Product Listing

Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom - A Focus on Camera Performance

By Hafeez Sim - 11 Nov 2013
Launch SRP: S$798

Introduction, Design and Handling

Editor's note: Parts of this review are from our initial hands-on article where we talked about design, software, and handling. Also, this review will only be covering the camera aspect of the S4 Zoom and how it performs as a camera. If you're looking for our verdict, feel free to jump to page 2.

Introduction

With smartphones displaying a certain uniform look nowadays, device manufacturers have turned to other aspects to differentiate their products. One of the best ways to do this is to improve the camera that comes with the phone, with so many demanding better quality images from their phone.

Not one to shy away from outlandish ideas and concepts, Samsung has tried its hand at quite a few ideas. Phablets, a smart watch, a now a camera that’s tacked onto their popular S4 smartphone (the S4 Mini to be exact), we take the S4 Zoom for a spin to decide if it is worth carrying around a phone that frankly, looks odd to hold up to your face when making a call. But before we begin, let's take a close look at how the S4 Zoom differs from the rest of the S4 smartphone family.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Family
  Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini Samsung Galaxy S4 Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini Samsung Galaxy S4 Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
Operating system
  • Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
  • Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
  • Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
  • Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Processor
  • 1.5GHz dual-core
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 dual-core 1.7GHz
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.9GHz Quad-core
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.9GHz Quad-core
Built-in Memory
  • 1.5GB RAM
  • 1.5GB RAM
  • 2GB RAM
  • 2GB RAM
Display
  • 4.3-inch / 960 x 540 pixels / Super AMOLED
  • 4.3-inch / 960 x 540 pixels / Super AMOLED
  • 5-inch / Super AMOLED / Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (441ppi) / 16M colors
  • 5-inch / TFT LCD / Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, (441ppi) / 16M colors
Camera
  • 16 Megapixels / 10x Optical Zoom and enhanced SMART Modes, OIS, 24-240mm, F3.1 - F6.3
  • Secondary: 1.9 Megapixels
  • Rear: 8 Megapixels
  • Front: 1.9 Megapixels
  • Rear: 13MP / Autofocus / LED flash
  • Front: 2MP
  • 1080p recording @ 30fps
  • Rear: 8MP / Autofocus / LED flash
  • Front: 2MP
  • 1080p recording @ 30fps
Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4+5GHz, Bluetooth v4.0 LE, NFC
  • Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.0 LE, NFC, IR LED (Remote Control), micro-USB 2.0
  • Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, NFC, IR LED, micro-USB 2.0 (MHL 2.0), 3.5mm headphone jack
  • Wi-Fi 802.11/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, NFC, IR LED, micro-USB 2.0 (MHL 2.0), 3.5mm headphone jack
Storage Type
  • 8GB internal storage
  • microSD Slot (supports cards up to 64GB capacity)
  • 8GB internal storage
  • micro-SD support up to 64GB
  • 16GB internal storage
  • microSD card (up to 64GB)
  • 16GB internal storage
  • microSD card (up to 64GB)
Battery
  • 2,330mAh
  • 1,900mAh
  • 2,600mAh
  • 2,600mAh
Dimensions
  • 125.5 x 63.5 x 15.4mm
  • 124.6 x 61.3 x 8.94mm
  • 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9mm
  • 139.7 x 71.3 x 9.1mm
Weight
  • 208g
  • 107g
  • 130g
  • 153g
Network:
  • 4G: LTE Band 1 (2,100MHz) / Band 3 (1,800MHz) / Band 5 (850MHz) / Band 7 (2,600MHz) / Band 8 (900MHz) / Band 20 (800MHz)
  • 3G: HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1,800 / 1,900 / 2,100MHz
  • 2G: GSM 850 / 900 / 1,800 / 1,900MHz
Standby / Talk time
  • Standby Time: Up to 320 hours (3G)
  • Talk Time: Up to 15 hours (3G)
  • 4G LTE Standby Time: Up to 290 hours

As you can see from the specs, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is basically the an S4 Mini smartphone with a 16-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor (compact camera-grade sensor), 10x optical zoom lens, a built-in Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS), Xenon flash and a slightly better hand grip to use it like a camera. Despite the heavy camera-centric functions, the S4 Zoom is listed in the mobility products rather than their imaging line-up. In actual use, it feels more like a camera, but more on design an handling in the next section. Oddly, the phone's processor is clocked slower than the S4 Mini when the S4 Zoom is expected to double up and perform even more functions. This is perhaps the oddest aspect of the camera's specifications. Other than that, to cater to the S4 Zoom's intended usage, it has a larger battery capacity than the phone-centric S4 Mini. As a result of this and the added compact-camera features mentioned earlier, its dimensions and weight are far more than the S4 Mini.

 

Design and Handling

Based on the S4 Mini, the S4 Zoom looks more like a camera than a smartphone. Handling it like a smartphone proved to be no challenge, though using it as a camera had its own set of challenges. The lack of a thumb rest made us press the press the back key of the phone or the on-screen menu button more often than we liked, disrupting our shooting. This won’t be a big issue if you’re very careful but if you’re in a hurry to capture a shot; this may prove to be a big design weakness. The good news is that entering camera mode is a simple affair; you can either tap the camera icon or turn the lens ring.

From the front, the S4 Zoom looks just like an S4 Mini.

As you can see, the lack of a thumb rest makes it a bit tricky to shoot with one hand. Unless you're really careful, your right thumb may accidentally press the back button on the S4 Zoom, and exit camera mode.

On the rear of the phone, you have the lens barrel, which protrudes out from the phone’s body a fair bit. Beside the lens barrel is the autofocus assist light and the xenon flash. There’s also a curved finger grip, though the surface is smooth so you might have trouble holding on if your hands are wet. When you’re holding the phone in the portrait orientation, on the left spine is the tripod mount socket and a microSD card slot. The right spine holds the power button, volume rocker and a dedicated shutter release button.

On the left spine is the microSD card slot and the tripod mount socket.

The S4 Zoom comes with a dedicated shutter release button, which is the large button on the right here. The other controls seen here are the power button and volume rocker.

The S4 Zoom comes with Auto, Smart and Expert modes when shooting photos. Auto lets the camera/phone decide everything for you, while Smart mode gives you a list of pre-set modes to suit the particular shooting scene, like macro mode or for shooting food. Expert mode basically lets you adjust the aperture and shutter speed manually, which gives you more control over the type of shot you would like to achieve.  When you enter Expert mode, a lens barrel appears on-screen. A list of adjustable settings like aperture, shutter speed and ISO run along the length of the barrel so you can tap and swipe to change the various settings.

You can adjust aperture, shutter speed and ISO among other things in Expert mode - just like the manual shooting mode of advanced compacts.

Smart Mode lets you pick from up to 25 presets.

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