Apple is investigating new image sensor technology that promises up to 20 stops of dynamic range. That’s a level that surpasses the ARRI ALEXA 35, and gets really close to matching the dynamic range of the average human eye. Here’s what that actually means.
1,048,576:1
A newly published patent, “Image Sensor With Stacked Pixels Having High Dynamic Range And Low Noise,” first spotted by Y.M.Cinema Magazine, reveals Apple’s plans for a next-generation sensor that rivals the dynamic range of current professional cinema cameras.
The patent details a stacked sensor design promising up to 20 stops of dynamic range, which his the ratio between the largest and smallest values of light that can be captured simultaneously without loss of detail. It is measured in “stops”, where each stop represents a doubling or halving of light.
So, a 20-stop dynamic range would essentially mean a 1,048,576:1 contrast ratio with no lost light or shadow in the same picture.
A complicated thing to measure
For reference, while there is no official dynamic range specification published for the iPhone 16 Pro Max sensor, here’s CineD’s compreheNsive estimation of the iPhone 15 Pro Max 24mm camera, which they measured using three different techniques: waveform test (“how many stops can be identified above the noise floor”), IMATEST (“signal to noise ratio for each stop”) and latitude test (“the capability of a camera to retain colors and detail when over- or underexposed”).
The results:
“The waveform shows around 11 stops above the noise floor. Speaking of which, there is almost no such thing as a noise floor – everything is super clean, hinting at massive noise reduction happening internally (there is no way to turn this ‘off’)”
And
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