LensRentals recently got back a $10,000 Fujinon GFX100 medium format mirrorless camera from a customer who used it in dive housing and reported that it “suddenly died for no reason.” After Fuji declared repair impossible and insurance claims were paid, LensRentals decided to take the camera apart and look inside.
From the outside, the camera showed no signs of water exposure. But there’s an easy trick to check for saltwater exposure on most cameras that takes only about 10 seconds.
“Removing 4-8 screws in most cameras lets you take off the tripod plate,” says LensRentals founder Roger Cicala. “If there has been water, you’ll almost always see corrosion under it; water tends to wick up along metal, often traveling a good ways from where it originally entered.”
A quick look at the I/O ports is also often enough to see whether a camera is most likely damaged beyond repair.
“Once you’ve seen that it’s considered not repairable for very good reason – replace the corroded stuff you see, and something that looks OK fails in another month or so,” Cicala says. “[…] That’s the general rule of water damage, “it’s always worse on the inside.”
Opening up the camera revealed corrosion all over the bottom of the camera and on the circuitry and wires.
“[T]his should be a great example of what even a little saltwater does inside a camera,” Cicala writes. “Seriously, everything we know about the incident indicates there was just a tiny bit of salt water that got the camera wet. It wasn’t immersed or anything. The camera worked for a couple of hours after that before going belly up.”
Even though the GFX100 is touted by Fujifilm as being weather-sealed for shooting in rough conditions, Cicala recommends keeping the camera dry based on what he saw during disassembly.
“I’ve seen a lot of claims that the GFX100 does well in the rain, and it may, because it has a big overriding top and rainwater is freshwater,” Cicala writes. “But did you notice all those weather resisting barriers and gaskets in the teardown? Yeah, me neither. I did notice some wide-open areas around the command dials you could shine a light through, and pour water in if water happened to be around.”
Google today launched new features in Google Images “to help people use images on the web responsibly.” The features should benefit photographers, as they help people both identify photos that can be licensed as well as find out how to properly license them.
“[W]ith a seemingly infinite number of images online, finding the right image to use, and knowing how to use that image responsibly, isn’t always a simple task,” Google says.
Google’s new Licensable badge aims to make it easier for photo buyers to find photos they can license. Whenever a publisher or photographer provides licensing information for a photo (by providing structured data or IPTC photo metadata), Google will display a badge that says “Licensable” over the photo in search results.
If you click a badged photo to view, you’ll see credit/copyright/creator info and a link to the license details of that photo.
If specified by the publisher/photographer, you’ll also see a second link to where you can purchase/license the photo. This second link can lead to a completely separate website than where the photo is found — for example, a photo published in a blog post can have a purchase/license link that leads to a Photoshelter photo page.
When providing photos to buyers, photographers can also include IPTC metadata that helps generate sales when the used photo shows up in Google Images (assuming the buyer doesn’t strip the metadata prior to publishing).
Licensable Filter
Search results can now also be filtered to only show photos that have licensing information. The Usage Rights dropdown menu has been simplified to just three options: “All”, “Creative Commons licenses”, and “Commercial & other licenses.”
Photographers have long complained about Google Images making it easy for their photos to be found and then misused without consent, compensation, and/or credit. These new changes may help reduce misuse and make it more commonplace for photographers to generate sales of their work through the image search engine.
“These updates are part of changes we have made on Google Images in recent years to make it more clear who the creator or copyright holder of the image is,” Google says.
To get your own photos properly badged and filtered on Google Images, there’s a documentation page you (or your developer) can read to make sure you correctly provide the necessary structured data or IPTC photo metadata.
Apple will allegedly unveil the iPhone 12 lineup sometime in October, and according to the most recent leaks there are a lot of interesting camera improvements coming our way, especially if you go with one of the “Pro” models.
The latest leaks come from tech analyst Jon Prosser of FRONT PAGE TECH, who tweeted some screenshots that allegedly come from a PVT (product validation test) iPhone 12 Pro Max. PVT models are one of the last pre-product steps before moving into full-production, so what you see here should be almost ready for prime-time… and what we’re seeing looks very interesting.
The screenshots show several new camera features, including “Enhanced Night Mode,” “Advanced Noise Reduction,” “Enable Bit Depth Video,” “Enable Zoom Capabilities,” and “Enable LiDAR CA”… which is code for LiDAR-assisted autofocus and subject detection.
You can see the screenshots for yourself below:
Camera and display settings for current PVT model of 6.7” iPhone 12 Pro Max
As you can see from the description in the settings, “Enhanced Night Mode” will allow the phone to capture even longer stacked exposures—sort of like Google’s Astrophotography Mode—but it will only be available with a tripod or “when the device is on a steady surface.”
No details are given about Advanced Noise Reduction or Enhanced Zoom Capabilities, but the other big reveal is the addition of 4K/240p video, at least on this particular pre-production model.
Based on this and other rumors that have come out, it seems many (if not most) of the camera improvements coming to the iPhone 12 will be software-based, and probably powered by on-board AI. The ability to capture even better low-light images, the ability to capture even higher-quality 4K footage, and the (we’re speculating) ability to zoom in further by creating hand-held multi-shot images would all be welcome additions to the iPhone photography feature set.
You can dive deeper into these camera leaks and more in Prosser’s video below:
That’s all we know for now, but we expect more leaks to spring between now and the official announcement in October, so stay tuned.
Sadly, due to supply chain challenges caused by the COVID pandemic, Apple is expecting some delay in the actual shipping of the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max models. Even so, we’re hoping to have the latest iPhone “Pro” in-hand in time for the holidays, so we can see just how “advanced” and “enhanced” these new camera features really are.
NYC-based photographer Dani Diamond took a V-Flat and his portrait skills out to the Jersey Shore and shot fashion photos of complete strangers he ran into. You can see the project and results in this 6.5-minute video by AdoramaTV.
After a passerby agreed to pose for a photo shoot, they were brought to the Pier Village boutique Molly & Zoey to get dressed in a fashion-forward outfit. Once the look was complete, the shoot commenced.
“What I was able to prove to myself from this project is regardless of skill for the model in front of the camera, an experienced photographer knows how to direct and make a subject feel comfortable,” Diamond tells PetaPixel. “I took complete strangers off the street who are not familiar with my work and never modeled before and I directed them through communication and connection to feel confident and look great.”
Earlier this month, an Austrian tourist learned a tough (if obvious) lesson at the Antonio Canova Museum in Possagno, Italy: don’t sit on the sculptures. While posing for a photo with a 200-year-old plaster cast of a famous statue, the tourist leaned on and broke off several of the sculpture’s toes.
The incident took place on July 31st, and the whole thing was captured by a security camera.
In the footage above, you can see the man literally lay down on the 19th century sculpture for a photo. When he gets up, he clearly realizes that something’s gone wrong, attempts to “reattach” the toes, and then walks out of the room without saying a word.
The museum posted about the incident on Facebook the next day and, to his credit, it wasn’t long before the man in question came clean. In a letter delivered to the President of the Canova Foundation a couple of days later, the man admitted to the “irresponsible behavior” and put himself at the museum’s disposal.
“I remain at complete disposal, it was irresponsible behavior on my part, the consequences were unknown to me, so I normally continued the visit to the museum and the entire stay in Italy (I didn’t escape),” wrote the man. “During the visit I sat on the statue, without realizing the damage I evidently caused. I ask you for information on the steps that are necessary on my part in this situation for me very unpleasant and for which, in the first place, I apologize in all ways.”
The museum staff is already working to figure out what will be involved in the proper restoration of the damaged sculpture, but it’s possible the man will have to foot at least part of that bill… pun intended.
Sadly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a photo op lead to the destruction or damage of a statue. Back in 2014, a student broke the leg off of the Barberini Faun at a School of Fine Art in Milan; two years later, a 24-year-old in Portugal smashed a 126-year-old statue to bits while climbing on it for his own photo.
Phase One has just unveiled the latest lens for the $57,000 XT camera system. The new XT-Rodenstock HR Digaron W/SW 90mm f/5.6 is the fifth lens for this system, weighing in at $13,000 and built with three priorities in mind: image quality, image quality, and image quality.
In case you missed the announcement last September, the Phase One XT is a tiny medium format field camera system that accepts Phase One’s IQ4 digital backs and a special lineup of XT lenses created by German lens maker Rodenstock. All together, system allows you shoot at up to 150MP of resolution while shifting the sensor up to 24mm in both the X and Y axes. It is, in short, the ultimate (digital) landscape photography camera.
The XT-Rodenstock HR Digaron – W/SW 90mm f/5.6, which was officially announced earlier today, is the latest XT-Rodenstock lens for this camera system, and probably your best option if you want to push the XT system to its imaging limits.
What’s special about this lens is the massive 120mm image circle that it produces—the largest of any XT-Rodenstock lens. This allows Phase One shooters to take full advantage of the XT’s ability to shift 24mm in both the X and Y axes, creating large panoramas or distortion-free architectural images in-camera without even getting close to the edge of the image circle in the process.
As Phase One explains, the idea behind the new 90mm lens is to bring the large format “feel” to digital medium format photography in a new and unprecedented way.
“The 90mm focal length defines the ‘feel’ of large format photography,” says Drew Altdoerffer, Phase One Product Manager. “When it comes to Large Format aesthetic, this is the focal length artists have in mind and a longer focal length is a welcome addition to the XT.”
You can learn more about this lens and what makes it special in the intro video below:
The XT-Rodenstock 90mm f/5.6 is the fifth and the second-to-last lens that Phase One has teased so far for the XT system. The last lens is “just around the corner,” and will round out the system with a telephoto option that will be “longer than 100mm,” though the exact specs and release date are not public as of yet.
In the meantime, if you’re one of the lucky few who can actually take advantage of (and afford) a Phase One XT and IQ4 digital back, you can learn more about this new $12,990 lens over on the Phase One website.
Sony might have some interesting gear in the works. According to the latest rumors, the company is planning to debut a new line-up of “super-compact” full-frame a7 and a9 cameras aimed at vlogging and travel. And the first one, dubbed the “Sony a7C”, will arrive this month.
According to Sony Alpha Rumors, two reliable sources have “confirmed” speculation that Sony is planning to release a new entry-level full-frame camera this month… but they actually said a lot more than that. Apparently, the camera will be part of a new line of super-compact “C” cameras that will live alongside the regular a7 and a9 series.
The first to arrive will be the Sony a7C—an entry-level model, on par with the Sony a7 III—but other “C” cameras are rumored to follow, creating a whole line of compact cameras aimed at vloggers and travel shooters who prioritize portability and features like a flip screen.
The first camera, the so-called Sony a7C, is rumored to arrive sometime in “mid-September” as a sort of hybrid between a Sony a7 III and the a6600. According to SAR, the camera will combine the body of an a6600 with the sensor and performance of the a7 III, the fully-articulating screen of the a7S III, and a pop-up EVF like we’ve seen on several of the RX100 cameras.
Other specs include a single SD card slot, USB Type-C, both a mic and a headphone jack, and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. All of this for a little more than $2,000 MSRP at launch. Finally, the “C” line of cameras will allegedly be released alongside a new line of compact lenses to match.
Assuming the rumors are true, this move is similar to what Sony just did with the compact Sony ZV1… which is essentially an RX100 with a flip screen, better mics, and some vlogging features built-in. That camera was a hit with the YouTube crowd, and we expect a Sony a7C would be as well… and if it frees up Sony to focus on stills features with the regular a7 and a9 cameras, then you won’t hear us complaining.
Every last Sunday of the month, we bring together a collection of easy reading articles from analytical to how-to to photo-features in no particular order that did not make our regular daily coverage.
How the New USPS Hip-Hop Stamps Came About– Billboard The Postal Service’s new commemorative stamp collection celebrates hip-hop and features motion-filled images by Cade Martin with the outstanding art director, Antonio Alcalá who digitally tinted them with bright colors, each representing a pillar of hip hop, MC-ing (rapping), B-boying (break dancing), DJ-ing, and Graffiti art.
How to: Capture Great Whale Photos– Australian Photography Michael Snedic has photographed whales for over 20 years not only along the east coast of Australia but also has had the privilege of photographing Humpback, Blue Whales, Minke and Orca whales in Antarctica and Belugas in the Russian Arctic.
115 DIY Photography Hacks for Amazing Images– ShotKit Did you know that duct tape, pantyhose, beer helmets, and alphabet noodles can all be used to hack your photography for some awesome creative effects!
Howie, Detroit, MI, George Moore and Fred Howe, 1890s, collodion silver print, Robert E. Jackson Collection
Acting Out: Cabinet Cards and the Making of Modern Photography– Apollo Over the final quarter of the 19th century, cabinet cards – inexpensive albumen prints, mounted on cardboard – transformed the genre of portrait photography in the US, and with that came opportunities for having fun with elaborate costumes and theatrical settings devised by studio photographers and sitters.
Huge ‘Sturgeon Moon’ is Captured by Photographers as it Beams Down on a Watching World– Daily Mail The August sturgeon full moon, which was named by Native American tribes because sturgeons were most readily caught in August, was captured by photographers around the world sitting above iconic landmarks cathedrals in Colombia, the London skyline, the Statue of Liberty in New York and more.
USB 3, USB 4, Thunderbolt, & USB-C – Everything You Need to Know– AppleInsider The term USB-C by itself doesn’t specify anything for data, charging, or video beyond the physicality of the connector, but there are a lot of details behind USB 3, USB 4, Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and how they pertain to the USB-C connector.
Annie Leibovitz on the Legacy of Henri Cartier-Bresson– Wallpaper “Seeing Cartier-Bresson’s work made me want to become a photographer,” writes Leibovitz in the catalog of a new exhibition ‘Le Grand Jeu,’ on a show now at Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy.
Phone Photography 101: CNET’s Guide to Taking Better Pictures– CNET Master your phone’s camera and take your photography to the next level with these mobile phone photography tutorials, from editing apps to the add-on lenses most pro photographers recommend.
Free Adobe Lightroom Presets and Tips for Food Photography–Adobe “You can have a tiny apartment with one window and still take as gorgeous a photo of food as someone on a commercial set with two food stylists, a prop stylist, producers, gaffers, and a director,” says food photographer, Sarah Crawford.
We welcome comments as well as suggestions. As we cannot possibly cover each and every source, if you see something interesting in your reading or local newspaper anywhere in the world, kindly forward the link to us here. All messages will be personally acknowledged.
About the author: Phil Mistry is a photographer and teacher based in Atlanta, GA. He started one of the first digital camera classes in New York City at The International Center of Photography in the 90s. He was the director and teacher for Sony/Popular Photography magazine’s Digital Days Workshops. You can reach him via email here.
Image credits: All photographs as credited and used with permission from the photographers or agencies
Photographer Erik Wahlstrom made this 9-minute video on the life and work of photographer Gordon Parks. It’s also a video that explores the question: “Can a photograph make a difference?”
One of the series’ by Parks explored in the video is the work found in the Parks photo book The Segregation Story. The photos were selected by The Gordon Parks Foundation from over 70 color transparencies that were discovered in 2011 (5 years after Parks’ death) in the bottom of an old storage bin marked “Segregation Series.” Parks had shot the photos on assignment for a Life magazine photo essay published in September 1956.
“When I look at these photographs, the single biggest thing that stands out to me is the dignity with which these people carry themselves,” Wahlstrom says. “In a time and place that’s done everything it can to disempower and dehumanize them, these men, women, and children carry themselves with a sort of pride that’s inspiring, and beautiful, and not just a little bit heartbreaking.
“That is, I think, the power of a photograph. More so than a video or a song, it allows us a window into a world and then asks us to fill in the blanks. Can a photograph change the world? I think it can. Parks’ images matter because they’re honest, beautiful, and overwhelmingly human.”
Whenever Canon comes out with new cameras, one of my most important real-world tests is determining how clean the images look at higher ISOs. I am not testing this for scientific reasons, I am doing this test because I shoot in low light quite often and want the highest quality images for my clients. I also thought that you and the rest of the world might be interested in this as well.
Many people get caught up in the number of megapixels that a camera has on its sensor, thinking that the more the better. What people may not know is that the more megapixels they cram onto a sensor, and the closer that those pixels are to each other, the more heat build-up occurs. This increase in heat can ultimately also increase the digital noise (graininess) in our photos.
If we all took photos exclusively outdoors and in bright light, this would not be a concern. But in normal times (not during this pandemic), I spend my weekends photographing in dark temples and churches and even darker party venues. This means that my cameras are usually set at a minimum of ISO 2000 and I sometimes have to raise the ISO as high as ISO 10,000.
For this reason, I was anxious to test the new Canon R5 and Canon R6 mirrorless cameras to see how they perform in low light. And to give me even more insight, I decided to put them to the test against the reigning top Canon DSLR bodies, the Canon 1D X Mark III and the Canon 5D Mark IV.
In order to try and keep everything as consistent as possible, I put together a plan to use as much of the same hardware as possible. Since I had the RF adaptor in my possession, I decided to use the Canon 70-200mm 2.8 L lens which could then be mounted to my DSLR cameras and the new mirrorless cameras (using the adaptor). I mounted the Canon 70-200mm lens onto my Gitzo tripod, zoomed it to 200mm, and pointed the lens at a dark object in my office (which turned out to be a black NFL helmet in my collection).
I decided to set each camera to aperture priority mode at f/8 and vary the ISO levels from 100, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 and 12,800. I chose these ISOs since they most represent what I typically use for my work. I went as high as 12,800 even though I almost never shoot anything above ISO 10,000.
I printed small cards to put in each shot to make it easier to see which camera and ISO level I was shooting in that particular photo. One by one, I would mount each camera, work my way through the different ISO levels, and then switch to the next camera body.
Once done with the entire procedure, I came across some really weird results. But before we get to that, let’s look at the noise levels for each camera.
I zoomed into each image to approximately the same spot (varying for the different resolutions). Not surprisingly, each camera delivered great results at ISO 100, with excellent clarity and very little digital noise.
Canon R5 at ISO 100 (Image lightened in Photoshop)Canon 1D X Mark III at ISO 100
The good news is that, even at the higher ISOs (like 6400 and 12,800), the results were very good. Regardless of the camera used, the resulting images from those high ISOs would clearly be good enough for most clients.
Canon R6 at ISO 12,800
If we zoom in and look at the photos, we can clearly see that we are losing detail in the image, but unless these images were printed very big, it would be hard to see this.
But when we zoom in, this is where we see the biggest difference in ISO performance between not only the Canon R5 and Canon R6, but also the Canon 1D X Mark III and Canon 5D Mark IV.
Canon 1DX Mark III at ISO 12800Canon 5D Mark IV at ISO 12800Canon R5 at ISO 12800 (Image lightened in Photoshop)Canon R6 at ISO 12800 (Image lightened in Photoshop)
Amazingly, the Canon R6 outperformed all the other cameras, and in a very noticeable way. The R6 image not only retained much more detail than the other three cameras but also showed much less noise in the lighter and darker areas.
Here is a closer look at the digital noise for the R5 and R6:
Canon R5 at ISO 12800Canon R6 at ISO 12800
I figured that the Canon R6 would outperform the Canon R5 in this ISO test, but was not expecting this $2,500 camera to best the $6,500 Canon 1D X Mark III by such a wide margin. And here is another thing that puzzles me: If the Canon R6 uses the same sensor and same processor as the Canon 1D X Mark III, why are the ISO results so much better in the Canon R6? I have written to my contacts at Canon to get an answer to this. Stay tuned…
I think that the Canon R6 might be my choice for shooting weddings and bar mitzvah. I do not need 45 Megapixels for my clients and I prefer to have 20 Megapixels and the cleanest image possible. I also know that, with the in-camera stabilization, I may not need to crank up the ISO quite as high with the Canon R5 and Canon R6.
I know that, with the smaller images size that you see here in the blog post, you may not be able to see the details I am talking about. For this reason, I created a Dropbox folder for you all, so that you can download the full-res RAW images to see them for yourself.
So… what were the strange results that I mentioned earlier? After shooting all the images and comparing the metadata, I saw a wide discrepancy in the shutter speeds for each camera. They were all set for the same ISO, same aperture, and pointing at the same subject through the same lens. Why were the shutter speeds so different? Here are the comparisons:
Shooting in AV mode at ISO 100 and an aperture of f/8, here is what I saw for shutter speeds:
Canon 5D Mark IV: 3 sec Canon 1D X Mark III: 4 sec Canon R5: 1.6 sec Canon R6: 2 sec
Shooting in AV mode at ISO 6400 and an aperture of f/8, here is what I saw for shutter speeds:
Canon 5D Mark IV: 1/15 sec Canon 1D X Mark III: 1/15 sec Canon R5: 1/40 sec Canon R6: 1/40 sec
I wrote all this down and stared at the results, trying to figure out how the shutter speeds could vary so much. With the lower ISO, the Canon R5 and Canon R6 had shutter speeds that were nearly twice as fast as the older DSLR cameras! And at a higher ISO, the numbers (now the same for the new mirrorless cameras and the same for the DSLR cameras), the shutter speeds for the mirrorless cameras were still much faster than the DSLR cameras. I know, from previous conversations with the technical people at Canon, that different cameras with different sensors will yield slightly different results. But these showed a lot more variance than I would expect.
It wasn’t until I looked more closely at the images that I saw what was happening.
Look at the image above and you can clearly see that the metering for the DSLR cameras (in this case the 1D X) is quite different from the mirrorless cameras (here showing the R5 images). The mirrorless cameras are determining the metering right from the sensor, whereas the DSLR cameras are determining the metering from a separate sensor. The darker images help explain why the shutter speed was faster on the mirrorless cameras.
Now, the big question is… which camera was metering the scene more accurately. I opened the image from the 1D X Mark III in Adobe Photoshop and hit the “Auto” button to see what it would suggest for an optimum histogram, and it wanted to add +.23 of exposure. When doing the same thing to the R5 image, Photoshop wanted to add +.84 of exposure. (It is for this reason that I lightened some of the R5 and R6 images in the examples above.)
That may come across as technical mumbo jumbo, but the fact is this. I am OK with the exposure captured by the mirrorless cameras, since it gives me a slightly faster shutter speed, and therefore a better chance of having a sharp image. I know I can make the adjustments to the exposure later in post-production.
Here is my thought process at this point: I think I would like to shoot events with the Canon R6 and lean towards the Canon R5 for capturing images on my photo tours. The reason for this is simple, when shooting events, I am almost always in dark environments and don’t need more than 20MP. When photographing wildlife in Africa, Costa Rica, or other locations, we are usually shooting outdoors in bright light, and I would love to have 45MP of data in those images, for those times when I need to crop in to see a faraway subject.
As I write this last paragraph, I got an email that the Canon R6 is now in stock. I placed my order for that camera immediately.
About the author: Jeff Cable is a photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can find more of his work on his website, Facebook, and Instagram. This article was originally published on Cable’s blog.
Want to learn the secrets of color grading in photography? Photographer and retoucher Joanna Kustra recently gave an hour-long webinar on the subject, and she has now made it freely available for anyone to learn from.
“[BenQ] asked me if I could do some webinar with them,” Kustra tells PetaPixel. “So I prepared some stuff and this webinar broke all sorts of records of people watching live and afterwards. I just didn’t realize the topic of colors was such a interesting story for them.”
Here are the main topics covered over 1 hour and 18 minutes:
What tools you need
The meaning of color in photography
Color inspiration: where to get it from and how to apply it
Color grading workflow: what working with color is all about and Joanna’s workflow in Adobe Photoshop
Before and after: we’ll be discussing color decisions with examples from Joanna’s projects
Tips on how to develop your unique style
“Developing a style that is uniquely yours is one of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of photography,” the webinar’s description reads. “Style and color go hand-in-hand, and while most photographers and retouchers know about colour theory, many are unsure how to use it in practice.
“In this free webinar, professional photographer and retoucher Joanna Kustra will break down the barriers between theory and practice and share with you her color grading secrets, as well as tips on how to achieve an individual photographic style. By the end of this webinar you will have learned how to harmonise colours by yourself and how to train your eye to choose the right set of colors.”
Xiaomi has unveiled its third-generation of under-display cameras for upcoming smartphones. Instead of a notch or cutout, the edge-to-edge display will have a camera that’s nearly invisible under the screen while retaining the standard quality of front-facing cameras.
“This brand-new technology is able to perfectly disguise the front camera under the phone’s screen without ruining the edge-to-edge display effect,” the company says. “Eschewing punch holes and dot drops, this technology makes a perfect full-screen form factor a reality.”
Xiaomi’s third-generation under-display camera in action (left).
Xiaomi says that a newly developed pixel arrangement and an optimization of the camera algorithm allows the near-invisible camera to “show the same performance as conventional front cameras.”
The company says it managed to double the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in the screen circle above the hidden camera, allowing light to pass through the gap area of sub-pixels while having the same display pixel density as the rest of the smartphone screen. The result is a functional camera tucked under a display area that has the same brightness, color gamut, and color accuracy as the whole display.
On the camera side of the equation, Xiaomi says it developed a new “special circuit design to hide more components under the RGB sub-pixels to further increase the light transmittance of the under-screen camera area.” This, combined with a new optimization algorithm, helps the camera match non-hidden cameras in quality, Xiaomi claims.
Here’s a 36-second video that teases the upcoming under-display camera:
“True full-screen displays are just around the corner!” Xiaomi declares.
The Verge notes that although the camera is quite hidden, there are indications that it will still be slightly noticeable. There’s even a faint square shadow in the teaser video above (at the 29s mark):
Xiaomi's third-generation under-screen camera technology, you can hardly see the traces of the camera unless you look carefully. pic.twitter.com/g9iYa1cllA
While exact dates and details have yet to be announced, Xiaomi says this new camera technology will be appearing in mass-produced smartphones starting in 2021.
