Sony releases autofocus tracking to smartphone image sensor

Tech company Sony has developed an imaging sensor for smartphones that's designed to take photos of objects that move fast such as kids and animals.

The company announced on Monday the commercialization of its new Exmor RS IMX230 on Monday, Nov. 17, touting the sensor's advanced features and capabilities. The Exmor RS IMX230 marks the first time a mobile image sensor company has included image plane phase detection autofocus in a sensor designed for smartphones, and that's just one of the highlights.

The 21MP 1/2.4-inch CMOS sensor stacks the BSI pixels on top of signal processing circuitry, something Sony has been doing since 2012 because it promises, "superior image quality and high functionality in a compact size."

"Sony Corporation (hereafter 'Sony') today announces the commercialization of the Exmor RS IMX230 for smartphone cameras and other devices requiring increasingly sophisticated image-capture functionality. With 21 effective megapixels, this stacked CMOS imaging sensor features compact size, higher image quality, and improved functionality. This is the industry's first CMOS image sensor for smartphones to be equipped with an onboard image plane phase detection AF signal processing function to achieve excellent focus tracking of fast-moving subjects. The High Dynamic Range (HDR) function, which captures both backgrounds and subjects clearly and vividly even in high-contrast scenes such as backlit locations, now supports high-resolution still images and 4K video recording," Sony touts in a new press release on Monday, Nov. 17.

"The new IMX230 is a type 1/2.4 stacked CMOS image sensor with a significantly improved 21 effective megapixels, and it is also equipped with a newly developed signal processing function. These features fulfill the growing needs in smartphone photography for high-speed autofocus (image plane phase detection AF) and clear, high-quality capture of bright and dark areas even in backlit scenes (HDR imaging). Image plane phase detection AF if a technology used in mirorrless interchangeable-lens cameras, and HDR imaging now supports not only 4K (4096 x 2160) high-resolution videos but also still images."

Sony's Exmor sensors have been used in various cameras including the recently announced Cyber-shot DSC-KW11, which is shaped like a perfume bottle.