Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 + and Galaxy S20 Ultra on February 11. Together with them, we were shown the Galaxy Z Flip, it, of course, seems more revolutionary, but in terms of cameras, it is obviously inferior to the S20 line. What will Samsung manage to surprise us with this time? 100x zoom! It is about him that we will talk today. We'll take a look at the zoom capabilities of the S20 Ultra using real-world examples shared by our colleagues at androidcentral. So let's go!
What is the S20 Ultra zoom capable of?
Let's say right away that the original images are available from our colleagues, so if you want to study the images in more detail, follow this link. In all scenes, the first photo was taken with an ultra-wide camera, the second photo is standard, and then we are invited to explore the zooming options: 2x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 30x, 100x. It should be noted right away that the 100x zoom still seems more of a marketing ploy than a desire to really show any decent result. We will not discuss each scene and will immediately suggest examining all the images. In total, we are offered four locations, which is enough to understand what the new Galaxy S20 Ultra camera is capable of.
First scene (ultra-wide, standard, 2x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 30x, 100x)
Second scene (ultra-wide, standard, 2x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 30x, 100x)
Third scene (ultra-wide, standard, 2x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 30x, 100x)
Fourth scene (ultra-wide, standard, 2x, 4x, 5x, 10x, 30x, 100x)
Now is the time to discuss the capabilities of the S20 Ultra. I found the 10x and 30x zoom very interesting. In these modes, photos are quite sharp. Looking at ultra-wide and then switching to 30x and 100x, you really start to wonder how great the capabilities of the phone's cameras are.
How did Samsung manage to get this close with the S20 Ultra? For this, the company uses a 48-megapixel periscope module, which is produced by the Israeli company Corephotonics, and its work is complemented by a 108-megapixel module, which offers various additional information on the image. Thanks to the joint work of the two modules, a good result is obtained at the output.
Inside the 48-megapixel Samsung telephoto module looks something like this:
Periscope camera
Can you do a real 100x zoom?
Let's think it over, this is an interesting question. The S20 Ultra achieves closeness with its long focal length. Focal length is the distance from the optical center to the sensor. The shorter the focal length, the wider the camera's angle of view and the greater the distortion, and the shorter the focal length, the fewer objects the camera captures, the closer it is, and the minimum amount of distortion is present.
The problem is that a long focal length is difficult to obtain with a smartphone body 7-9 millimeters thick, so Corephotonics invented a periscope design, when light, reflected from a prism, passes through several lenses, hitting the matrix. This design made it possible to achieve a good focal length. The 108MP S20 Ultra has a 26mm focal length, and the 48MP 102mm periscope module has a noticeable difference. Now imagine that in the future, Corephotonics will be able to increase focal length with multiple prisms and a combination of perpendicular lenses. For example, large lenses can be positioned parallel to the body, and smaller ones perpendicular. With the help of such combinations it will be possible to obtain an even more efficient approximation. Of course, in this case, the thickness of the device body will increase, but the quality of the camera is still a more important factor.
So what conclusions can be drawn based on the examples above? The Galaxy S20 Ultra is truly amazing. Is it worth 100 thousand rubles? The question, of course, is controversial, but the fact that you will get a camera that no one else on the market has is obvious. Did you like the camera capabilities of the Galaxy S20 Ultra? The device can be pre-ordered right now on the official website. Share your opinion in the comments and read us on Telegram.