OmniVision unveils 64MP 1/1.7″ image sensor with 8K video support
OmniVision unveiled its first 64MP image sensor, the OV64C. It’s a 1/1.7” sensor, as large as the Sony IMX686 and Samsung ISOCELL GW1, two competing 64MP sensors. This size and resolution means that individual pixels measure 0.8µm.
This is a Quad Bayer sensor (or, 4-cell color filter array, as OmniVision calls it), so it can output 16MP images with effective 1.6µm pixels. Additionally, the remosaic algorithms can output full resolution 64MP photos or use cropping to achieve 2x digital zoom (with 16MP output).
Interestingly, this sensor features a “type 2, 2×2 microlens PD autofocus”, similar to an upcoming Sony sensor that will be used in the Oppo Find X2. This new technology promises to improve autofocus accuracy, especially in low light.
For video, the OmniVision OV64C is capable of outputting 8K footage at 30fps. It can also do 4K at 60fps or 4K at 30fps with Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) enabled. The sensor also supports 3-exposure, staggered HDR for videos up to 16MP (that’s about double 4K resolution).
OmniVision’s previous sensor, the OV48C, had 48MP resolution but it was the same size (1/1.7”), giving it large 1.2µm pixels (2.4µm with binning), compared to 0.8µm on the OV64C and other 64MP and 48MP sensors.
