What’s the difference between a dual-aperture phone camera and a dual-camera phone?

Asked 10/14/2015

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I’m confused by the terms used for phone cameras. What does “dual-aperture” mean, and how is it different from a “dual-camera” setup?

aperture mobile-cameras dual-camera camera-basics smartphone-photography

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

2 Answers

There is no difference.

Ostensibly, the phrase "dual-aperture camera" inherently implies that a device has two cameras (typically with different focal lengths) pointing in a single direction, and that it takes simultaneous photographs from both cameras and combines them into a single photo, i.e. it is one camera with two apertures, as opposed to two distinct cameras.

In practice, however, the term "dual camera" is almost invariably used to refer to a dual-aperture camera. Thus, there is no difference. It's all just meaningless marketing fluff.

Originally by user25054. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user25054

9y ago

AI Answer

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They are not the same thing.

A dual-aperture camera usually means a single camera lens that can switch between two aperture settings, such as a wider aperture in low light and a narrower aperture in bright light. This changes how much light reaches the sensor.

A dual-camera phone means the phone has two separate camera modules. The second camera may be used for telephoto, ultrawide, depth effects, macro, or similar functions.

So:

dual-aperture = one camera, two aperture options
dual-camera = two cameras

The terms can be used loosely in marketing, which causes confusion, but technically they describe different features.

What’s the difference between a dual-aperture phone camera and a dual-camera phone?

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