Immense possibilities in smartphone camera but quality paramount: Canon

At a time when smartphone makers are looking at camera giants to help them add top-of-the-line functionalities to enhance user experiences, Japanese major Canon on Wednesday said possibilities are there in the growing smartphone segment but the company cannot compromise with quality and standards.

According to senior Canon executives, discussions are currently on at the Internal levels but they are not yet convinced at delivering perfect smartphone camera experience, the way they have achieved with 'true' cameras.

"I do not deny the possibility when it comes to making lens for smartphones. However, a true and complete camera experience is core to our philosophy. We provide state-of-the-art ecosystem - lens, camera and processor -- and not just one component," Naoya Kaneda, Advisory Director, Group Executive, ICB Optical Business Group, Image Communication Business Operations, Canon, told IANS.

"We maintain very high standards when it comes to cameras and unless we achieve that for smartphones we will not enter that segment," Kaneda added during a media roundtable at Canon's headquarters here.

According to Yoshiyuki Mizoguchi, Group Executive, ICB Products Group, Imaging Communications Business Operations, Canon, they have been exploring the possibility of delivering a lens system for smartphones.

"However, we can't compromise on our camera legacy. Camera has always been centric to us," Mizoguchi added.

An early innovator in smartphone camera technology, Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has brought a Leica-designed, tri-camera system to the device, which is its USP.

Huawei P20 Pro is the world's first smartphone to feature a triple camera system from Leica, the German camera maker.

The rear camera system has a primary 40MP RGB sensor, a 20MP monochrome sensor and an 8MP sensor with telephoto lens.

All three lenses use the same optical image stablisation (OIS) technology, thus ensuring clearer shots.

According to Mizoguchi, "unless we have a comprehensive imaging system ready for smartphones that provides a high-level experience to users as they have with our cameras, we will not go ahead for the smartphone camera market".

(Nishant Arora is in Tokyo at the invitation of Canon Inc. He can be contacted at nishant.a@ians.in)

--IANS

na/mr