Smart ISO Pro, Super PD Plus, etc.
Equipped with Samsung Electronics' proprietary camera technology
12-bit (68.7 billion colors) shooting is also possible.


Samsung Electronics released the 108-megapixel image sensor 'ISOCELL HM3' on the 15th.

The ISOCELL HM3 is Samsung Electronics' third-generation 0.8㎛ (micrometer) image sensor, following the HMX and HM1, integrating 108 million pixels into a 1/1.33-inch size. Equipped with Samsung Electronics' proprietary camera technologies such as 'Smart ISO Pro' and 'Super PD Plus,' it enables high-quality photo shooting anytime, anywhere.

Smart ISO Pro is a High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology that amplifies light with different ISO values and combines them in environments with a mix of bright and dark areas, such as a tunnel exit.

ISO is called sensitivity and indicates how sensitively it responds to light. Low sensitivity results in insensitivity to light but improves photo quality, whereas high sensitivity results in sensitivity to light but generates noise.

While conventional HDR technology, which takes multiple shots at different times, can cause motion blur to appear as afterimages, Smart ISO Pro minimizes afterimages because it utilizes differences in image sensitivity.

In Smart ISO Pro mode, richer color expression is possible because it shoots in 12-bit (68.7 billion colors), which expands the color range by more than 64 times compared to the existing 10-bit (1.07 billion colors).

Samsung Electronics stated, “It is equipped with a micro lens optimized for ISOCELL HM3, and with Super PD Plus technology that utilizes the entire area of phase-detection pixels for focusing, it can detect focus 50% faster than before even in dark environments,” adding, “It enhances color reproduction by combining nine adjacent pixels into one based on the amount of light, and has improved sensitivity by up to 50% compared to the existing model by adding noise suppression technology.”

In addition, they added that they have made efforts to minimize the energy required for product use, such as reducing preview mode operating power by approximately 6% compared to the existing model through ISOCELL HM3 design optimization. Samsung Electronics is currently mass-producing the ISOCELL HM3 and has equipped the image sensor in the Galaxy S21 Ultra, which was announced on the 15th.