For today’s smartphones, “multi-camera” seems to have become a natural configuration. On those top imaging flagship models, we can often see multiple rear camera module designs including ultra-wide-angle, wide-angle, and periscope telephoto. Even on some models with relatively low positioning, in addition to one or two "make-up" blur lenses and macro lenses, manufacturers will at least provide a wide-angle main camera + an ultra-wide-angle secondary camera. Available multi-camera configuration.
Although this seems to be a "common" thing at first glance, is the use of "multi-camera" on smartphones only "zoom"?
Looking back on history, it is not difficult to find that on many models in the early years, the use of "multi-camera" was much more imaginative than today. For example, the model that we at Sanyi Life are going to review with you today was probably the most unique idea of "multi-camera" back then, and it was also a flagship imaging model that was quite controversial because of it.
This model is Honor 6 Plus, which was released in mid-December 2014, more than 7 years ago. And it is worth mentioning that the release time of this model also coincided with the first anniversary of the founding of the " glory " brand. As a "birthday gift", Honor 6 Plus naturally used almost the best hardware and technology at the time. These include but are not limited to HiSilicon Kirin 925 SoC, 5.5-inch 1080P screen, support for 4G full Netcom network (which was still a new thing at the time), and most importantly, the self-proclaimed "subversive" "rear parallel" Dual lens design”.
In terms of hardware configuration, the two rear cameras of Honor 6 Plus are very different even compared with many early "dual cameras" that were released later. It is neither a combination of color + black and white, nor is it designed with two different focal lengths. In fact, Honor 6 Plus should use two color 8-megapixel cameras with the same focal length and the same sensor to form a "parallel dual lens".
So what is the use of such a design? According to the information summarized from the official publicity at the time, in Honor’s view, “parallel dual camera” has at least the following benefits.
. Use the triangular distance measurement principle between the dual cameras and the focus object to increase the focusing speed;
. When shooting, dual lenses capture the image at the same time, and the amount of light and photosensitive area are twice that of a single lens;
. Multiple iterative exposures through dual cameras;
. Dual-lens parallel duplex exposure almost doubles the speed of HDR photography.
Don’t you think it looks very powerful? To be honest, even more than 7 years later, I can’t help but admire the imagination of Honor’s technology research and development and marketing department. However, what is interesting is that if you further delve into the above-mentioned technologies, you will find that most of them have never been used in today's Honor mobile phones, Huawei mobile phones , or in the entire smartphone industry.
Why is this happening? With an attitude of inquiry, we found a Honor 6 Plus whose camera was still working normally and the lens didn't seem to be worn, and tested its imaging experience again after 7 years.
First of all, we need to explain that the Honor 6 Plus we have was obtained at a seafood market. When we got it, the previous owner had already upgraded it to the final version of the retail system. Therefore, when this model was first released in the early days, the problem of "dual camera performance only released less than 20%" claimed by Zhao Ming on social media should have been solved.
Judging from the interface of the camera APP, the multi-camera usage of the Honor 6 Plus we have should include at least four applications: night scene, pixel overlay, HDR, and simulated blur effect. As for the "increasing focus speed" mentioned in the previous article, we haven't felt it yet.
million pixel sample ISO100 f2 0.0004s
3 million pixel sample ISO100 f2 0.0004s
First of all, it is the "pixel overlay" function. In the camera APP of Honor 6 Plus, it shows that users can choose between 10 million and 13 million, which is an option that exceeds the native pixels (8 million) of CMOS itself. According to what Honor said at the time, these two levels should be obtained by using two cameras at the same time and combining the images.
million pixels for local details
3 million pixels for local details
So is this kind of "dual camera superposition" really good? Judging from the actual sample photos, you can see that after turning on the 13-megapixel mode, the overall brightness of the details of the Honor 6 Plus sample has slightly increased, especially the dark areas have become significantly brighter. But if you look closely, you will find that the dual-camera superposition does not seem to make the picture clearer, and even slightly loses some details.
This is not surprising. After all, the positions of the two cameras cannot overlap. It is technically very difficult to achieve accurate "pixel-to-pixel" superposition synthesis during shooting. A little carelessness may cause ghosting instead of improving resolution.
Secondly, with the help of the phase difference between the two cameras, Honor 6 Plus brings the "simulated large aperture" function. It has to be said that this feature was quite popular back then, and even many early high-end dual-camera models were equipped with this feature.
Native f2 aperture sample
Simulated bokeh f4 aperture sample
Simulated bokeh f0.95 aperture sample
Judging from our real-shot sample, I have to say that this "virtual" is indeed quite thorough. However, the edge recognition of objects is not accurate, and it also brings some ridiculous effects. For example, the top of the bird's nest, the lower right corner, and the bottom part are all "virtual" by mistake. Of course, everyone knows what happened next. As outsole and large pixel solutions represented by 100 million pixels begin to appear on mobile phones, subsequent flagship phones will no longer need this kind of "algorithmic blurring" and can achieve natural shallow depth of field by directly relying on the native outsole. It worked.
HDR mode off ISO100 f2 0.0023s
HDR mode on ISO100 f2 0.0010s
As for the HDR function based on the dual-camera "parallel duplex exposure", the effect is even stranger from our actual measurements. Because after turning on HDR, the dynamic range of Honor 6 Plus not only did not improve, but actually deteriorated significantly.
HDR mode off ISO100 f2 0.0041s
HDR mode on ISO100 f2 0.0020s
Did we make a mistake in taking pictures? In order to verify this, we replaced another commonly used large light ratio scene for testing, but the results remained unchanged. After turning on the HDR mode, which theoretically uses "parallel exposure", the photo tolerance of Honor 6 Plus decreases significantly. Judging from the EXIF information, the problem seems to be the exposure time and the efficiency of the picture synthesis calculation. Because after turning on HDR mode, the exposure time is only half of that when it is not turned on.
Theoretically, if the picture information of the two cameras can be "100% effectively synthesized", then this should not be a problem. After all, the equivalent photosensitive area should indeed be doubled. However, judging from the final sample, from an algorithmic level, the two cameras have a high probability of not being able to achieve the complete information superposition of "1+1=2". This results in the effective effect obtained by the actual camera after the exposure time is halved. The picture information is actually greatly reduced, so it is understandable that the final HDR effect is not good.
Finally, let us take a look at the last feature of Honor 6 Plus based on the dual-camera design in theory - super night scene.To be honest, as soon as this function was turned on, we felt a little bad, because in our default test scene, the automatic exposure time reached an astonishing 36 seconds, and this is a shot that is impossible to take clearly with a handheld camera. exposure time.
Sample: Extremely low light night scene ISO200 f2 36s
The result is as expected. Although Honor 6 Plus relies on violently extending the exposure time, the object in the picture can be photographed, but at this time the shaking of the body has made it impossible to "take a clear picture" It's impossible.
sample: building ISO200 f2 4s
sample: neon light ISO100 f2 3s
Not only that, in fact, in the "super night scene" of Honor 6 Plus, in almost all scenes, the automatic exposure time is so long that it loses the value of handheld shooting. Of course, some friends may say, "Can't you just clamp your phone on a tripod?" Yes, it is possible, but since we already use tripod and , why do we still need to use mobile phones to take pictures?
Sample: Neon ISO100 f2 0.7s
Not only that, when we manually shorten the exposure time, there seems to be a serious bug in the "Super Night Scenery" algorithm of Honor 6 Plus. In other words, it seems impossible to rely on handheld use of this dual-camera system at night. The
test has reached this stage. I believe everyone has realized one thing. Although we cannot deny that when designing the Honor 6 Plus model, Honor obviously had many bold ideas for the "rear parallel dual lenses", but judging from the final use experience, these various Most of the "dual camera" usage methods are unreliable.
Probably because of this, similar "symmetrical synthesis" ideas are basically no longer seen on various "dual-camera" and even "multi-camera" models. Coupled with the popularity of new design concepts such as "oversized soles", optical image stabilization , and multi-stage relay zoom, the "symmetrical synthesis" multi-camera has lost its existence and has completely become a glimpse of things many years ago.
Of course, although the product itself is not easy to use, some of its designs may even look completely "overturned" today. But we still have to admit that under the technical conditions at the time, being able to come up with and dare to make such a design is an amazing thing in itself.
But from another perspective, is it correct to just bring a technology that may not have a high degree of "completion" to the market, and let consumers pay for the R&D costs? This must be another topic worth talking about.
Okay, that’s it for today’s historical review article of Sanyi Life.
But at the end, we need to say one thing, that is, we have actually gotten a lot of rare old models recently. Some of them are products with special historical significance, such as LeTV X950 and Gionee M7 Plus , while others represent the technological crystallization of a specific period in the history of smartphone imaging development.
Take the Honor 6Plus as an example. It is actually just one of the more special "early multi-camera models" we currently have. If you are interested in similar "archaeological" content, we will gradually reveal the stories behind these rare old models, as well as their designs and functional configurations that are still amazing even today. You may wish to wait patiently.
