It was only a few years ago that the cameras that came with our mobile phones were ok for taking grainy images in perfect lighting conditions, but if you were in a low light conditions you had no chance of the picture coming out. Today though we have news of the OmniVision 16MP camera module that offers Quad Full HD video at 60fps.

Fast forward to the recent explosion in smartphones and the built-in cameras have come a long way, which has affected some camera companies such as Kodak recently. Recent handsets have seen Full HD 180p video capabilities added, but now as Phone Arena are reporting Omni Vision has taken things to another level.

The company has recently announced a couple of new camera sensors, the 16MP OV16820 and OV16825, which are both capable of full resolution burst mode pictures, and RAW image output. Although it’s the 4K2K video capture that is grabbing all the headlines, or otherwise known as the Quad Full High Definition video at 60fps (QFHD).

It’s the OV16285 that will be of most interest though as this module will be provided in a die form, which will be used in top of the range smartphones while the OV16820 is built in a ceramic grid array that will be used for DSLRs.

Both the OV16820 and OV16825 measure 1/2.3-inch, and the image sensors are smaller than what is found in the Nokia 808 PureView and Nokia N8, while being packed full of functions. They are capable of operating in full resolution 4608 x 3456 video at 30 FPS, 4K2K 3840 x 2160 video at 60 FPS, and 1080p HD video at 60 FPS that has extra pixels for electronic image stabilization.

As smartphone cameras continue to improve compact digital camera manufactures must be getting worried they will continue to see sales falling. Considering that smartphone cameras are now accompanied by various applications that help us to share and enhance our images further, there will be no need to own a compact digital camera as well. Click here to see the full specifications.

Is the camera on your smartphone your main unit now when taking snaps?