It will allow developers to create new filters for the device

Apr 17, 2014 21:19 GMT  ·  By

HTC One M8, the latest flagship Android-based handset from the Taiwanese mobile phone maker, was made available last month with dual-cameras on the back, and HTC is now providing developers with the possibility to take advantage of this feature in their applications.

For that, the handset vendor has made available for download a Dual Lens SDK destined specifically for that, and all those interested in taking a look at it can now head over to the company’s dev center to grab it.

The duo camera on HTC One M8 was meant to provide users with a new experience when it comes to shooting photos, as it will enable them to easily change focus after they have captured an image.

“The HTC One (M8) Duo Camera brings high-quality DSLR effects to a smartphone and is the next evolution in smartphone cameras,” HTC explains.

“Duo Camera utilizes a dual lens and sensor configuration coupled to a ‘next-gen’ ISP and CPU. Duo Camera technology mimics the stereoscopic vision capabilities of the human eye.”

At the same time, the company notes that the presence of the two independent lenses inside the phone allows it to detect and calculate the relative distance of subjects in the image.

Thus, the imaging system is then capable of assigning properties to each individual pixel, which will then allow for each of them to be reused and reprocessed in order to ensure better image quality.

Moreover, the mobile phone maker explains that the Duo Camera technology can help devices produce images that could not be snapped with cameras on smartphones before it.

“For instance, the camera can now accurately emulate the look of high-end lenses and dedicated professional camera systems. It enables “pro look” images with finite shallow depth-of-field control and captivating ‘bokeh’ and focus fall-off, which is particularly effective in portraits,” HTC notes.

The secondary back camera on the HTC One M8 was designed to captures depth information, features a 1/3” sensor size, f/2.0 aperture, and 28mm lens.

Features that show the utility of the secondary camera on this handset include UFocus, Foregrounder, or Dimension Plus, each of them offering the possibility to manipulate images in a different manner.

The aforementioned HTC Dual Lens SDK comes only as a preview for the time being, but it will provide developers with the possibility to create new effects for images captured with the HTC One M8.

The SDK includes Dual Lens API, which consists of distributable libraries, sample code projects and JavaDoc API documentation. It comes with classes and interfaces comprising two APIs, namely DualLens and DimensionPlus.

Developers interested in the HTC’s technology should head over to this page on the company’s dev website to learn more on the matter and to download the aforementioned SDK.