Japanese tech giant Sony believes that smartphone cameras will make high end DSLR camera’s obsolete in the next few years.
During a business briefing, Terushi Shimizu, CEO Sony Semiconductor Solutions said “”We expect that still images [from smartphones] will exceed the image quality of single-lens reflex cameras within the next few years.”
“Around 2019, it was said that the three elements of the battery, display, and camera will evolve in smartphones. While the other two are technically saturated, there are still expectations for the camera to evolve.”
One slide during the briefing went as far to say that by 2024, “still images are expected to exceed ILC [interchangeable lens camera] image quality.”
Smartphone makers such as Sony and Samsung have invested large amounts into image sensor technology. During the briefing, Sony discussed the development of its ‘two-layer transistor pixel technology’, which will reduce low-light noise and add improvements to dynamic range.
Credit: Sony
Sony say that the rise of high-quality smartphone cameras comes down to advancements to AI processing and quantum saturation. The company also say that the size of image sensors on smartphones will double by 2024.
Sony are a company with the credentials to back up these major claims, with 42% of the global image sensor market for phones is owned by them
Furthermore, companies known for the DSLR technology such as Nikon and Canon have acknowledged that DSLR technology is not the future and is a ‘legacy format’. As a result, DSLR is unlikely to die out completely, but will be used by hobbyists and photographers in the same way film cameras now are.
