Nokia 808 PureView

PureView Pro camera

PureView Pro combines a large 1/1.2-inch, 41-megapixel image sensor with high-performance Carl Zeiss optics. The sensor, built by Toshiba and branded HES9, is a 41.3-megapixel CMOS FSI sensor with 7728×5368 pixels and a pixel size of 1.4 μm. Depending on the selected aspect ratio, the sensor uses either 7728×4354 pixels (33.6 MP) for 16:9 images or 7152×5368 pixels (38.4 MP) for 4:3 images in the default camera software, though third-party apps can capture the full sensor resolution.

The on-chip image processor applies pixel binning (oversampling) to produce a default 5-megapixel final image, reducing noise and external processing needs. This pixel binning is non-destructive, allowing the user to reframe or zoom after capture. Zoom is digital, cropping from a smaller portion of the sensor with reduced pixel binning as zoom increases. The zoom limit is reached when the selected output resolution equals the input resolution; at default settings, maximum zoom is 3× for stills and 4× for 1080p video.

The technique dispenses with the scaling or interpolation model of digital zoom common in other smartphones, as well as optical zoom used in most digital cameras.

Did You Know?

• It received the award for Best Imaging Innovation for 2012 from the Technical Image Press Association.
• Digital Photography Review gave it a Gold Award.