OmniVision, a company you’ve probably never heard of, but who are responsible for making the camera sensors that go in millions of mobile phones, has just announced the OV12825. It’s able to take 12 megapixels photos, which may not be impressive if you’re a size queen and are waiting for HTC’s 16 megapixel monster, but where OmniVision stands out is that it takes those 12 megapixel photos in RAW format, just like a professional DSLR. What exactly is a consumer going to do with a RAW file? Good question, but we’re thinking that part of the OV12825 spec sheet will be put to better use by handset vendors who do some quick post processing after your finger lifts off the shutter button. Other notable specifications include the ability to capture 1080p at an astonishing 60 frames per second, with electronic image stabilization! It’s going to take a beefy processor to be able to handle that, and we’re not even sure you can even write to a microSD card that fast without taking a shotgun to the proverbial face of your battery.
Thanks to backside illumination technology, which is a fancy way of saying shifting the location of the part of the image sensor that collects light a few layers higher than previous generations of image sensors, the OV12825 is sensitive down to 650 mV/(lux-sec), so you shouldn’t need something like a full blown Xenon flash to take high quality images, though it might help when you’re in a club, fist pumping away like the mad man that you are. Now the important question is which devices will this thing show up in? With an estimated mass volume production date of Q2 of this year, aka right around now, there’s a slight change this thing may up in something you pick up between now and Christmas.
Perfect for family photos.