# GALAXY S 4 Zoom - a Galaxy S4 with a 16MP + 10x zoom onboard



## editor (Jun 14, 2013)

The video's a bag of shite of course, but this is a really intriguing product.

It's not a whole load bigger than a smartphone (well, it still looks pocketable) but there's a lot to like about having a really good camera on a smartphone....

Anyone tempted?



More pics: http://www.wirefresh.com/samsung-announces-16-megapixel-galaxy-s4-zoom-with-24-240mm-lens/


----------



## skyscraper101 (Jun 14, 2013)

I like it.

Given that actual phone talktime use is pretty much a secondary feature these days now everyone's on fb, twitter, whatsapp etc,  I'm much more interested in a device like this to finally address the limitations of most smartphone cameras.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jun 14, 2013)

Their Photoshop says 43-43mm  Nice range there guys.

Anyway, I can't see myself getting a pocket camera with f3.1 at the bottom end, that's way too slow these days. You've got stuff like the Olympus XZ-10 which is 1.8, and that's not the only one.


----------



## skyscraper101 (Jun 14, 2013)

My main concern is that the camera function may outlive the phone's lifespan so you'll have a great camera but increasing updates to the OS will render the phone part next to useless within 3 years or so. Then you'll be back to two devices.


----------



## editor (Jun 14, 2013)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Their Photoshop says 43-43mm  Nice range there guys.
> 
> Anyway, I can't see myself getting a pocket camera with f3.1 at the bottom end, that's way too slow these days. You've got stuff like the Olympus XZ-10 which is 1.8, and that's not the only one.


 
Sure, but I can see a whole load of uses when having a good camera and the full Android OS in one device will be very handy indeed.

I saw a guy using an earlier version at a press launch and he was editing pictures and updating his site straight out of the thing.


----------



## Elvis Parsley (Jun 16, 2013)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Their Photoshop says 43-43mm  Nice range there guys.


 
except that it says 4.3-43mm   and i'm not even using my new reading specs


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jun 16, 2013)

oh shush


----------



## Firky (Jun 16, 2013)

I've said for the last ten years since camera phones first came about that one day they'll design a camera that happens to be useable as a phone.

I think what we are witnessing now is the second revolution in photography, the first being the Brownie.





skyscraper101 said:


> My main concern is that the camera function may outlive the phone's lifespan so you'll have a great camera but increasing updates to the OS will render the phone part next to useless within 3 years or so. Then you'll be back to two devices.


 
Not a problem when phones and tech in general tends to get replaced every 18 months or two years.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jun 16, 2013)

Firky said:


> I've said for the last ten years since camera phones first came about that one day they'll design a camera that happens to be useable as a phone.
> 
> I think what we are witnessing now is the second revolution in photography, the first being the Brownie.
> 
> ...



What all of it? I don't replace things like cameras and laptops that often!


----------



## Firky (Jun 16, 2013)

Global Stoner said:


> What all of it? I don't replace things like cameras and laptops that often!


 

No, I mean things like phones, tablets and for me at least: cameras. I've had a D50, D80, D300, and several compact digitals in the last 5 years.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jun 16, 2013)

Most people do not do this.


----------



## editor (Jun 16, 2013)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Most people do not do this.


 
This isn't a "most people" product.


----------



## Firky (Jun 16, 2013)

FridgeMagnet said:


> Most people do not do this.


 

But most people on contracts do upgrade their phones every 18 months to two years.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jun 16, 2013)

Firky said:


> But most people on contracts do upgrade their phones every 18 months to two years.


They don't also tend to buy three DSLRs and multiple compacts. And the reason they upgrade is because it's subsidised by the networks to get them to renew their contract. It isn't some standard behaviour with technology, much as camera manufacturers wish it was.


----------



## Firky (Jun 16, 2013)

I don't like to be made out to be some kind of consumerist freak


----------



## editor (Jun 16, 2013)

FridgeMagnet said:


> They don't also tend to buy three DSLRs and multiple compacts. And the reason they upgrade is because it's subsidised by the networks to get them to renew their contract. It isn't some standard behaviour with technology, much as camera manufacturers wish it was.


 
I'd wager that the sort of people who might buy this phone may be the sort of people who'll be tempted by a substantially upgraded version in two years time. The phone fills a a pretty obvious niche to me and I can see it doing reasonably well.


----------



## skyscraper101 (Jun 16, 2013)

I still reckon that the lifespan of the camera will outlast that of the phone, so if you look at it less of a 2-in-1 device, and more of a standalone camera which has the novelty of being able to swap you sim card into, and leave your main phone back at home while doing outdoors-y stuff, then its not a bad device at all.


----------



## FridgeMagnet (Jun 16, 2013)

I really don't think there's much of an untapped market segment here tbh. It's not as good as high-end compacts for taking photos but it will be priced similarly - and I'm not sure that there will be nice upgrade deals for it either (and even if they are, that means that people will buy it at the end of the current contract, not now). There are certainly people who would like smartphone connectivity directly tied to a better lens but it takes a certain combination of "desire for image quality" and "desire for social media usage" that I don't think is very common outside of, basically, tech bloggers.


----------



## editor (Jun 16, 2013)

Photo journos will find a use for it, as might people working out in the field where they need to send back photos. It's a good tool for bloggers, estate agents, reviewers - I can think of loads of instances where I'd like to be able to take a pic and immediately upload it, with the option to edit it and add it to an article.

It's a pretty good camera too - certainly good enough for most everyday tasks outputting to a web site (unofficial pre release samples here).


----------



## editor (Jun 16, 2013)

This reader comment sums up the kind of person who might find this a useful purchase: 


> Ok, it's not the best phone, it's not pretty, and it's not an awesome camera, but this thing is gonna sell, cause there is people willing to buy it. My mother has a Galaxy Camara, and she loves it, why? She goes on vacations with just her camera, she can just point and shoot and get very decent pictures, she can communicate with us via whatssap or skype, check her mails, lookup stuff in the internet, play candy crush. She needs no extra phone, nor a Laptop or tablet, it's just perfect, sure there are better things for each specific use, but the combination of all is just incredibly practical.


http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/12/samsung-galaxy-s-4-zoom/


----------



## Kid_Eternity (Jun 16, 2013)

FridgeMagnet said:


> They don't also tend to buy three DSLRs and multiple compacts. And the reason they upgrade is because it's subsidised by the networks to get them to renew their contract. It isn't some standard behaviour with technology, much as camera manufacturers wish it was.


 

Yep. Tacking on gimmicks like an operating system to a camera isn't going to get people buying them every couple years. Most people (and you have to target most in a market like cameras given the competition at this tier) buy a camera and keep it until it breaks.


----------



## skyscraper101 (Jun 16, 2013)

I'd certainly look at this if my sony compact camera did break. I'm not necessarily after anything better, but being able to put a sim into it and even take calls would be very handy if I was going on a day out and wanted to travel as light as possible.

if you do that a lot, and regularly go out snapping with a compact camera then I can see a market for this.

It's a bit like the Asus Fonepad discussion. I like the idea of being able to take calls on the thing. Doesn't mean I'd want to do it all the time but at least the option is there if I felt like I wanted to go out with a tablet but not have to carry a phone around either. Sticking phone call ability on things is a good thing.


----------



## editor (Jun 17, 2013)

All cameras already have 'operating systems' and they're becoming more and more sophisticated, with some offering built in wi-fi, built in GPS, in-camera movie editing, filters, cropping etc, so basing a camera around something as popular and as versatile as Android is hardly a gimmick. In fact, it makes an awful lot of sense.


----------



## Firky (Jun 17, 2013)

I like having GPS in a camera but it is power hungry, it seems to eat the battery away of any compact camera with GPS. But oddly it doesn't appear to be a problem with mobile phones?


----------



## editor (Jun 17, 2013)

Samsung are also putting Android into their mirrorless cameras. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	










> The camera has a 4.3-inch display that on these pictures displays the Android Jelly Bean with Samsungs TouchWiz. The camera should feature a Exynos 4 Quad-Core-Processor with 2 GB RAM and 8 or 16 GB built-in storage (you can chose one or another). It has a 20.3 Megapixel APS-C sensor, records 1080p Full HD. Price should be around 1.000 Euro.


http://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/hot-first-images-of-the-samsung-galaxy-nx-mirrorless-system-camera/


----------



## beesonthewhatnow (Jun 17, 2013)

That makes more sense to be, in that there is plenty room to chuck a beefy battery in it, so you could use it all day without it dying.


----------



## Firky (Jun 17, 2013)

editor said:


> Samsung are also putting Android into their mirrorless cameras.
> 
> http://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/hot-first-images-of-the-samsung-galaxy-nx-mirrorless-system-camera/


 
I hope Nikon are watching this.


----------



## souljacker (Jun 17, 2013)

Firky said:


> I like having GPS in a camera but it is power hungry, it seems to eat the battery away of any compact camera with GPS. But oddly it doesn't appear to be a problem with mobile phones?


 

My s2 and iPhone both run down the battery quickly when I've got GPS running. The S2 especially. Even if its plugged into the car charger it still uses battery quicker than it can recharge.


----------



## skyscraper101 (Jun 17, 2013)

editor said:


> Samsung are also putting Android into their mirrorless cameras.


 
This is all good. The more things that can incorporate a SIM the better. Video cameras would be nice too, especially for demos using live stream etc.

You wouldn't necessarily want to take a phone call or make it your main phone but its just another way to increase usefulness, save on transferring files to a web/mobile enabled device and in the case of your main phone being low on battery, you could at least use these as a phone/text/web device.


----------



## Chz (Jun 22, 2013)

Agreed that an SLR-alike gets more use out of it. Its smaller sibling is just an average camera and an average phone with abominable battery life. The main problem with it (other than the battery life) is that it's quite ungainly as a mobile phone. You're going to end up with a second phone just so you don't have this lump in your pocket, thus defeating the entire purpose of the thing.

The majority of this audience will probably already be satisfied with the standard zoom-less cameras in most midrange and high-end smartphones. Otherwise, photography enthusiasts are going to want a more robust camera and smartphone enthusiasts are going to want a better phone. It satisfies almost no-one.

To quote someone on another forum:


> Who is any of this for? I know what I've always wanted on photo shoot with my current mirrorless camera is a quad core cpu and Android OS sucking away all my battery so that... it sucks away all my battery. Yeah.
> 
> Or a phone! I've always wanted my smartphone to be bigger and bulkier and have its specs hampered by shoving in a large collapsible zoom lens. A lens design noted for extreme distortion, softness, vignetting, and chromatic aberration.
> 
> I see Samsung isn't afraid to target extreme niches though. I'm sure there's at least dozens of people out there who would be terribly excited by these two products if they ever heard of them. Dozens!


----------



## editor (Jun 22, 2013)

Chz said:


> To quote someone on another forum:


They said that about the Note.


----------



## Chz (Jun 22, 2013)

Note's genius though. It was great when it was the Dell Streak, but it was slightly too early to market and Dell left it out to hang in the wind. Other than it's too big for a lot of people, it doesn't compromise anything. That is the problem with the Zoom - compromise. You can get the Note/Note 2 and you compromise *nothing*.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jun 22, 2013)

Other then using easily one handed. It's a tradeoff I make happily, but can see that it may frustrate some.


----------



## skyscraper101 (Jun 23, 2013)

But its Samsung. They're trying to corner every single niche of the market going. They've got the Note, S4, the S4 mini, the S4 waterproof, the Note 8.0. the Tab 3, and now the S4 with 16MP.

To their credit, they're just releasing as many variants of smart phones as possible and I can only see that as a win for the consumer. Everyone is different, and some people will like this, but undoubtedly more will like other models. Who'd have predicted a phablet would be so popular 3 years back? Without the note testing the water, perhaps nobody would have ever known.


----------



## Chz (Jun 23, 2013)

Again, the Dell Streak doesn't get its due. 
(I'm aware that it was shit, but that was a software and support issue. The hardware was *great*)


----------



## teuchter (Feb 12, 2014)

My battered Nokia N900 is pretty much on life support now and I'm going to have to look at getting a new phone.

I'm a little bit tempted by this one. It looks like you can get them for under £250 new now, less secondhand.

I used to take photos with an SLR before digital came on the scene. Then, as soon as one of my phones had a reasonable camera on it, I just started using that and pretty much dumped the SLR. Now, I don't think I'd be seen dead in public with an DSLR. Actually I hate how photography seems to have become infiltrated by people with too much money to spare who use massively over-specced cameras to take photos of their dinner for blog posts.

Anyway, the point is, my phone camera is my main camera. So I'd like a phone with a decent camera but I'm not too bothered about minor differences in quality amongst the better ones around. I think the effect of those differences on the end result are pretty insignificant relative to that of the photographer's competency.

However, the two main things I miss about my SLR are: proper zoom, and genuine manual control over speed, exposure, etc. This thing seems to offer both, unlike any other phone out there as far as I can see.

As long as I can browse the web and make phone calls I'm not too bothered about the spec of the phone. I don't want to play games or watch films on it or anything like that.

Maybe, though, in the time since this came out, other cheaper phone cameras can pretty much match it, in which case I should be looking at them.

Any thoughts?

(And no, I don't want to buy a compact camera and a phone separately. If it's not going to be in my pocket all the time, I'm not really interested.)


----------



## editor (Feb 12, 2014)

teuchter said:


> However, the two main things I miss about my SLR are: proper zoom, and genuine manual control over speed, exposure, etc. This thing seems to offer both, unlike any other phone out there as far as I can see.


Nokia Lumia 1020. 
http://connect.dpreview.com/post/5234892048/nokia-lumia-1020-camera-review


----------



## teuchter (Feb 12, 2014)

editor said:


> Nokia Lumia 1020.
> http://connect.dpreview.com/post/5234892048/nokia-lumia-1020-camera-review


I've been looking at that as well...however they seem to be on sale for £375+ whereas the Samsung one seems to be under £250.

I'm not so sure about the Windows OS either. And I'm still a bit annoyed with Nokia for abandoning those of us who had newly bought Maemo phones when they dumped the entire project.


----------



## editor (Feb 12, 2014)

teuchter said:


> I'm not so sure about the Windows OS either


It'll do most things you want it to, and it's unlikely to disappear any time soon. The camera is considerably better than Samsung's too.

(*edit to add: here's a comparative review - http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-6452_7-57595546/samsung-galaxy-s4-zoom-versus-nokia-lumia-1020/ )


----------



## Ted Striker (Feb 12, 2014)

I've got the zoom, was offered it as a feebie on an upgrade/extension, tho it's a spare phone owing to my preference of the Note 2.

It's not a bad phone (same as the rest of the Galaxy range), and I don't really have the eyes to tell the full difference in the shots, tho it is much better than the standard Note2 camera. It's pretty heavy (and weighted at the lens end) for a full time camera, though I'll love it when I swap it over if travelling etc.


----------



## teuchter (Feb 12, 2014)

editor said:


> The camera is considerably better than Samsung's too.



Having read several comparative reviews, I don't think it's quite as clear cut as that. It seems that the Nokia may be a little bit better overall but not in all aspects. I'm not sure the difference is proportionate to the 50% cost hike. 

My main concern about the Samsung is whether it would be annoyingly bulky/awkward.


----------



## editor (Feb 13, 2014)

I've used both cameras. The Samsung is such a bulky beast you may as well get a compact camera. The Nokia is a much more elegant solution, but if photographic quality is the overriding concern, I'd recommend you shell out for a decent camera with wifi connectivity.


----------



## alpha slappa (Feb 13, 2014)

Ted Striker said:


> I've got the zoom, was offered it as a feebie on an upgrade/extension, tho it's a spare phone owing to my preference of the Note 2.
> 
> It's not a bad phone (same as the rest of the Galaxy range), and I don't really have the eyes to tell the full difference in the shots, tho it is much better than the standard Note2 camera. It's pretty heavy (and weighted at the lens end) for a full time camera, though I'll love it when I swap it over if travelling etc.



And the zoom retract all the way in when not in use?


----------



## Ted Striker (Feb 14, 2014)

alpha slappa said:


> And the zoom retract all the way in when not in use?


Not all the way, It still stands about 10mm proud of the rear case


----------



## teuchter (Feb 18, 2014)

Well I might regret it but I've gone and ordered one. Had a look at one in the flesh in a Samsung floor and although it's a bit bulky I'm hoping I'll just get used to it. Luckily I am coming from a fairly chunky phone rather than one of these newfangled thin ones.

The Nokia 1020 looks good, but I found an offer at Asda direct where you can get an S4 zoom and a Galaxy Tab S3 7" for £289 all in.

Once I've sold the Tab S3 on ebay I should have gotten hold of the Samsung phone for less than half the price the Nokia would have been.


----------



## skyscraper101 (Feb 18, 2014)

Nice teuchter - send updates on how you get on.


----------



## oneunder (Apr 23, 2015)

£129 in dabs unlocked..


----------



## editor (Apr 23, 2015)

oneunder said:


> £129 in dabs unlocked..


That is a bargain!


----------



## oneunder (Apr 23, 2015)

yeah..will write up a bit when it arrives..


----------



## teuchter (Apr 23, 2015)

had mine for a while now. It's ok - but problems have been:

There's a piece of transparent plastic just over where the lens cover closes. Wierd design - why bother with the openable lens cover thing when it's under the plastic so offering no extra protection to the lens 

Anyway, dust managed to get in under this transparent bit, so I removed it. Doesn't seem to have been any downside to this, but now there is a speck of dust inside of the lens itself, which there's no means of removing.

Also, had some problems with image files getting corrupted. Look fine for a bit but then you go back to look at them and they have grey blocks obscuring them. Some inconclusive research suggested that the problem might be to do with writing to memory card. So now have been saving all photos to phone memory which is a bit annoying as I now have limited space (defeats purpose of memory card).


----------



## oneunder (Apr 23, 2015)

oh !  bad one..	i ordered one because my s3 mini is corrupting my pics..  i ordered a giff gaff pay as you go sim to try it out..	ill return it if i run into problems
cheers teuchter.  x


----------



## teuchter (Apr 23, 2015)

The photo corruption is quite a serious problem, seems to happen with various Samsungs. Not good when you can't trust your phone to keep your photos safe, especially if you use it for work purposes.


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 23, 2015)

Not ideal, but I guess you could have it upload them online as a backup?


----------



## oneunder (Apr 24, 2015)

Really easy fix  for corrupted photos..	
http://sentryytech.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/fix-corrupted-jpegs-made-by-samsung.html

ha ha somebody is taking advantage
http://www.samsungphotorecovery.net/


----------

