How smartphone cameras work - Gary explains

Read the full post: goo.gl/lRLOsb
Everything you need to know about how your smartphone's camera works, from lens to apertures to sensor sizes and megapixels.
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[@varunkesari1368]

Gary Sims explains better than any teacher in the world! your kids must be topper.

[@aviationenthusiast3060]

Well, linus tech tips at techquickie is also very nice. (As fast as possible)

[@SpicyPea]

Gary is the only reason I subscribed to AA. These explanations set the bar pretty damn high for anyone else. He does a great job balancing how in-depth he goes while maintaining the subject's understandability(?). Keep up the good work Gary!

[@dhurbathapa44]

i also want to know about dual camera systems how they work i would be glad to hear from you

[@GrimYak]

which one? there are different types. Huawei uses 1 camera to capture black and white while the other in color. this increase dynamic range, that is the ability of the camera to capture the darkest part of the picture and the lightest part of the picture. others just include 2 cameras of the same capability but different zoom range.

[@taidee]

Gary Sims is a real teacher not just the people who think they can teach. I respect this man.

[@virtuaza]

wow, love your way to explain this basic of camera.

[@Yathuprem]

Saw Gary.. Liked and commented without watching video.. Now watching.. See you after 10min

[@1MarkKeller]

Yathu prem exactly!

[@Alex-du3tj]

Yathu prem Yes lol

[@mrbladestone]

was really waiting for somebody to put a proper video on this. thanks.

[@KyleSchwanz]

Great explanation, as a photographer I was watching for accuracy and you did enjoy excellent job and explained to were everyone could understand it well! I'm with you on the two lens system, I think it's the way to go for sure!

[@RemixedVoice]

Hey Gary, your videos are my favorite part of this channel, and they're what distinguish it from the competition in my opinion.

[@haneefali7140]

cool and I really like ur Gary explains series and I think it is a very big part of Android authority

[@kunalnarang1912]

AA is nothing without Gary.

[@MrMatt1138]

Very nicely done! I've used equipment for photography and cinematography for over 30 years - always looking for the simple clarification of technology as it relates to the photo. You've managed to accomplish where many find difficulty - making a relatively complex and technical subject quite clear. Thank you.

[@mabirc2844]

I bet Gary gets alot of job offers from smartphone companies since he knows so much about every topic..

[@GarySims]

LOL, no, but I like your thinking!

[@mabirc2844]

Well then lets make a smartphone company! Lol!

[@abhimanyutomar988]

THANK you soooooo muuuuucccchhhh!!!!! finally I can make others understand how cameras work without confusing them......

[@sanyampathak763]

gary the savior of android authority

[@gokuljosh1186]

amazing video , need a video on different dual camera setup.

[@swarajrajpure8073]

Awesome explanation Sir! 👏👏

[@twany442]

Thank you Gary! loving the dule cameras on my G6 and the V20, and i always shoot in manual mode.

[@Zavstar]

gary explains is the best that android authority has to offer....make it a weekly show gary..and lets dive into the world of smartphone systems together

[@GarySims]

If you have any topics that you would like me to cover, please let me know.

[@Zavstar]

Gary Sims as u covered evry part of smartphone camera basics in this video...now u can elaborate on every part like the lenses...autofocusing system isp etc and similarly u can first explain the basics of other parts and then elaborate them in other videos...im not a computer guy and i would surely like to know more abput smart phones;)

[@Zavstar]

audio system and how the ip ratings work and how smartphones are made waterproif and many more topics

[@Zavstar]

Gary Sims types of sensors and how they work and how mobile communications happen etc

[@leonardsolace3242]

Thanks Gary, for the simplistic but more understandable explanation of the complex this topic

[@Bhatakti_Hawas]

Video on different types of dual camera explained​ pleeez

[@rajbirds693]

nice explained

[@sivadasanr4663]

thank you Gary .....For such superb class....😘... now it's clear what is really happening on our cameras

[@frenchfries8745]

always great and informative videos i have a question how sensors have different sensitive for iso ?

[@dhurbathapa44]

this was my biggest query about phone camera and now i got my answer.😊

[@1Three8Fiver]

Thanks Gary always look forward to your videos. Yourself and Mr Vergara are definitely the clearest, concise and palatable of the AA YT personalities. Keep up the great work sir.

[@XSpImmaLion]

Great explainer on smartphone cameras and general photography concepts Gary.

[@kevintech5728]

We Love An Au only because of these type of rare videos,which no channel channel can't imagine..

[@fuzz33594]

Appreciate the video: my "Sims low level light" had been flashing feverishly for quite a while.

[@5iwot5]

Thanks Gary, learnt a lot!

[@Darignobullseye]

Wow. Yes, I definitely understand! Thank you sir!

[@neoamaru]

wow..finally someone who actually teaches me something new!! i just downed 4 of your videos in a row!

[@domitman1252]

Great info!

[@nirajrajkharel1706]

Very clear and on point explanation, professor Gary. Waiting patiently for your next upload. God bless you!

[@awdhootkanawade]

after watching this video I actually clicked some nice pics with manual mode

[@awdhootkanawade]

shutter speed in combination with iso, it really brings a great difference in dark iso-800. exposure 1/2 . without flash in low light

[@awdhootkanawade]

I installed snapit camera on my Redmi and the result was awesome. it brings lot more features to my camera

[@awdhootkanawade]

moblue 289 I think you should prefer note 4

[@troy5568]

moblue 289 G4, you mean LG G4?

[@guelo1350]

i like this guy's explanation.

[@JohnCBradley]

love this guy

[@ImaSneke]

Actually a really nice informational video, thanks Gary!

[@LanhNguyenFilms]

Gary explains and he explains it correctly. ;)

[@fernandoadrianr.j6814]

I really like your way to explain . Awesome explanation.

[@AboutTimeFFS]

I love these videos, they're literally the only reason I subscribed to this channel.

[@vivekkashyap3688]

thanks for making this video sir... as I requested to do so in Twitter...☺️

[@neellss]

Nice and simple to understand. great job.

[@iodreamify]

You're kind of competing with Techquickie from LTT with these subjects, although theirs are more divided and you like to explain it as a whole. And of course without the time constraints you can talk slower and you're still more focused on mobile tech. What do you think? Keep it up, really a pleasure to watch when it's so accessibly explained!

[@russianspy2046]

Thats really good explained topic!!!

[@samuelgan]

Excellent explanation Gary! Please feature more videos like this in the future :)

[@AbdulRahimAnsari]

do a comparison is ISP on S8, iPhone 7 and OnePlus 3T

[@DavidMartinez-lk5ru]

Thanks for the explanation Gary, you are the Morgan Freeman of Android.

[@Soumyadip_Pal]

LOVE YOU GARY!!!!!!

[@semantbaghel4045]

Thank you Android authority.. Yesterday I asked for more Gary explain videos. 😊😊

[@goutam-007]

Thanks for this amazing information

[@ShahriyarAli]

DLSR kinda sounds refreshing!

[@dega5531]

I thought im the only one

[@Darparakara]

I really needed this very good explanation.

[@aluiziosemblano198]

Great video!

[@mohdnaserhussainnaser9838]

good information about 📷 mobile cameras

[@fahdhasnain979]

Mr. Garry please suggest me which smartphone has the best camera for still images in terms of low light, detailed and color accuracy.

[@arjunthomas]

if only my teachers were as good as Gary... sigh.. !

[@RemixedVoice]

Arjun Thomas Seriously.

[@lanalne6453]

That's a very informing video. I must admit I really enjoyed it! Thank you very much for making such videos! 😄😄😄

[@wolfvonversweber1109]

That wasn't a dslr shutter, it was the mirror switching between redirecting the light to the viewfinder and letting it through to the sensor. The physical shutter is directly above the sensor and could be shown by locking the mirror (option for cleaning or long time exposures).

[@lou007]

nice man appreciated...

[@CircumCrippledTV]

Interesting. Thanks.

[@adinahirschmann3112]

Very good and clear explanations, however, a digital single lens reflex camera is a DSLR. As for the camera on my LG Stylo 2, although it's supposed to be 13 megapixels and the image on the screen looks bright, clear and detailed when taken, the image on file is grainy, blurry and lacking in detail. Outlines are very fuzzy and lettering can barely be read. Is there anyrhing I can do about this? I'm shooting through the app "Camera Zoom Fx."

[@factsverse9957]

In 1:07 The sensor isn't switched on and off for a certain amount of time. If so, how can the phone display a preview? So, what they do is let the sensor gather enough light for a certain amount of time and afterwards saving the raw data, and process it into an image if the raw data isn't saved.

[@mikebull7775]

Love your videos!!

[@dizzypear]

Interesting...

[@tichyzishh3379]

Wow that was very interesting thank you sir!

[@waqasmehmood1216]

wow great video

[@karimalameddine5092]

What about Nokia pureview technology? Any thoughts? Thanks for the video (-:

[@mikanieminen731]

great video!! Love your stuff!

[@Lucary1000]

Thanks a lot Gary, awesome video, and DLSR is indeed easier to pronounce as DSLR :)) Could you please to a video description about HDR and specially auto-HDR which many smartphones apply nowadays. Could this be a deal-breaker if the phone doesn't have this option? Or some phones that don't include auto-HDR, like Huawei and Sony, do at least as good job with their auto modes?? And also, is a 2x optical zoom, like on Mate 9, Mi 6 etc a real big deal? Since some compact cameras for around 350$ have already 40 times optical zoom, so 20x higher? IMO, right now there's not a big difference between dual camera and single camera smartphones in terms of quality.. that dual cameras would be better straight away just because they are doubled.. Thanks a lot for the answer in advance!!

[@GrimYak]

You must first understand what HDR is. it stands for High Dynamic range, dynamic range is the measure of the cameras capability to capture and differentiate dark areas of the picture from light ones. Cameras with low dynamic range will tend to blow up the light parts of the picture while the dark parts will not have any detail at all and will only be black. THis is where i think the dual camera system of huawei shines as it captures monochrome in one camera and color in one and combining them into a single picture, essentially an HDR picture. Others like LG only give you 2 different focal lengths. Auto HDR is an inferior type of HDR and relies on image process to get that HDR look, you will be losing detail along the way. the proper way to create an HDR picture is to manually combine them. I shoot DSLRs and i do my HDRs on those the proper way, but i admit using auto mode is much much easier.

[@Lucary1000]

Jay G thanks, therefore in auto-HDR mode smartphone doesn't take 3 photos with different dynamic range and then combines the best exposure of highlights and shadows on a single one, but only takes one picture (with a software HDR effect)?

[@GrimYak]

Lucary1000 I know of only Apple that does exposure bracketing of 3 photos, how much +EV and -EV i dont know. There was a time where some androids only use exposure compensation and image processing to do HDR, it may be better now. but for me nothing really beats bracketing in a DSLR/Mirrorless.

[@raghavendraravi6866]

Can't believe that Gary and John are in the same channel, if you what I mean!!

[@thelegendgamer33]

I love this man

[@MrGrey-oo8ug]

I have a question Sir Gary: HTC U11, Moto Z2 Play, and Asus Zenfone 4 have the same camera sensor which is the Sony IMX362. Why is that they produce different quality of photos? Among them, its obvious HTC U11 produce the best photo. But why the others cant produce the same quality of photo as the HTC U11? Hope, you reply. Thank you. (sorry for my bad english) Btw, you did great in the video. I learnt a lot about camera's terminologies.

[@suryakanth5370]

Sir Please reply me sir ,I have a question,what if lens in the camera is damaged or somewhat broken in that case will the camera work

[@seliweedof]

great video!!!

[@okaro6595]

With a smart phone you really cannot get blurry background unless you have a dual camera setup in which case the effect can be made with software. Smart phones have small sensors and wide angle lenses so even with f/1.7 there is very high depth of field. The f/1.7 on a smart phone is like f/11 on a FF DSLR as far as DoF is concerned.

[@peterford9369]

Good explanation. Makes me realize how primitive our cell camera s are vs real cameras. Well, not primitive, but adjustable. Bottom line, very basic, comparatively. Still, for the size, pretty ingenious. Thanks for a good video.

[@DarwinDunks]

5:02 IT'S FLASH CAUGHT ON CAM! LOL!

[@kunalnarang1912]

I've always been jealous of people who could use manual controls on their smartphones to get the best shots. I guess I won't be anymore, thanks to Gary.

[@GarySims]

Kunal Narang Actually that is quite a good idea, a video on just taking photos in manual mode on a smartphone. I will give that some thought. Please like if you think it would make a good video.

[@kunalnarang1912]

Definitely sir. I think it's a great idea. Manual modes are becoming increasingly popular in smartphone photography and a video on that would be great.

[@NortromElf]

How much you want for teaching my cat how to speak? I know you can do it.

[@1MarkKeller]

NortromElf lol

[@1MarkKeller]

At least he could teach it how to use a cell phone to it's greatest potential!

[@vishveshpal]

fascinating to know you do it awesomely

[@elkons]

nice video

[@TheDukens90]

Gary sims making smarter in technology.

[@EcHanson]

So is it the more light the better picture?

[@GarySims]

Hanson Chimaobi That depends on the type of photo you want to take, if you want a moody black and white photo then lighting is very important. But yes, in general the more light the better.

[@GrimYak]

IF we are talking about the ability to gather light yes. But the type of light will also affect quality. Direct light like the one in noon is not good for pitures. The best ones are the soft light like the ones when you have clouds covering the sun or at dawn or dusk. this is why you see softboxes in a photo studio

[@SurajKumar9611751619]

Where is the iPhone 7 plus telephoto in the dual lens part of the video

[@AjalaKingsGreenstream]

The first thing i ask is does it have OIS? then How many Megapixels? then how big is the aperature? after that the auto focus and other stuff

[@AjalaKingsGreenstream]

Gary still can't pronounce HDR lol

[@GarySims]

Or maybe I do and you don't! ;-)

[@peterc938]

dope

[@omarbravo4664]

Can you please come teach my science class! I would love your class

[@omarxr1999]

nice MR

[@SnogSpit]

DLSR?

[@Ibnblackbird]

oh yes it's my boy Gary

[@hamzatajammal1661]

Garry please rply i have. A question

[@MrOffshore92]

Gary for president!

[@abdulghanikhan4413]

first video from garry that was not so well explained 😑 but i love you sir..

[@SuperFuzzmonkey]

Yes Gary Yes!!!

[@udofroelich12]

Content is good to but the cuts editing and music do not really impress me. Many smaller channels are offering a more refined video experience. I really appreciate the Gary explains series though

[@GarySims]

I always struggle with finding the best music for a video. Can suggestions?

[@kunalnarang1912]

Hey Gary, where can we interact with you for our questions on your videos, because I can't see any new topics in the AA forums under Ask Gary and there were topics earlier!

[@GarySims]

Good point, I have created a thread in the forums: www.androidauthority.com/community/threads/how-smartphone-cameras-work-%E2%80%93-gary-explains.43246/

[@kunalnarang1912]

Thanks for this. Please do remember to create them in the future videos as well. Have a nice day and thanks for your effort. I really appreciate it.

[@BenedictCumberbatch0]

i love dual camera

[@MitchellHang]

2:30 "DLSR"

[@GarySims]

:-)

[@keerobz]

Dual Lens Single Reflex :))

[@GarySims]

I like it, we could make that a thing!!! :-)

[@aussie8114]

I only want to know how it focuses.

[@Lauren_C]

Megapixels certainly aren't the end-all, be-all, it's not an irrelevant factor either. Lots of resolution can aid in a certain level of flexibility, particularly in post. In a phone, high megapixel sensors have a practical use in rapidly capturing dense text. Very useful for college students borrowing textbooks, or if I want to rapidly snapshot a newspaper or magazine article, or recipes. Megapixels are just only one factor of how good a camera is though. Sensor size, optics, aperatute being other factors that must be considered as well, depending on use case