Weve heard reports prior to that Apple plans to include a periscope lens on future iPhones, and a brand-new Ming-Chi Kuo report today recommends this is being available in 2022.
But what exactly is a periscope lens, and what would it suggest for future iPhones?
In order to understand the advantages of a periscope lens, we initially need to understand how optical zoom lenses work.
For something which is being pitched by Huawei and Samsung as the most recent in hi-tech mobile phone electronic camera technology, theres really absolutely nothing brand-new about them …
There have been tips that the first periscope lens used in a mobile phone was way back in 2004.
And they were utilized in standalone electronic cameras long prior to that. A pattern for ultra-slim pocket electronic cameras in the 1990s saw periscope lenses utilized to eliminate the requirement for motorized lenses which extended a long way from the body. Those early ones were quite bad quality in regards to their optics, but Apple obviously would not use one up until it could satisfy the businesss very high requirement for photographic quality.
In 2004 the Sharp 902 happened. Vodafone was just releasing its 3G network in the UK and it claimed that this is the very first phone with a 2MP electronic camera in Europe. A lot more interesting, it included 2x optical zoom.
Much better yet, it did the zoom with a single video camera rather of switching from a broad to a tele video camera like contemporary phones do. Time has actually buried much of the evidence, however its rather possible that this was a periscope style, that square-ish lens is quite telling.
How does optical zoom work?
This one-minute video is an actually simple illustration of how this works (complete with cheesy music!).
The real building of zoom lenses can include a fantastic numerous elements, consisting of numerous glass elements, with multiple moving elements. At its most basic, a zoom lens needs three elements: middle, front, and rear. The front and rear elements can be fixed, while the middle aspect relocations between them.
The problem with zoom lenses is that the front and rear elements need to be a specific distance apart. In general, the higher the zoom factor, the greater this distance needs to be.
To prevent obscurity, the term lens typically describes the whole building and construction of a lens, while the individual glass lenses within it are described as elements.
You can, of course, zoom in even more, however this counts on digital zoom, which is just cropping into the image and sacrifices both resolution and quality.
When you want to have a high optical zoom within a very slim device like an iPhone, this is a problem. Apple partially navigates this with the infamous cam bump, which sees the lenses protrude beyond the rear case, however this isnt a perfect service and there are still restricts to how far the lens can extend before it looks silly. This is why existing iPhones are limited to a 2x optical zoom.
What is a periscope lens?
On the left is a conventional zoom lens, which needs all the aspects to fit within the depth of the mobile phone (plus little bump). On the right, is a periscope lens, which permits the length of the lens to be much longer, as the depth of the phone is no longer an issue.
You may not be familiar with periscopes unless youre a submarine fan or old enough to have actually had one as a youth toy. Essentially its a tube with 2 45-degree lenses installed at either end of them. You look into one end and can see an image shown from the other end.
A periscope lens utilizes the exact same concept, but with simply a single mirror, to bend the light 90 degrees. You can see the idea here, in this Oppo image.
What would a periscope lens imply for future iPhones?
Just how much optical zoom is an open concern. Although the periscope design indicates Apple does not need to stress over the thickness of the iPhone, it does still have to discover room inside the casing for whatever physical lens length the company selects. Component space is at a premium inside the case, so there are still limits.
The simple answer is: greater optical zoom.
Samsungs Galaxy S20 Ultra uses a periscope lens to offer a 10x optical zoom, so that is clearly useful in a modern mobile phone. Organization Insider supplied a good illustration of simply what that appears like in practice. Heres the very same photo taken on that phone without any zoom and at 10x zoom:
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I believe its reasonable to anticipate 10x optical zoom, or close to it, in the very first iPhone with a periscope lens. How beneficial would you discover that, and when would you utilize it? Please let us know in the comments.
The automobiles are trees are especially mushier and blockier in the iPhone image, right.
The piece also reveals the distinction in between 10x optical zoom with 10x zoom on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, which uses 2x optical zoom and after that the rest as digital zoom. The sample pictures are tiny, so its not a terrific illustration, however look at the lorries on the bridge, and the trees by the River Cafe bottom-right to get the basic idea.
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A trend for ultra-slim pocket electronic cameras in the 1990s saw periscope lenses used to get rid of the requirement for motorized lenses which extended a long way from the body. The actual construction of zoom lenses can include a terrific lots of parts, consisting of several glass aspects, with numerous moving parts. Apple partly gets around this with the notorious electronic camera bump, which sees the lenses stick out beyond the rear casing, but this isnt an ideal service and there are still restricts to how far the lens can extend prior to it looks silly. Samsungs Galaxy S20 Ultra uses a periscope lens to supply a 10x optical zoom, so that is clearly practical in a modern-day smartphone. I believe its reasonable to expect 10x optical zoom, or close to it, in the first iPhone with a periscope lens.
