Smartphone photographic camera tech has come a long way in the past few years . Where once we saw blurry , pixelated messes , we now see pixel - perfect snaps , just as unclouded in low Christ Within as on a smart sunny solar day .
At the forefront of photographic camera tech is the famous 1 - column inch sensing element , now take up to make an visual aspect on gamey - end smartphones in 2023 . The question is , what on the button is a 1 - inch sensor , and is it worth the money ? You might be surprised to find out that the term is n’t as straightforward as you might ’ve envisage .
dread not ; we at Trusted Reviews arecameraandsmartphoneexperts , and here , we excuse everything you need to know about 1 - inch tv camera sensors in smartphones and why not all is as it seems .
What is a 1-inch camera sensor in a phone?
You ’d assume that the terminus “ 1 - inch detector ” is based on the size of the camera sensing element and that it has a diam of 1 inch . Logically , that ’d make horse sense ; however , it is n’t quite the case .
In fact , a “ 1 - inch detector ” measures in at 13.2 millimetre x 8.8 mm with a 15.86 mm diagonal – far from the 1 - inch ( 25.4 mm ) diagonal we ’d anticipate . So , where does the term arrive from if not the actual size ?
It ’s actually a quotation to very former camera engineering . In the 1930s , video cameras used deoxyephedrine vacuum tubes that transmitted electrons down the distance of the thermionic valve to the photosensitive sensing element .
The outer diameter of these tube grew in sizer from ½ in to ⅔ column inch and finally 1 column inch , but the factual photosensitive sensor was always much smaller – commonly around two - thirds of the diameter of the tubing . However , since the tube were technically part of the image - sensing applied science , manufacturers could commercialize them as 1 - in sensing element .
So why are phone camera detector being referred to as 1 - inch detector ? It essentially comes down to the size of the detector , which is the same size as the sensor that would ’ve connected to a 1 - inch vacuum pipe ( a lower limit of 9 x 12 millimetre ) in an early telecasting camera .
That ’s how brands can technically get away with the merchandising term , even if it ’s a little shoddy .
How to calculate the actual size of the phone’s camera sensor
While you ca n’t calculate the exact dimensions , there is a expert pattern of thumb to get an mind of the sensing element size of it within a phone – as long as it ’s expressed in inches , that is .
If you take the exact size of it of the detector and multiply that by two - thirds , you ’ll get close to the diagonal property of the sensing element .
Take the 1 - inch sensor of theXiaomi 13 Pro , for example ; two - thirds of 25 mm ( 1 - inch ) is around 16 millimeter – very close to the actual 15.86 mm diagonal proportion of the 1 - in detector .
Meanwhile , theSamsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’sprimary 200MP camera uses a 1/1.3 in sensor . Two - thirds of 19.53 mm ( 1/1.3 in ) is 13.02 mm , showing that the Xiaomi 13 Pro ’s primary 1 - inch sensor is around 2.84 mm wider on the sloping .
It ’s a handy small hack to avail you compare the size of smartphone camera detector .
Is a phone with a 1-inch camera sensor worth the money?
Despite the misleading selling terms surrounding the camera tech , there is a boost in overall tv camera performance because the sensor is still physically big than the Brobdingnagian majority of smartphone camera sensors presently in use .
Whether this results in improved character , better down in the mouth - visible radiation functioning or color accuracy depends on the producer , with each taking a slightly unlike approach to the technical school . Regardless , the event are usually impressive – there ’s a understanding why the like of the Xiaomi 13 Pro andVivo X90 Proare featured conspicuously in our roundup of thebest camera phones .
However , that ’s not to say youneeda 1 - column inch sensor to take great photo . The likes of theGoogle Pixel 7 Proand Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra lead the pack in image quality without using a 1 - column inch sensor , as does theiPhone 14 Pro , so there ’s still plenty of merriment to be had without it .
