The world of technology is dictated by very rigid specs formats and standards of comparison. But, every once in a while, there comes a new product that creates its own category and sets the benchmark for future technologies to be compared against. HTC is hoping to do just that with its new camera technology that is calls “Ultrapixels.” This technology allows better capture of individual colors from light and therefore aims to provide a better picture by eliminating the flaws inherent in megapixel-based camera technology.
Traditionally, digital cameras come with a single image sensor that it topped off by a Bayer array, which acts like a guide for photosensitive pixels and ensures that they are allocated to one color. However, when so many pixels hit one grid, there can be confusion, especially when the patterns are irregular. Further, the camera is limited by the speed at which the sensor can absorb information and by how much sharpness in image it can provide. HTC hopes to tackle this problem by eliminating the Bayer array, and using multiple sensors in stead. Each sensor is then dedicated to one color and the process of splitting light is streamlined by specialization. Theoretically, this should solve the problems of the current technology.
Several camera companies like Panasonic and Sigma have already dabbled in this technology, although the word “Ultrapixels” was coined by HTC. These companies did have trouble defining their image quality to an industry that it used to talking single-mindedly in the number of megapixels incorporated in one Bayer array. In the new system, where there are multiple sensors, each sensor will have fewer megapixels. So should the final image quantification depend upon the number of megapixels in each sensor or the total number or something else? HTC has tried to sidestep this question by counting in terms of Ultrapixels, which is both novel and convenient.
All this buzz is in preparation for HTC’s release of a new phone codenamed M7. M7 and its low-end versions are expected to be announced at HTC’s event in New York City on February 19th. The PR mills and rumor mills have been working in tandem on this one, and several specs predictions are already flying about. HTC needs an out-of-the-world product if it hopes to win back its market share, and “Ultrapixels” are just one step in that direction.
