Samsung is reportedly working on adding sensor-shift stabilization to its smartphones, similar to what the iPhone 12 Pro Max does on its wide lens. While Samsung has used optical stabilization for some time, it has yet to add this particular stabilization feature.
Normally referred to as In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) when referring to full-size cameras, sensor-shift stabilization has been very common in mirrorless cameras for some time (and has even made its way into some DSLRs). Especially when paired with optical stabilization, IBIS allows for cameras to achieve much higher levels of stabilization, making for smoother video clips and allowing for longer hand-held exposures in still photography.
According to Sammobile, Samsung is working on adding the feature to its future smartphones, coming perhaps as soon as the Galaxy S22 line or even, as other rumors suggest, the next Fold. While it is very likely we’ll see Samsung introduce this feature, as it is one of the few places that Apple is offering a camera capture technology not found in an Android device, this report is finding itself bleeding into another popular rumor: Samsung is allegedly working with OM Digital (also still known as Olympus when it comes to cameras) on implementing this technology into its devices.
Ok this could be huge!
With the Note lineup out this year, Samsung is going big with the Fold 3.
Heard about this very briefly, Samsung might be jumping on the latest trend of partnering with a camera brand. We might see this possibly happen on a special edition Fold.
— Yogesh (@heyitsyogesh) April 6, 2021
As per the info I got, both Samsung and Olympus held talks about a possible partnership. The current status and extent of this partnership is not exactly clear. They could work on a special edition Fold or we could see this happen on ‘H3’ (S22 Ultra)https://t.co/y4ykWKIIR7
— Yogesh (@heyitsyogesh) April 7, 2021
The link between Olympus and Samsung has been a topic of some conversation over the last week which has finally boiled over into a pretty wild render produced by Let’s Go Digital. That render, seen below, shows a camera bump that seems to reach physics-rejecting levels of compactness and crams a giant 200-megapixel main camera and giant optic into the size of a camera bump no bigger than the one found on the current S21 Ultra.
While Olympus said that it would collaborate with other companies that aren’t in the camera or lens industry at CP+ earlier this year, there are reasons to doubt a partnership is actually coming. As also reported by Sammobile, Samsung is reportedly working on a new Exynos processor that is codenamed “Olympus,” so seeing the names pop up together in recent rumors may simply the results of a bad translation or misunderstanding.
While there is reason to doubt the Olympus and Samsung partnership, that particular angle to the story does not detract from the very likely possibility that Samsung will add IBIS to its smartphones in the near future, especially since its main competitor — Apple — is already doing it.
Image credits: Header image render via Let’s Go Digital.