We are just a few days away from the launch of the Galaxy S24 series and with it the S24 Ultra, Samsung's flagship phone in 2024. It will almost certainly have Samsung's best camera, and it should. The main competitor to Google's Pixel 8 Pro in this department.
Or at least that's the story in the United States. Buyers in other parts of the world have always had some additional options thanks to big Chinese smartphone makers, and December's Vivo X100 Pro just set the bar pretty high for smartphone photography of this generation. The only question now is whether Samsung has anything else to match Vivo's impressive offering, especially when it comes to telephoto lenses.
If you are not familiar with Vivo, it is one of the leading manufacturers in the Chinese and Asian market with limited expansion in Europe. Above all, it made a name for itself thanks to the phenomenal photography of its flagship X-series phones, thanks in part to its long-standing partnership with lens maker Zeiss.
The X100 Pro is no exception. It includes a triple rear camera system where each of the three sensors offers a resolution of 50 MP.
I spent most of December visiting my partner's family in Macau and China, and I couldn't be happier to have the X100 Pro with me. Whether I was photographing the fluorescent casino signs in Macau, the frozen mountain landscape of northern China, or the endless food photography, wherever I go, Vivo has always lived up to my expectations.
The main camera is surprisingly impressive, powered by Sony's popular 1-inch IMX989 sensor, which can capture more light than smaller sensors, helping the phone perform in low-light conditions. The ultra-wide camera is also impressive, matching the main camera in pixel count and using a relatively wide aperture of f/2.0.
Both do a great job with low-light photography, especially when it comes to dynamic range, capturing highlights without blinding or exaggerating them while preserving detail in the dark. Each will face the equivalent of the Pixel 8 Pro or the S23 Ultra. But that's not what makes the X100 Pro so special, nor a contender for Samsung's next flagship.
Ultra phones have always had a lot going for them, including size, S Pen support, and overall camera prowess. But since launching the first S20 Ultra four years ago, Samsung has put a little more emphasis on those phones' telephoto capabilities, starting with the first impressive, if unreliable, 100x "cosmic zoom" phone.
According to rumors, it will be the same this year. The S24 Ultra's main and ultra-wide-angle lenses are expected to be similar to those on the 2023 edition, but the company is updating its telephoto lenses by switching to a pair of 3x and 5x zoom lenses. The latter may seem like a step down from the S23 Ultra's 10x periscope, but it will be upgraded to a much higher 50MP resolution, and if it includes a larger aperture and larger sensor, it could represent a significant improvement.
However, it is not clear whether this will be enough to make Samsung's flagship the best on the market. Oppo made headlines this week by announcing the Find
With a 4.3x zoom equivalent to a 100mm focal length, the X100 Pro's single telephoto lens sits halfway between the S23 Ultra's 3x and 10x lenses. However, it's capable of digital zoom at the same 100x level as the Samsung and, more importantly, looks great at all times.
This is partly due to improved stabilization technology that keeps photos stable and detailed, especially in low light conditions, where most telephoto lenses tend to struggle. Admire the sharp edges of the neon signs in these night photographs taken with a 4.3x zoom, where you can see every detail of each light and the details of the dark exteriors of the buildings, but even the night sky remains completely black. "ink..
More importantly, the zoom lens can change its focal point, creating beautiful bokeh. This means it can do double duty as a macro shooter, and when you frame photos you can choose exactly where you want the focus to be, choosing to blur the background, foreground or foreground with the optional slider in the main UI. . so you can adjust the focus manually.
The best example is these two shots, taken in exactly the same position with the telephoto lens at its 4.3x optical length, but selecting focus on each of the two plates in turn. Note in particular that in the second case, although the background container is the focal point, the background behind it is still blurred; It's not just about the focus set, but about the exact depth, the right focus point that I wanted, which is all. before and after fades.
Make no mistake, this is not a perfect camera. You can see in the photos above that changing focus has an immediate effect on brightness, and this is where the sensor sometimes struggles. Sometimes photographs become too dark and warm, especially with indoor lighting: this yellow color is sometimes accentuated.
Although it is without a doubt the best telephoto lens I have ever used on a phone. It's so good that I often find myself using the telephoto lens on the main sensor and reframing photos with that lens instead of just using the regular camera. This is absurd, unheard of. There's no other phone that has a telephoto lens on par with a flagship shooter, let alone one where it could be even better.
All three lenses are supported by the Vivo V3 imaging chip, which works with the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chip to handle the processing side of the equation. That Dimensity chip may be the phone's biggest downfall, probably the reason for the iffy battery life across the board, but if the X100 Pro+ arrives later this year with the rumored Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 inside, the next Vivo's phone might be hard to beat. A hit
We'll have to wait a week to find out what Samsung brings with the S24 Ultra, but Vivo has thrown down the gauntlet and its sister company Oppo is not far behind. Samsung will have to do everything possible if it does not want to give up the throne.
