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Will the processor affect taking pictures? Image comparison of flagship CPU platform

The evaluation of IT 168 is about taking photos with mobile phones. Many mobile phone players are familiar with the parameters of their mobile phone camera, such as how many tens of thousands of pixels, what sensors to use and so on. But if the author says that SOC chipset also has a great influence on the imaging of mobile phone cameras, many people will be confused. Don't the parameters such as pixel number, photosensitive element, lens module, optical anti-shake and focus motor always mentioned at the new mobile phone conference fully represent the final image quality? SOC can't be finally imaged, so how to affect the quality of photos? Today, we will explain in detail how Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 10, Samsung Exynos7420 and Kirin 935 affect the final image quality.

"What is an image ISP?

▲ Image ISP is the "brain" for taking photos on smartphones.

ISP is a term often mentioned in many mobile phone conferences in recent two years. ISP is the abbreviation of Image Signal Processing, which means image signal processing. Why do mobile phones need to integrate ISP? The reason is simple: a better camera module can only better identify the light entering the camera. Finally, the ISP is required to present the image on the screen. At present, there are two main types of smart phone ISPs in mobile phones-SOC integration and independent ISP.

"Independent ISP

▲ There are fewer and fewer vendors using independent ISPs in the industry.

If you have no idea about mobile phone ISP, then the author will give an example here. Many professional SLR cameras, such as the DIGIC series impact processor built into Canon EOS, are actually better and more comprehensive ISPs. Therefore, many professional image manufacturers also set foot in the field of independent ISP chips for smart phones with their own experience. Representatives of independent ISP chip manufacturers include Fujitsu and Altek. Among them, Meizu, Hammer and other manufacturers have used Fujitsu's independent ISP chips. Today, Huawei P8 equipped with Huawei Kirin 935 platform is also equipped with an Altek 60 10 independent ISP chip.

"integrated ISP

Compared with independent ISP chip, integrated ISP is integrated in SOC chip as its name implies. For example, at present, Qualcomm Snapdragon series, Samsung Exynos series, MediaTek series and other chips have integrated ISP chips. Kirin processor has also integrated ISP chip before, and there are rumors that SOC integrated ISP chip will be re-enabled in the future.

▲ Snapdragon platform adopts integrated ISP.

Independent ISP and integrated ISP have their own advantages and disadvantages. Take an independent ISP chip as an example: the manufacturers of independent ISP chips are generally manufacturers with many years of experience in the optical field. The quality of the produced independent ISP chip will not be bad, but it also has the disadvantages of high power consumption and high cost. Integrated ISP reduces R&D and manufacturing costs, and reduces power consumption. Because major SOC manufacturers will affect the core differentiated competitiveness of their products, the gap between integrated ISP and independent ISP in image quality is getting smaller and smaller. Moreover, because the integrated ISP can better call the preset software interface, the integrated ISP can complete many camera tasks that independent ISPs can't, such as 4K video shooting, augmented reality display, etc., all of which need the help of powerful computing power. The author also believes that smart phones will also develop into integrated ISPs, and more professional optical manufacturers will continue to play an important role in the field of smart phone ISPs through in-depth cooperation with SOC manufacturers.

Speaking of which, let's take a look at the ISP performance parameters of the three platforms we tested today through a table:

Snapdragon 8 10

Samsung Exynos7420

Qilin 935

Maximum number of pixels supported

55 million pixels

50 million pixels

20 million pixels

Maximum support for synchronous camera shooting.

Support video shooting resolution

4K H265 30 frames/second

1080P

Do you support real-time filters?

Focus mode

Contrast/phase/laser

Contrast/phase

At present, the major manufacturers have not fully announced the specifications of the ISP built in the SOC chip. We only compare the maximum number of pixels supported by cameras, the number of cameras taking pictures at the same time, the video recording format, whether real-time filters are supported, and the focusing mode. We can see that Snapdragon 8 10 and Samsung Exynos7420 are ahead of Kirin 935 in many parameters. Snapdragon 8 10 also surpasses Samsung Exynos 7420 in supporting the maximum camera pixel value. This is also due to the fact that Snapdragon 8 10 is equipped with a 14-bit dual-channel ISP module with wider bandwidth, and the graphics computing performance of the processor is stronger, which can eventually handle larger images. But so far, no manufacturer has adopted a camera with 55 million pixels. At this point, the SOC of Qualcomm and Samsung still has potential to be tapped. At the same time, it is understood that the new flagship SOC chip of Xiaolong 820 to be launched in Qualcomm will support three cameras to take pictures at the same time (1 front camera +2 rear camera modules), which can provide better convenience for 3D shooting and dual camera shooting. There are rumors that Apple is considering using the dual camera module, but there is no clue to support the dual camera module in the integrated ISP of Apple A series processors, and using the dual camera module is not as simple as adding a camera to the hardware.

"What can an ISP do to improve the photo experience?

As we briefly introduced earlier, the smartphone processor can directly affect the final imaging quality through the ISP. In this part of the article, we will illustrate what ISP can do to improve our photo experience.

"Focus mode

Recently, the concept of focusing mode of mobile phone camera is very popular, and we have also explained the differences between various focusing modes for users in many articles. At present, smart phones on the market generally adopt contrast focusing, phase focusing and laser-assisted focusing to improve the focusing speed when taking pictures. In fact, these focusing methods not only need hardware support (such as adding pixels to the sensor to identify the phase), but also need the support of the image ISP.

▲ Snapdragon platform supports laser-assisted focusing for the first time.

For example, the previous LG G3 was the first mobile phone equipped with laser-assisted focusing on smart phones. In fact, this is not a whim of LG engineers, but an integrated ISP in Qualcomm started to support laser-assisted focusing from the 80 1 platform in Snapdragon. The new Snapdragon 8 10 SOC also supports all current mainstream focusing methods. In contrast, Samsung Exynos7420 ISP supports contrast focusing and phase focusing (at present, no Samsung processor model supports laser focusing, so it is uncertain whether it supports laser-assisted focusing), while Altek 60 10 equipped with Kirin 935 only uses contrast focusing, the most traditional focusing method.

"Professional photo mode, such as HDR.

The development of smartphone photography has gone through many stages, such as video calling, photography, fun photography, filter photography, intelligent scene recognition photography and so on. In order to help consumers better record beautiful moments, various software and hardware scene optimizations have followed. From the earliest fisheye lens to the present intelligent beauty, we are discussing how to take better photos simply and quickly. However, the merits of various filters, beauty cameras, HDR and other functions also need to be recorded in the ISP.

▲ Professional photo mode also requires ISP computing support.

With the rapid increase of pixels in mobile phone camera. The processing speed of ISP should also be improved. HDR effect, filter effect, and beauty effect are the secondary processing after the ISP really restores the photos. The quality of image ISP directly determines the quality and imaging time of filter photos. For example, if you take a beautiful selfie, it will take some time to finally get an image after pressing the shutter. This is because the performance of ISP is not strong enough. Today, the three platforms we compare and comment on all support real-time HDR, filters and beauty functions.

"Humanized functional experience.

In the process of daily mobile phone photography, many small functions help us all the time, such as face recognition, snapshot, continuous shooting optimization, level, panoramic photography and so on. Even at present, many mobile phones have introduced professional cameras that can adjust ISO, shutter speed, white balance compensation, focal length and so on, all of which require powerful ISP as the basis of image operation.

▲ The powerful ISP computing power helps the mobile phone to realize the updated photo mode.

Take Nubian Z9 in our hands as an example. It is equipped with Snapdragon 8 10 platform. Nubian professional camera is also a highlight of this machine. With the emergence of every new machine in Nubia, Nubian professional cameras are constantly upgrading. Such as time-lapse photography, multiple exposure, light painting camera, electronic aperture, slow door camera, star track camera, passerby removal and other functions. The innovation of software algorithm is also based on the powerful ISP computing power of Snapdragon 8 10. In other words, if you want to take better photos more easily, you need not only the innovation of software, but also the computing performance of ISP.

"4K video recording

I believe that if the popularity of the 1080P era is due to the vigorous development of the film and television industry, then the driving force for the arrival of the 4K era comes from the mobile terminals in the hands of every consumer. 13 years, the price of a 4K TV was as high as 20000 RMB, but today, in just two years, the price of 4K TV has dropped to about 4000 RMB. 4K can bring more realistic viewing and reading effects to users, and consumers' viewing and reading behaviors are gradually transferred to mobile terminals, so the arrival of 4K era on mobile terminals is unstoppable. Therefore, including Snapdragon 8 10 and Samsung Exynos7420, the function of shooting and playing 4K video is added.

For example, if we want to shoot a 4K 30FPS movie, we need to process at least 240 million pixels per second to complete this task. And Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 10 supports the processing of1200 million pixels per second, which is more than enough for 4K 30Fps video shooting. And we know that shooting video is a typical part of mobile phone fever. We also tested Snapdragon 8 10, Samsung Orion 7420, and Huawei Kirin 935 to shoot the highest-frame video for five minutes (Samsung's shooting time is limited to five minutes in 4K mode, while Snapdragon's 8 1080P platform is not limited, and Kirin 935 only supports the highest level 1080 p shooting). The core temperature of Snapdragon 8 10 platform after 5 minutes of 4K video recording is 67 degrees Celsius, Samsung Exynos7420 after 5 minutes of 4K video recording is 75 degrees Celsius, and Kirin 935 after 5 minutes of 1080P video recording is 57 degrees Celsius.

"Future functional outlook

In the past two years, the functions carried by mobile phone cameras have become more and more abundant. There are rumors that Alipay will use the mobile phone camera to identify specific objects for payment in the future. The addition of virtual reality and augmented reality also gives the camera a new definition. For example, when you look at a dress on Taobao and can't make up your mind, the augmented reality function can "wear" the clothes you want to buy on you with a mobile phone camera. For example, you can see the layout effect of furniture in advance before buying, you can interact with toys without opening the package, or play video games on the coffee table. These are the functions to be carried by future smartphone cameras.

As for the fields of virtual reality and augmented reality, among the three platforms we tested today, Qualcomm platform has gone the farthest in these two fields. Earlier, Qualcomm claimed that tens of thousands of developers developed new applications around virtual reality and augmented reality in Qualcomm, and 20 million users enjoyed the new experience and convenience brought by virtual reality and augmented reality in Qualcomm. This is also the largest virtual reality in the industry at present. Augmented reality development team.

"Take three platforms to make a sample comparison.

Through the interpretation of the above scenes, I believe everyone can know how the smart phone SOC chip affects the performance of the camera in all aspects. To sum up briefly, if you want to take good photos simply and easily, you need a more powerful graphics processor to help users optimize in real time. Therefore, even with the same camera, the final image quality of mobile phones with different chip platforms is very different. As the title of this paper is the comparison of three flagship platforms, at the end of the paper, the comparison proofs of our three test platform models are also given: Snapdragon 8 10 platform: Nubian Z9, Samsung Exynos7420 platform: Samsung Galaxy S6, and Kirin 935 platform: Huawei P8.

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Snapdragon 8 10 Platform: Nubian Z9 Click on the image to view the original image.

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Samsung Exynos7420 platform: Samsung Galaxy S6 Click on the picture to view the original picture.

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