iPhone 5 could sport super-slim Sony snapper
Sony has built a new compact camera system, which could be a good fit for Apple's next iPhone.
Sony's camera department has been busy -- beavering away on a new camera sensor, which could be a good fit for the iPhone 5, our sister site CNET News reports.
The PlayStation-spawning gadget giant has lifted the lid on three new back-illuminated CMOS image sensors, which are very compact, meaning they'll snuggle inside slender smart phones. And as Sony makes the 8-megapixel camera sensor that currently resides in the iPhone 4S, speculation abounds that these new sensors could find a home inside Apple's next iPhone.
The most interesting thing about these sensors is that they allow for HDR video capture. High Dynamic Range is a technique that balances the shadows and highlights in an image to preserve more detail, and often make things look a shade more colourful.
You can already take HDR still pictures using the iPhone 4 and 4S, but the ability to make fancy moving pictures is a new proposition entirely. Sony's made a demo video that shows off how this would look.
Not too shabby, we think you'll agree. The sensors also pack something called RGBW (red, green, blue, white) Coding, which as you can see from the image above, could make snappers that pack this tech better at taking photos in low light conditions.
Nothing much is known about the iPhone 5 -- it was reported to feature a curved back, slimmer design and a wider display, but in the end Apple served up the iPhone 4S.
Sony's tech could wind up in the next iPhone, or of course it may be in place in Sony's Xperia smart phones. The Xperia Arc and Arc S recently impressed us in the camera stakes.
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