Everything about Samsung’s 200 MP camera sensor, ISOCELL HP2

26/1/2023

Korean electronics conglomerate Samsung has officially launched its 200MP smartphone image sensor, the Samsung ISOCELL HP2.

The sensor is designed to feature in flagship smartphones, with reports suggesting that it could be the same sensor that may be unveiled aboard the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. The sensor can bin up to 16 pixels together to shoot HDR images at 50MP, or 4K HDR videos at 60fps.

Samsung ISOCELL HP2 200MP sensor
Talking about the sensor, Joon-Sep Yim, executive vice-president of Sensor Business Team at Samsung Electronics, said, “The Samsung ISOCELL HP2 harnesses Samsung’s high-resolution image sensor technologies and know-how at the cutting edge for epic details. Our leadership comes from innovative pixel technologies that allow our sensors to go beyond the number and size of pixels. We will continue to open new horizons and solidify our presence in the expanding ultra-high-resolution sensor market.”

In terms of its capabilities, the Samsung ISOCELL HP2 has 200 million pixels, each measuring 0.6um in size. The sensor is 1/1.3-inch, which according to Samsung is in line with the overall sensor size of most 108MP smartphone camera sensors in the market today.

The company’s Tetra2pixel pixel binning technology offers two different stages of pixel binning that bin together four and 16 pixels together — for 1.2um pixels at 50MP image resolution, and 2.4um pixels at 12.5MP image resolution, respectively. The sensor also uses pixel binning at around 33MP to shoot 8K videos at 30fps, without cropping the sensor.

Samsung has also integrated its Dual Vertical Transfer Gate pixel technology to increase its per-pixel electron efficiency capacity, which in the real world translates to a better control of exposure rates — which should translate to better lighting control in bright as well as low-light conditions. Autofocus is controlled by Samsung’s Super QPD technology, which can control both horizontal and vertical pattern changes.

As of now, the Samsung ISOCELL HP2 sensor is likely to feature aboard the upcoming Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphone’s primary camera. More details about it should surface when the Samsung S23 Ultra launches next month on February 1st.