Before we talk about the technology, let us now agree to the fact that dual camera modules are to stay and will get better in the coming days. It is this Dual-lens camera setup that Qualcomm is trying to make better and thus, the chipset manufacturer has introduced the Clear Sight dual camera tech.
Powered by Qualcomm Spectra ISP (Image Signal Processor), the Qualcomm Clear Sight tries to mimic the attributes of the human eye. Thanks to technology, the results could get better in certain departments, and the captures show improved dynamic range, sharpness, and less noise in low light.
Clear Sight is made to work like the human eye, where you see two important cells – Cones and Rods. While the cones work to capture the colors, they require well-lit conditions for the same. Rods do the opposite, as they capture light and not colors and they do that well in low-light conditions. It is the combination of rods and cones that brings out the perfect picture in your eyes. Now, imagine a similar scenario created in your smartphone, thanks to the Clear Sight tech. There is a balance between contrast and brightness.
On the technical side, the camera tech has two cameras, each with its own lens and image sensor. Like your eyes, the lenses have identical focal length. The difference here is with the sensors. One of them is the color sensor that mimics the cones in eye, and the other is a Black & White sensor that mimics rods in the eye. Sounds familiar? That’s the same concept used in Huawei P9 that we had talked about earlier.
What’s Clear Sight in this? Let us explain that in easy words.
The two sensors are actually the same but the color filter on the top of second sensor is removed, so it can take in only Black and White, but the ability to take in light increases by 3x. The color sensor does its usual job of recording colors, and thus even in low light conditions, the images come out to be bright and colorful.
The black and white pictures have a better contrast, and the captures in low light have lesser noise than usual, and the sharpness in the picture is improved as well. This, merged with the color details taken by the first sensor, gives out a better image. This is what Clear Sight is all about.
This new technology is supported by the latest chipsets of Qualcomm, i.e. Snapdragon 820 and Snapdragon 821. In these chipsets, the Spectra ISP works in instantaneously merge and process the data from both the camera lenses. In the Clear Sight comes a fully integrated hardware module that contains two cameras, plus computational low light imaging algorithms that enable Qualcomm Spectra ISPs to merge the two photos together.
For now, it is the Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus that is using this technology, and we should soon be seeing more smartphones joining the list.
