to be placed on the image.
Additionally, a
Macro lens
is present in a few phones as a fourth lens, which allows the camera to capture a close-up image of a subject. The lens also offers the ability to capture a clear, detailed image of a small subject at very close range.
What is the Quad Camera need?
The quad-camera trend is on. But, do we need a Quad camera in smartphones? Also, is a quad camera better than a
triple camera
?
The answer is simple, adding more lenses in the camera setup gives extra photographic capabilities to your phone's camera. In DSLR cameras, you get a professional quality image. But on a phone, bulky lenses cannot be attached. Likewise, there is a lens size limit in phones. So, an alternative, manufacturers incorporate multiple lenses for distinct functionality.
As you know, phone camera performance has become one of the key factors to influence a phone buyer's purchasing decision. That's why phone makers are striving to improve the image quality of the camera, which is now close to DSLR.
The main sensor with ultra-wide or telephoto lens allows to obtain a professional quality image in different lighting conditions. While using a portrait or depth sensor you will get better portrait and bokeh. Other additional lenses such as a monochrome lens and a macro lens add better details in your shots.
What are the advantages of the Quad Camera?
Each lens in the multi-camera setup has a different function and using them in one phone has a lot of advantages when clicking an image. What are the advantages of Quad camera, let's see in depth-
High resolution picture:
A higher resolution lens gives a good quality image that can be printed, cropped or zoomed while re-storing the same quality. In some cases, the additional camera also collects additional details and information and combines them with the results from the standard camera. It offers a better image than a single camera could capture.
Sharp and detailed photos, even from a distance:
A telephoto lens offers optical zoom, which allows you to get closer to the subject and capture it without compromising image quality. The telephoto lens delivers 2x, or sometimes 3x zoom results, a distant snapshot with crisp, detailed information in your photo.
The clear and bright image in different lighting conditions:
An additional monochrome sensor helps achieve a bright image in low-light situations. When the monochrome lens output mixes with the standard camera image, it provides a detailed, professional-quality snapshot with the brightness and clarity required.
Wider Shots and a Wider Field of View:
The ultra-wide lens paired with the standard lens provides a larger "field of view", which simply means a wider image. The lens typically provides a 120 degree "field of view" which helps you capture
a larger viewing area than a single lens.
Depth sensing, better portrait with subject in focus:
The depth sensor with the combination of different lenses creates better portraits for you. The camera detects the depth of the background and also focuses on the subject. As a result, it lets you get a bright subject while automatically blurring the background.
Quad Camera Phones
In the quad-camera trend, phone brands have launched a camera grid with four lenses. The Galaxy A9 is the world's first phone, launched in late 2018, with the quad-camera mechanism.
The trend intensified in 2019, and companies such as Samsung, Huawei, Lenovo, Honor, Redmi, Realme, and Oppo integrated quad cameras into their smartphones.
Similarly, some recent and upcoming models such as
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G
, Huawei P30 Pro, Realme XT, Redmi Note 8,
Oppo Reno 2
series with four cameras on the back.
Check out more quad camera phones on Amazon
Contour
Manufacturers offer Quad cameras, and of course users like it too. As a result, we feel an increase in the popularity of quad cameras in phones. The main idea behind setting up multiple cameras is to improve the performance of the camera to get better image quality and better features, somewhere close to DSLR output. In addition, all this integration makes it possible to use
Augmented reality
, 3D and some special effects in your image.
However, there are some challenges. The phone requires higher processing power to process an image using multiple lenses. The second major challenge is the size of the phone, as you always expect a thinner phone after all.
New camera innovations also open the door to new possibilities for additional enhancements. The day may not be so far away when we would usually see the Penta camera and Hexa cameras on the back of the smartphone.
See as well:
Triple camera on the back of the smartphone, Know everything