Toshiba announces dual 5MP camera module with stereo-3D photos and digital focus

Toshibas has announced a dual 5MP camera, along with a companion chip for smartphones and tablets. The new product is touted to be quite unique, and it'll incorporate twin 0.25-inch optical format 5-megapixel CMOS camera module, capable of simultaneously recording both image and depth data.According to the press release, sampling availability starts on January 31st 2014

The accompanying companion chip will use the recorded depth data and then apply it to objects in the image, in order to produce something of a stereo-3D shot. Furthermore, functionality such as digital focus tweaking and extracting or erasing entire objects from the image has also been thrown into the mix, making the “TCM9518MD” twin camera unit quite interesting.

the twin 5-megapixel cameras will generate a 13-megapixel image, through upscaling. Toshiba claims this as advantageous, as this allows for the camera to be made thinner than currently available 13-megapixel solutions on the market. This, in turn, should allow for slimmer smartphones, though Toshiba hasn't actually given a particular timeframe as to when we can expect to see the new module enter mass production.

You can check out the full specifications of the new unit here.

Press Release

source - Toshiba