New 5-Megapixel OmniVision Sensor To Bring Usable Photos To Tablets.

A race of epic proportions is currently invading the smartphone/tablet world — the race of megapixels. The same type of mad dash was first seen several years ago when good (read: high-end, expensive) digital cameras contained less than 5-megapixels of resolution. That has obviously changed in there here and now with higher-end “prosumer” and professional cameras hovering at or above 12-megapixels.

While phones have already more or less gone through and thankfully escaped the megapixel race, tablets are just now getting into the thick of it. Long-time mobile camera sensor manufacturer, OmniVision, has revealed their new OV5690 5-megapixel camera sensor features the ability to shoot 1080p video @ 30fps or 720p video @ 60fps. Also notable is the size of this new sensor which is said to allow 20% thinner camera modules.

While the 5-megapixel count is a tad low compared to the average 8-megapixel phones on the market, the real winner is in tablets. Getting back to the “megapixel race” analogy — early digital cameras boasted of high megapixel counts though ultimately suffered from atrocious image quality. With the use of back-side illuminated CMOS sensors (much better low-light shots) in OmniVisions new sensor, we should see better pictures come from tablets and get away from the dreaded race. With that said, a few tablets do have 5-megapixel sensors now but ultimately fall victim to the aforementioned issue.