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ISOCELL Smart ISO Pro Technology Captures the Hidden Beauty in Light and Darkness

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The ISOCELL HM3—Samsung’s new and upgraded 108MP image sensor—was released last January. Smart ISO Pro technology applied to the ISOCELL HM3 enables photography with exceptional details. Shall we take a closer look at how the Smart ISO Pro creates high quality images? Challenges in Mixed-Light Environments
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술
Before we take a look into the Smart ISO Pro, it’s key to first understand how image sensors work. Light that passes through the lens is captured by the image sensor, and this analog signal is converted to an electrical signal based on a specific ratio called “conversion gain.” Existing image sensors have a fixed conversion gain. This makes it challenging to consistently capture high-quality photos across different lighting environments.
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술 - 샘플사진
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술 - 샘플사진
If the conversion gain is too low when shooting in low light environments, details in dark areas can be lost since the small amount of color information cannot be converted into sufficient voltage. By contrast, if the conversion gain is too high in brighter environments, details in overly bright areas can be lost since the image sensor can’t take in all that extra color information. Vibrant Photos with Smart ISO in Bright or Dark Environments
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술 구조
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술 구조
Samsung developed Smart ISO technology for its image sensors to solve this problem. This solution equips each image sensor with two levels of conversion gain, high and low ISO mode, allowing the camera to select the optimal settings depending on the environment.
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술
In low light environments, the image sensor selects high ISO mode to convert even a small amount of color information in darker areas to sufficiently large voltage with a high conversion gain. This enables users to capture bright and vivid images with less noise, even in low light environments.
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술
In brighter environments, low ISO mode is selected to maximize the capacity of each individual pixel using a low conversion gain so that it can take in bright light well. This prevents oversaturation and enhances color reproduction in brighter parts of the shot. Two Modes in One Shot with Smart ISO Pro What if there is a way to use both modes in a single photo? Won’t these photos express rich details in both light and dark areas? The technology that brings this idea to life is the Smart ISO Pro.
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술 - 샘플사진
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’ 기술 - 샘플사진
Smart ISO Pro is a new high dynamic range (HDR) technology that taps into the principles of Smart ISO. For each shot, the Smart ISO Pro first generates readouts in both high and low ISO modes and then combines the outcomes of the two together to create an HDR image. This enables the image sensor to bring out the details of darker areas, retain the natural color of brighter areas, and ultimately produce HDR images that are true-to-life.
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’
아이소셀 ‘스마트 ISO 프로’
The integration of Smart ISO Pro into Samsung’s ISOCELL image sensors enables users to take optimal photos anytime, anywhere. Would you like to capture the hidden beauty in both light and darkness using Samsung’s new image sensor? Please find more information on Smart ISO Pro technology, which brings innovation to the image sensor market, in the video below!

'Smart ISO Pro' technology that records bright lights and hidden beauty in the dark
'Smart ISO Pro' technology that records bright lights and hidden beauty in the dark
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