Camera phone

Tuesday, July 3rd 2007 - 12:02 CEST - Comments: 0

S calado and OmniVision Technologies announced a technology collaboration that will significantly improve the camera phone experience for end-users. As part of the collaboration, OmniVision added a unique hardware feature into its new 3-megapixel OV3640 CameraChip, allowing cameras to take optimal advantage of Scalado's SpeedView technology, a key ingredient for delivering faster picture-taking and photo viewing on the camera phone. The OV3640 is the world's first sensor that is completely compatible with Scalado's SpeedView technology, and will thus provide a much-improved imaging experience by delivering a unique what-you-see-is-what-you-get experience.

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User friendly camera phone

The new "Wysiwyg Capturing" technology in the sensor allows users to capture what they actually see on the viewfinder, and then to replay the captured image instantly, instead of capturing a photo several frames too late. This enhanced functionality is critical for capturing spontaneous moments or a quick series of events. In addition, SpeedView enables real-time viewing, zooming, and panning of the captured images at a rate of 10-20 images per second in the phone's image gallery, without the need for any additional hardware.

 

Wysiwyg capturing technology

"Long capture and shot-to-shot times have been a complaint ever since the megapixel race began," said Sami Niemi, CTO for Scalado. "Wysiwyg capturing makes it possible to really capture the moment, which is the true essence of any camera phone. Plus, by adding instant photo file maneuvering that allows users to find and share pictures quickly and easily, we have addressed another major complaint cited by a majority of camera phone users."

 

Improved camera performance - Camera phone users

"This collaboration with Scalado is a critical element in our ongoing commitment to bringing a better overall experience to the camera phone user," said James He, Chief Operating Officer at OmniVision. "OmniVision's focus has long been to improve camera performance and user friendliness, both through sensor-level improvements and the addition of new features. The OV3640's dynamic range and image stabilisation function allows camera phone users to take better pictures, and adding a faster (MIPI) interface makes sharing images much easier. Now, with the addition of the Scalado technology, we can expand our improvements beyond the sensor alone."

• Fast image capture
• Image sensor technology
• Camera megapixel strategy