A shot in the dark: How to enable low-light video capture on your smartphone

If you’ve ever tried Night Mode on your phone, you’ll know that you can probably take a decent photo in the dark — so long as your subject isn’t moving and you can hold your phone still for a few seconds. Video, on the other hand, is another matter. In low light, you’ll usually end up with dark, blurry, unclear footage.

Even on premium devices, capturing real-time video in the dark is a huge challenge. To tackle this, our Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform employs a game-changing feature from Visionary.ai: Night Vision for Mobile. How does this feature enable phones to capture real-time footage in the dark to produce sharp, bright, full-color videos?

An image signal processor (ISP) that surpasses human vision

Night Vision for Mobile is software that allows phones to capture video in almost complete darkness, surpassing even what the human eye is capable of. This is achieved with Visionary.ai’s real-time artificial intelligence (AI) video denoiser, which is optimized to work with the Qualcomm Spectra ISP to take full advantage of its capabilities.

The denoiser leverages AI at the edge to deliver real-time results, enabling unparalleled low-light performance.  With video output performance of 4k at 60 frames per second, consumers will soon be able to use smartphones to capture high quality video at night. Memories from sundown will be as clear as the moments you first experienced them: from moonlit walks by the beach and dark concerts, to nighttime hikes and evening soirees.

In fact, because of this powerful performance in such extreme environments, smartphones using this feature can effectively become full-color night vision devices, enabling users to see through the screens of their smartphones thanks to breakthrough camera capabilities made possible with Night Vision for Mobile:

• Exceptional Low-Light Performance: The software enables smartphones to capture bright and sharp full-color video in extreme low light conditions. Smartphones can effectively be transformed into night vision devices, enabling users to see in full color even when the human eye struggles.
• Enables Shorter Exposure Time: In brighter light, the technology enables cameras to work with much shorter exposure, which increases dynamic range (HDR).
• Reduced Motion Blur and Ghosting: In dark environments, moving objects like people and pets often cause motion blur and a ‘ghosting’ effect, even on premium devices. This is reduced by Visionary.ai’s denoising technology, which enables cameras to capture motion even in subpar lighting.

Intelligent night vision capture for Snapdragon 8 Gen 3

This breakthrough capability ensures that users can preserve their nighttime experiences with the same vibrancy and clarity as seen in daylight. Smartphones powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will be able to achieve this premium video quality with seamless out-of-the-box integration, even without investing in more expensive sensors and optics. I encourage you to further explore this and more cutting-edge technologies enabled by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 to understand its full potential and applications.