When do you think we will see Smartphones being able to record 8K30?

[cbn]

When do you think we will see Smartphones being able to record 8K30?

(iPhone 8 records 4K60)

 

[KentState]

4k hasn't hit critical mass yet so I doubt it for at least 5 years. May have a single company try the feature but it won't be anything but a novelty.

 

[cbn]

I agree mainstream 8K TVs and Monitors are still a long way off.

I got interested in recording 8K 4:2:0 video (to be used as 4K 4:4:4) after seeing following video showing 4K 4:2:0 being used as 1080p 4:4:4....

It seems that folks report the best way to get crisp 1080p video is record the footage as 4K.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Tough to know. I think it'll be a while because it would require at least a 33.2MP sensor, and oddly the industry actually has kinda reversed the MP wars to focus on other things. Some of that is also their insistence on going with smaller phones, and while you can have high MP small sensors, you end up not really making great use of the extra resolution (in some cases it can, but others it doesn't and actually might work against it). It is possible that they'll reach diminishing returns and need to start upping MP count.

There is a possibility they'll do some sort of stitching thing. They've been testing multiple sensors (for various things) for a while (one was to be able to shift focal point of pictures, which is the big use especially for "portrait" modes that they've been pushing). There was one company that had a prototype where the entire back of the phone had sensors (they were spaced out, there was like 10-30 of them I think? They varied in focal length and maybe even size, so you could actually get some quality zoom and stuff as well without having to fuss with any movable sensor parts; I think it could also compensate for shaky cam issues too). I wouldn't be surprised to see some start doing 3-4 sensors (set at different focal lengths) and stitching/blending them together, which would offer more detail and color information, without having to push right to 8K. [Not sure that focal length is the right term, but basically each sensor/lens would be focused on a different distances, one for far away, one intermediate, and then one for closer, and maybe a 4th for macro.]

I also wonder if they might find a way to stack sensors, and then be able to do different sort of filters. So to get farther away shots, it'd be one of the lower sensors (so farther from the lens), with the higher ones focused on light and color. And then you could change it up depending on what you were wanting (and say maybe for black and white pics, you could have one or two for detail and one for color). Maybe on the outermost layer they'd put an OLED that could then offer up color, polarizing, gradient, and other filters.

I almost wonder if we might not see companies separate the camera modules from the rest of the phone, enabling you to do various other things (i.e. instead of holding up a big phone/tablet, you can hold up/mount a smaller camera module, that would be able to have a bigger sensor, multiple sensors so that it can do seemless panoramas, various depth work). Think something about the size of a roll of pennies, where it could offer zoom capabilities, but ease of carry/handling. Or even a stylus, where one end would house the sensor (maybe make it so you can swap ends, so you can get different lens effects, much like how you can buy those clip-on lenses).

With AR, I'd actually say this is almost a certainty, where the glasses would have say two camera sensors, then you could link more cameras (hotlink to stuff like drones/other cameras).

Anyway, enough rampant speculation and off the wall thoughts, back to the original question. I think this is an area where standalone cameras (not talking stuff like DSLR, more like the 360/VR/panoramic ones) is probably going to differentiate themselves. Actually I think there's already one or two that does 8K already even. I want to say I've even seen one touting 16K capability.

4k hasn't hit critical mass yet so I doubt it for at least 5 years. May have a single company try the feature but it won't be anything but a novelty.

I'm not sure that has anything to do with it. The Note 3 could record 4K 4 years ago. I think there's some companies showing of 8K VR headsets, so there's definitely some companies still looking to push specs for the sake of it.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I agree mainstream 8K TVs and Monitors are still a long way off.

I got interested in recording 8K 4:2:0 video (to be used as 4K 4:4:4) after seeing following video showing 4K 4:2:0 being used as 1080p 4:4:4....

It seems that folks report the best way to get crisp 1080p video is record the footage as 4K.

I'm sure there's plenty of much more in depth explanations about why this is, but think about stuff like anti-aliasing in video games, where the MSAA/SSAA solution is to render the edges at a higher resolution and then extrapolate the smoother edges from that. Or supersampling in general. You're working with more initial information, so even when you throw away most of it, you have a better starting point as it gets processed to the final image.

Coupled with other factors, we've seen quality increase over time on DTV/HDTV. I marvel at how good a lot of modern sports broadcasts look, even though its often broadcast in the same resolution and framerate (or viewing on the same display, my sister has a 720p plasma that I don't miss the extra resolution due to it having a very good picture still). I know a lot of people complain about how we're pushing for 4K now after people finally largely have gone to FullHD 1080p. But we've actually gotten a quality boost along the way. For modern stuff some of that was just getting used to digital (and how we process it) and getting newer higher resolution cameras (where again, there's benefits even if your displays can't full take advantage of it), but its also helped transfers (think full frame 35mm film is a bit below 16K, but we'll hit diminishing returns really hard at probably 8K due to film grain and causes; due to deterioration of film there's probably a lot of movies that already have about topped out in what we'll get from them - which I'm sure with better processing we can still improve most of the stuff worth doing that for but it'll require doing something about film grain and noise that purists will probably bitch like crazy about - which it would be nice if it could be like a filter that you could turn on and off and do side-by-side split).

 

[Oyeve]

When we have at least 1tb storage on the phones.

 

[KentState]

I'm not sure that has anything to do with it. The Note 3 could record 4K 4 years ago. I think there's some companies showing of 8K VR headsets, so there's definitely some companies still looking to push specs for the sake of it.

My point was at the time 4k video started hitting the market, 1080p was widely adopted and displays were moving on. It made sense to see the next standard start making it to one off devices. 4k still is not widely adopted and 1080p is still very common so anything beyond is truly niche. Just like the Note 3, if we do see an 8k camera on a cell phone it will be a one off marketing stunt. Right now, an 8k camera like a Red will run nearly $100k all said and done. Like you stated, it takes a very large sensor which just doesn't work with a cell phone.

 

[MarkizSchnitzel]

I think a loot at qualcomm roadmaps might give a clue.

 

[ElFenix]

never.

it'll be 7k.

 

[Lodix]

I think a loot at qualcomm roadmaps might give a clue.

Qualcomm doesn't share roadmaps, they now don't even say anything about their next chip until it hits the market.

 

[cbn]

8K sensor on the way from Panasonic:

https://www.dpreview.com/news/14404...t-8k-organic-image-sensor-with-global-shutter

(AFAIK this is the first 8K sensor outside of the ones made by RED)

So with this finally released I wonder how many more years for an 8K smartphone sensor?

2 years?
3 years?
4 years?

Or could it be the RED hydrogen Smartphone will have a 8K sensor?

https://www.cnet.com/products/red-hydrogen/preview/

Red's entire camera sensor could be swappable, too
And it's not just the lenses that might be interchangeable. See all those copper contacts at the bottom of Red's promo image of the phone, and the hex nuts around the edges? Those are there so the Hydrogen can add additional modular parts -- like the brand-new camera that Red founder Jim Jannard hinted at on day one.

In patent filings, Red shows how you might be able to snap a battery module and a camera sensor module onto the Hydrogen. Here they are, all standing in a row:

 

[Anubis]

when they start shipping with TBs of storage

so never

 

[KeithP]

when they start shipping with TBs of storage…

Yes, I would think file sizes would present just as much of an obstacle, if not more so, than the sensor.

-KeithP

 

[jtvang125]

Quite a few hardware limitations that need to be resolved.

1. Small sensor capable of 33.2 megapixels. Highest MP on a cellphone right now is 20MP. Highest in a APS-C size sensor has been stuck at 28 for some time now (Samsung). Full frame can reach it no problem but who is going to put a FF sensor in a phone?
2. Massive storage space capable of speeds to sustain recording
3. Adequate heat dissipation
4. Small lens capable of resolving up to 33.2 MP. If not then what's the point?
5. Hardware fast enough for playback and editing.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Mainstream movies by big studios are now all 8K digital! They started back in 2010-2012! So when their is 8K TV in people homes; you going get some content already ready to air!