Flashback: Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom, the phone that was mostly a camera

17 May 2020
Its 1/2.33" sensor was pretty large for the time and had OIS (a rarity in 2013). But the headlining feature was the 10x zoom with retractable lens.

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There is a SLIMMER version. Zenfone Zoom.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • LQw
    • 17 May 2020

    Nobody does this anymore because sadly most think it is ugly.
    I have Sony W830, with 20.1MP 1/2.3 (similar to sensor used by K zoom) and 25-200mm.
    With much light, it can beat current phones because much better lenses.

      Smart camera not smartphone

        YUKI93, 17 May 2020That's because this phone has a zoom camera with a proper z... moreYep,mate,I know the technical part...I was just commenting the final results..btw.that "100x space zoom" moniker,whatta ridiculous sign and utterly crappy images as a result..but hey, we've got a 100x zoom!..lol

          NewEconomy, 17 May 2020And now, 7 years later we have P40 Pro+ with x10 optical zoomAt a fixed focal length. Anything between 1.1x to 2.9x and 3.1x to 9.9x and beyond is all either digital or hybrid zoom, most usually the latter.

            harwey, 17 May 2020Those 10x zoomed images look 10x better than 100x hybrid zo... moreThat's because this phone has a zoom camera with a proper zooming motor mechanism. The telephoto camera of today's smartphone is fixed at a certain focal length. Anything beyond that fixed focal length is just mere digital zooming with the aid of software algorithms.

              Wezz, 17 May 2020Either way smartphones will kill cameras foreverErrr... no, not even a chance. Heck, I'd even say that smartphone cameras of today are going backwards. Up to this point, I still couldn't find any smartphone that can replace the Nokia 808 PureView and the Nokia Lumia 1020. They are still the Masters to beat despite their age.

              If you really want to see smartphones killing camera, stop all those Quad or Nona Bayer and AI software nonsense or all the computational rubbish and instead focusing on developing a large sensor with large native micron pixel and unmatched photo quality like what Nokia did before. It was because of the Lumia 1020 (and also the Microsoft Lumia 950) that I made the decision of selling my Sony Mirrorless camera. If I'm allowed to build my dream Lumia 1020 successor, I would ask for an M43 sensor at around 50MP with advanced oversampling technique and lossless zoom alongside a custom Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset with absolutely no AI engine at all.

                RickyBoy, 17 May 2020A point and shoot camera running android is very good, but ... morePanasonic Lumix CM1 says hi to you.

                  Wezz, 17 May 2020You will not know the difference between a photo taken by a... moreI can. In fact, any true photographers can.

                    THE-TRUTH-REVEALER, 17 May 2020I am in minority probably, but if a similar concept was imp... moreMe too, I also value telephoto more than ultrawide. The normal wide camera is already good enough for me.

                      Of course, people would rave about the 10x optical zoom in the Huawei P40 Pro+, but this S4 zoom and also the K zoom has a proper 10x optical zoom camera of which you can change the focal length according to your liking. I definitely want to see this kind of idea again. The Hasselblad True Zoom Moto Mods was a breath of fresh air despite the rather puny sensor. Give the same 10x zoom with a proper M43 sensor and I would definitely buy one. While you would say about getting a DSLR instead, I don't own one anymore as I'm now heavily relying on my phone for photography.

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                        • Anonymous
                        • ypc
                        • 17 May 2020

                        The biggest advantage of this type of setup is that you can actually fit in high quality lenses. Even though current smartphones have excellent sensors they are let down by their lenses. If you compare smartphones to older premium compact cameras, smartphones will mostly have better dynamic range, iso performance etc but rendering of a good lens will be much more pleasant. That lenses combined with modern computational photography would be a winner.

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                          • Anonymous
                          • gBV
                          • 17 May 2020

                          "There were follow-ups to the zoom, like the Galaxy K Zoom "
                          The Galaxy K Zoom was less clunky as far as I know. There was also the Lenovo Motorola True Zoom module.

                          I wouldn't mind to see a phone that is as thick as the K Zoom, but with a 600 or 700mm equivalent periscope camera.

                            Anyone remember Samsung galaxy camera? The camera that was almost a phone.

                            But I remember there were a 4g version?

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                              • Anonymous
                              • ypc
                              • 17 May 2020

                              Wezz, 17 May 2020You will not know the difference between a photo taken by a... moreAnything other than ideal lighting conditions you can easily spot the difference between a smartphone and large sensor camera

                                As much as i love how cameraphone has developed over the years, i still despise a phone that has the form of point and shoot compact camera. It's very impractical and fragile (due to the lens part). Also it sounds like something a Japanese phone would brings (cough cough Panasonic). I'd rather go with dedicated camera accessories like Sony QX1 or Olympus Air.

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                                  • Lotan
                                  • 7X4
                                  • 17 May 2020

                                  Samsung should make another one like this. With their zoom tech in s20 ultra, they could easily make a great device. It may comprised the size and aesthetic, but i know samsung can pull this one off.

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • Bw5
                                    • 17 May 2020

                                    Person i knew had this. Honestly i liked it.

                                      If this came back now with newer and better specs I'd welcome it. However I think Sony's approach to a camera phone was better since it didn't sacrifice portability and made for some interesting potential of mounting the camera in different spots. If Sony brings back the QX lineup as an RX0 type camera with zoom and a phone mount, it might just be something special like the DJI Osmo X7 which also got discontinued.

                                        I am in minority probably, but if a similar concept was implemented now, perhaps 20x optical zoom, 15.4 mm thickness, 6000/7000 mAh battery, high refresh rate screen and at least FullHD (preferably QHD) display with 800 nits of brightness with 75% screen white, I would buy it in a heartbeat now.

                                        In general, though,I love high optical zoom, much more than ultrawide. But it should at least be 5x Lossless zoom at 12 MP resolution.

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