iPhoneography in Near Darkness?

LinX Imaging Sensors

Last week's purchase of LinX Imaging by Apple hints strongly that the capabilities of the camera in the iPhone are going to increase dramatically. The use of multiple sensors can allow the capture of images in low light situations with a small device without blurring.

There are several ways to enable a camera to capture an image in near darkness:

• Longer Exposure - Even the simplest camera can capture an image in near darkness be extending the exposure time. However, this requires a tripod to prevent camera shake and anything that moves in the subject will be blurred.
• Larger Lens - Professional sports photographers and event photographers invest in large lenses with a wide aperture to allow the collection of more light by the image sensor. This adds weight and bulk to the camera as well as a narrow depth of field when shooting at the full open aperture.
• Multiple Exposures - Many of the current models of consumer cameras can work in very low light conditions by capturing multiple exposures and combining them to compute the final image. The images are digitally aligned which eliminates blur caused by camera shake, but this technique still blurs anything that moves in the subject.
• Multiple Sensors - The multiple sensor approach used by LinX Imaging captures multiple exposures simultaneously which collects far more light than a single small sensor could. Because all of the captures happen at the same time, there are no problems with camera shake or subject blur. The distance between the sensors mean that each capture is at a slightly different angle which provides information required to create a stereoscopic image or a depth map for separating the main subject from the background.

How would you use an iPhone that can take pictures by candlelight?

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