Are you saying there is too little news in the tech world because of the coronavirus? Well, ok, keep one. How do you like the news that the OnePlus camera can see through objects and treat them as if under X-ray? It turns out that this is not only possible, but it really is in the new OnePlus 8. It's hard to imagine what a regular smartphone is capable of. And even without using any special case or additional module. Just out of the box, this smartphone can take photos that might seem fantastic to someone. Perhaps its price is not that high given the newly discovered circumstances?
This is how you can make an ordinary object (left) transparent (right)
Can the camera see through objects
Back in 1998, Sony had to recall one of its camcorders due to the fact that it literally shone through people's clothes thanks to its infrared functions. Of course, it was not that the man stood in front of the camera as if naked. It was just that something was guessed, something like on a scanner at an airport, but those who are so translucent will not like it anyway.
The essence of transillumination is not limited to any mystical features, but works due to infrared radiation, which, due to its wavelength, can pass through thin soft materials, making them almost transparent.
This property of infrared light is used in a variety of devices, including night vision devices and non-destructive testing diagnostics.
Took it and looked inside.
How OnePlus 8 sees through objects
Because of its structure, clothing is a difficult task for infrared light. At least when it comes to unprepared devices, which is the OnePlus 8 camera.
Nevertheless, it was the experiment with clothes that our colleagues from the Android PIT publication showed. They tried to place a sheet of paper under the T-shirt and look through the phone camera at the person in this T-shirt. The miracle lies in the fact that the inscription appeared. Not without difficulty, but the text on the sheet could be read.
The text is almost visible.
An IR cut filter is installed in each camera, which blocks the spectrum invisible to the eye. However, some cameras allow small amounts of infrared light to pass through. This can be seen by pointing the remote at the camera and pressing a button. Sometimes you can see the appearance of a light. Light in the spectrum that is beyond the capabilities of the human eye is blocked in order not to spoil the final image by unnecessary light exposure. However, sometimes you get such funny side effects like this time.
Something like this can be obtained if you play around with filters a little.
There is even a direction in photography, when enthusiasts remove the IR cut filter from the sensors of their DSLRs and get very impressive pictures. Now the OnePlus 8 Pro can do it without the complicated operations of “amputating” this filter.
Infrared light
The properties of infrared waves have been known for a long time. We see only a small part of the radiation spectrum, which is limited to all known colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue, violet. In addition to these colors, there is also infrared, which is in the spectrum before red, and ultraviolet, which, as you might guess, is after violet. Then there are other spectra, including those dangerous for humans, but our eye does not perceive them. Although, some animals are able to see the world a little differently.
The wavelength for each radiation, including the visible spectrum.
That is, those animals or insects that can see in infrared light would be able to make out a piece of paper under a person's T-shirt without the OnePlus 8. To do this, they just need to have more light, at least even the sun, because it also has a lot of infrared spectrum. We need a camera or special devices for this.
OnePlus hidden feature
It is difficult to say if the company did it on purpose and the ability to see the world in infrared light is a hidden feature, or is it just a bug. Perhaps this is not even just a bug, but a violation of the technological process, which led to what we have. Or, perhaps, these are just design defects.
Agree, interesting?
So far, the company has not officially commented on this, but we can see how much advertising it received. Literally all publications related to technology have already written about this or will write about it. This is not surprising, because not often users find such features in their smartphones.
I wonder if it will turn out like with those Sony cameras that were withdrawn from sale or not? You can discuss this and speculate on the usefulness of such a function in our Telegram chat. And at the same time once again return to the price. Maybe the new price tag that everyone is criticizing this year isn't that high for a smartphone that can see through objects?