Samsung Electronics has unveiled the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor, its latest camera sensor, ahead of the launch of the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has been confirmed to come with this 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor which brings lots of improvements.
In this article, I’ll share everything you need to know about the newly unveiled Samsung 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor. Let’s get right into it.
Samsung 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor
This is not the first 200MP sensor to have been made, there are two before it, the 200MP HP1 and 200MP HP3 sensors. However, the ISOCELL HP2 is the best 200MP sensor today and also Samsung’s most powerful sensor to date. Samsung says the sensor “harnesses Samsung’s high-resolution image sensor technologies and know-how at the cutting edge for epic details.”
The 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor is 1/1.3-inch in size with 0.6μm pixels. It also features new technology for better dynamic range and color reproduction.
One new thing that this sensor brings is the ability to take 15 fps burst shots at 200MP resolution. This is a major step from the 7.5 fps of the ISOCELL HP3 sensor and 10 fps of the ISOCELL HM3 sensor.
Most high-resolution sensors use pixel binning and Samsung has added a new type of technology to do that. Tetra2Pixel is Samsung’s new pixel-binning technology. It allows the sensor to have different pixel sizes depending on the lighting level. For example, in low light environments, the sensor bins 4-to-1 for 1.2μm pixels 50MP or 16-to-1 for 2.4μm pixels 12.5MP. To take full 8K video resolution at 30 fps, the sensor utilizes 4-to-1 1.2μm 50MP mode.
The ISOCELL HP2 200MP sensor also brings Samsung’s Dual Slope Gain in the 50MP mode. It allows for improved HDR shots by applying two separate conversion values to the analog signal received at the pixel level. Smart-ISO Pro is also there to improve the quality of HDR shots taken. All these added technologies make the sensor able to take 4K videos at 60fps in HDR.
Another new feature available here is the Super QPD technology which uses all the 200-million pixels for focusing agents. It recognizes both vertical and vertical patterns so the autofocus mechanism is accurate and fast at all times.
Last but not the least, the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor features D-VTG (Dual Vertical Transfer Gate). It prevents blown highlights and also helps to make individual pixels gather more light (about 33% more) before clipping.
The Samsung ISOCELL HP2 200MP sensor is already in mass production, and debuting on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. It will make its way to other phones after then.
