Dual Pixel Pro, It’s The Magic Behind Your Best Shots

February 25, 2021 Off By Rowena Cletus

Samsung has tweaked its autofocus technology by introducing an all-new system that is supposed to deliver sharper images with every snap. It’s called Dual Pixel Pro and to appreciate it, one needs to first understand its foundational principles, which is Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF).

It works by comparing the phase differences in images generated by left-looking and right-looking pixels. This allows the camera to calculate the focus distance, or the place where the two phases align.

Conventional phase detection systems use special, dedicated autofocus pixels embedded throughout the sensor, which make up a small portion of pixels. To create the left-looking and right-looking images for comparison, half of each pixel is blocked with metal in order to pick up light from just one side of the lens.

Here, phase detection can be improved by using a larger number of autofocus pixels, but this can also reduce the amount of light that is captured, which is detrimental to image quality. For the Dual Pixel Pro sensor, each pixel contains a left-looking and right-looking photodiode.

When taking a picture, the phases from each pair of photodiodes are compared to achieve autofocus. Since each pixel is being used for both autofocus and color values, less time is needed for it to react. This allows for quicker autofocus without losing image quality. This is even true in low lighting conditions or when capturing fast moving subjects.

The Pro addresses the limitations of Dual Pixel technology, which has difficulty differentiating left or right sides of patterns. But the inclusion of top and bottom phase detection, like that of the Pro, eliminates this problem. ISOCELL image sensors that come with Dual Pixel Pro, can capture great shots with minimal effort.