LOFIC sensors are the future...

[kye]

Cined just published their tests of the DJI OSMO Pocket 4P camera, with the new LOFIC sensor, and oh boy does it deliver!

Highlights from their testing (of the wide camera):

• 16 stops at SNR=2, and 17.2 stops at SNR=1, with no internal NR (better than the Alexa 35 and any other camera they've ever tested)
• 10+ stops of latitude (second only to the Alexa 35) and potentially limited by the 10-bit codec and maybe not the sensor
• 11ms rolling shutter (not bad, and better than DGO designs)
• Their studio lights weren't powerful enough to clip the sensor, it has that much DR!

The telephoto camera from the DJI isn't a LOFIC sensor and despite testing very well it's not at the same level of performance.

The full test: https://www.cined.com/dji-osmo-pocket-4p-lab-test-rolling-shutter-dynamic-range-and-exposure-latitude/

In watching their podcast presentation they revealed a bunch of other interesting info:

• This is the first of these (tiny consumer) devices that isn't trying to adapt itself to the scene, so it's a "real camera" in the sense that it's not heavily processing things
• They mentioned they had the iPhone 17 Pro in for testing and even when it was in full manual mode, just by moving the focus point it would change the test results etc
• As the main DJI camera is ~20mm FOV, they had to develop a new testing setup so the bright patches of the Xyla didn't reflect from the camera onto the dim patches etc
• LOFIC sensors are likely to be coming into smartphones soon, as this is where the money is in the R&D
• Sony are working on a smaller version of a LOFIC sensor which would be suitable for smartphones and also for the telephoto camera on the DJI

Also, the OG BMPCC got a mention, as they were talking about how it would be great to have such a sensor in a "real" camera body and with interchangeable lenses etc, but MFT sensor size isn't that far away from this, so that could also happen too.  Panasonic went DGO and maybe would do this too..   I'm stoked for the GH8!!

Just incredible, and I second the idea of fitting one of these to a body like the OG BMPCC!

Images.

Waveform plot for the DJI OSMO Pocket 4P 20mm wide D-Log2 ISO1600

Imatest result for the 20mm wide camera, D-Log2 at ISO1600

Latitude tests of the wide camera:

The 4-stop over, which due to their lighting restrictions was still probably 1-2 stops from clipping:

 

[PPNS]

video surveillance is about to get REAL good!

[Anaconda_]

1 hour ago, PPNS said:

video surveillance is about to get REAL good!

The 'Enhance' feature on CCTV is not longer reserved for detective series.

[sanveer]

I suggested in the other group that Panasonic should put LOFIC sensors in their ILCsand someone went on about mythical organic sensor, which quite frankly may remain just that.

Panasonic should just put LOFIC sensors in all their new cameras, and ditch Sony if it doesn't improve sensor tech enough. 

I would love to see an Even Smaller GX camera with a 20-50MP 1inch LOFIC sensor. The LX10 is frankly too large for most pockets. 

[kye]

12 minutes ago, sanveer said:

I suggested in the other group that Panasonic should put LOFIC sensors in their ILCsand someone went on about mythical organic sensor, which quite frankly may remain just that.

Panasonic should just put LOFIC sensors in all their new cameras, and ditch Sony if it doesn't improve sensor tech enough. 

I would love to see an Even Smaller GX camera with a 20-50MP 1inch LOFIC sensor. The LX10 is frankly too large for most pockets. 

Apparently Sony is working on a smaller LOFIC sensor now, so swapping to LOFIC may well mean sticking with Sony, especially if you already have a deal of some kind worked out.

[ac6000cw]

6 hours ago, sanveer said:

I suggested in the other group that Panasonic should put LOFIC sensors in their ILCsand someone went on about mythical organic sensor, which quite frankly may remain just that.

Panasonic should just put LOFIC sensors in all their new cameras, and ditch Sony if it doesn't improve sensor tech enough. 

I would love to see an Even Smaller GX camera with a 20-50MP 1inch LOFIC sensor. The LX10 is frankly too large for most pockets. 

AFAIK Panasonic don't use Sony for all of their sensors - they've implied the GH6/GH7/G9ii sensor is not from Sony (I think the words were 'it's not made by who you think it is' in response to a question at a launch event).

OmniVision are also in the LOFIC game - the OV50X50 is a 50MP 1" sensor with both dual-gain and LOFIC - https://www.ovt.com/products/ov50x50/

Quote

Ultra High Dynamic Range 1‑inch Image Sensor for Movie-Grade Video Capture in Flagship Smartphones

The OV50X50 CMOS image sensor is a 50‑megapixel (MP) sensor with a 1.6‑micron (µm) pixel in a 1‑inch optical format designed for flagship smartphones that require high dynamic range (HDR) video and preview with single exposure, excellent low-light performance, fast autofocus and high frame rates.

The OV50X50 supports 4‑cell binning for 12.5MP at 180 frames per second (fps) and 60 fps with three-channel HDR. It offers premium-quality 8K video with dual analog gain (DAG) HDR and on‑sensor crop zoom. OMNIVISION’s TheiaCel® technology further expands single exposure HDR close to 110 dB—the highest range possible in smartphones. The sensor also supports quad phase detection (QPD) for best-in-class autofocus performance. The OV50X50 is built on OMNIVISION’s PureCel®Plus‑S stacked-die technology, enabling high resolution with 1.6 µm pixels.

The OV50X50 is sampling now and will be in mass production in Q3 2025.

Applications
  • Smartphones
  • Video conferencing
  
Features
  • Active array size: 8192 x 6144
  • Maximum image transfer rate:
    - 50MP (8192 x 6144): 30 fps
    - 12.5MP (4096 x 3072) linear: 180 fps
    - 12.5MP (4096 x 3072) DCG + LOFIC: 60 fps
    - 12.5MP (4096 x 3072) HCG + LOFIC/LCG: 90 fps

'TheiaCel® technology' is their version of HDR capture including LOFIC - https://www.ovt.com/technologies/theiacel-technology/

 

[MurtlandPhoto]

I’m getting a Pocket 4p in hand in the coming days. Looking forward to seeing how it matches up with the S1ii and Pyxis 12K. The videos I’ve seen truly are remarkable.