Longest trunk. Review of the smartphone Samsung Galaxy K Zoom. Sample photos and videos

The second and almost successful attempt to cross a compact camera and a smartphone

A year ago, Samsung introduced the world to a compact camera-smartphone hybrid with the Galaxy S4 zoom. Unlike other solutions on the verge between smartphones and compacts that used a smartphone only as a display (Sony QX10 and Sony QX100), this attempt was their direct crossing, in which the camera and smartphone work side by side and cannot live without each other. Despite the interesting idea, we could not call that implementation successful, because there were many flaws in it - both in terms of ergonomics and in terms of positioning. Let's see what mistakes Samsung took into account and what conclusions they made.

Recall that in the Galaxy S4 zoom review, we decided to speculate a little about unsuccessful design decisions when creating a device of this kind: a pseudo-chamber shape and extra physical controls created for convenience, but in fact achieving the opposite effect. And just looking at the K zoom, it's nice to note that some points have been significantly improved, which means that in terms of ergonomics, the camera is more adapted to everyday use. But first things first.

Characteristics

Appearance

	The lens traditionally reports its characteristics: 24-240mm f / 3.1-6.3. Also in front are a xenon flash, an autofocus illuminator eye and a speaker.
	From the display side, there are practically no differences from the Galaxy S5, except for the size.
	On top are the power button, shutter button, as well as the volume rocker, which is responsible for zooming in camera mode.
	At the bottom are a cover for the memory card slot and an eyelet for a hand strap, which is diagonally opposite to the shutter button, which is not always convenient. The microSD slot is deep in the case, and even with thin fingers, you will have to try to get the card to “snap” into the slot.
	On the right are the Micro-USB connector (for charging and data transfer) and a microphone.
	On the left is a headphone jack and a second microphone.
	When closed, the lens, as before, is covered with a protective glass, so you can not be afraid to damage the shutters or the lens. Although when using a smartphone, the hand practically does not touch the lens anyway.
	The battery moved under the front panel of the camera (the back panel of the smartphone), which became removable for K zoom.
	Under the battery is a micro-SIM card slot.

Screen

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Samsung Galaxy K zoom, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen at K zoom is even slightly darker (brightness from photographs is 82 versus 85 for Nexus 7). The doubling of reflected objects in the K zoom screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the screen layers. Note that the outer mineral glass in the case of screens with an OLED matrix will perform a double protective function - from mechanical damage and from atmospheric oxygen, which can quickly oxidize organic light emitting diodes. Better protection against oxygen diffusion than mineral glass, apparently, has not yet come up with, which is holding back the development of truly flexible OLED screens. Due to the smaller number of borders (glass-air type) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. On the outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy K zoom screen, there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, slightly better than Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

When displaying a white field in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 245 cd/m², the minimum was 4 cd/m². Despite the low brightness value, good anti-glare properties help maintain some readability even in bright daylight. You also need to take into account the fact that in this case the smaller the white area on the screen, the lighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. For example, when outputting white on half the screen, the maximum brightness with manual adjustment rises to 260 cd/m². The low brightness mode allows you to use the device without problems even in complete darkness. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front speaker). You can make adjustments to the operation of this function by moving the adjustment slider from -5 to +5 units. Next, for three conditions, we present the screen brightness values ​​for three values ​​of this setting - for −5, 0 and +5. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness decreases to 5, 8 and 12 cd / m², respectively (dark, but something is visible), in an office lit by artificial light (about 400 lux), the brightness is set to 60, 120 and 200 cd / m² (just right), in a brightly lit environment (corresponding to a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) - rises to 245, 345 and 345 cd / m². The last two values ​​are greater than the maximum for manual adjustment, and this brightness should be enough to provide some readability even in the sun. In principle, the result of the automatic brightness adjustment function is as expected. When the brightness is lowered, modulation appears at a frequency of 240 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for several brightness settings:

It can be seen that at maximum and close to it, there is practically no modulation (the amplitude is insufficient for visual distinguishability of flicker), but at medium and low brightness, the relative amplitude of the modulation is high, so image flicker can be seen in the test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement . Depending on individual sensitivity, such flickering can cause increased fatigue.

This smartphone uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphoto:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer considers the screen resolution based on green subpixels, on the other two it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this variant is similar to the variant, for example, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S3 screen. This version of PenTile RGBG is somewhat worse than the new one with rhombic subpixels, implemented, for example, in the Samsung Galaxy S5. It is worse in that the visibility of artifacts in the form of some uneven contrasting borders is higher.

The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, although the white color at relatively large angles becomes a slight blue-green tint, but the black color is just black at any angle (although the reflection from bright objects has a bluish halo, more horizontally elongated, because of which in the light, black areas may lighten slightly and acquire a "metallic" tint). The black here is so black that the contrast setting is simply not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is excellent. For comparison, here are photographs in which the same images are displayed on the screens of the Samsung Galaxy K zoom and the second comparison participant, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to about 200 cd / m², and the color balance on the camera was forcibly switched to 6500 K.

We note the excellent uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture:

The color reproduction is clearly not bad, but with all the conventionality of assessing colors from a photograph, it can be seen that the colors of the Galaxy K zoom are clearly “colder” and have too high saturation. In this case, the saturation is due precisely to the excessive saturation of the primary colors, and not to software image correction. As proof, here is a test photo with a smooth increase in saturation from bottom to top:

The visibility of narrow horizontal stripes with maximum saturation is good even in the upper part of the test image, that is, the saturation is not artificially increased, but is a side effect of the technology used.

Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen. White field:

The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed is doubled compared to the previous two photos), but in the case of Samsung, the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the Galaxy K zoom screen visually looks much brighter (compared to LCD screens), since you often have to look at the screen of a mobile device at a small angle. And a test picture:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of Samsung at an angle is noticeably higher.

Switching the state of the matrix elements is almost instantaneous, but at the on (and less often off) front there may be a step (or two) with a width of 16.7 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, the dependence of brightness on time looks like this when moving from black to a grayscale of 25% (according to the numerical value of the color):

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects, but in normal use it is difficult to see these artifacts. Rather, the opposite is true - dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “twitchiness” of movements.

The gamma curve constructed from 32 points with an equal interval according to the numerical value of the shade of gray did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.40, which is higher than the standard value of 2.2. In this case, the real gamma curve deviates little from the power dependence:

Recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for light images in general and increases for dark ones. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) most likely does not correspond slightly to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential grayscale output almost on the entire screen.

The color gamut is very wide:

The spectra of the components are very well separated:

Note that on screens with a wide color gamut, the colors of normal images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. This can be seen in the photos above. Unfortunately, in this case, the manufacturer "forgot" (we looked through all the settings menu items and pre-installed programs in search of the desired setting) to add the option to select a profile with reduced saturation, so the Galaxy K zoom owner will have to explain why the faces look carrot red when showing photos. .

The balance of shades on the gray scale is mediocre, since the color temperature is above the standard 6500 K, and the deviation from the black body spectrum (ΔE) is more than 10, which is considered an unacceptable indicator even for a consumer device. At the same time, ΔE varies greatly from shade to shade - this negatively affects the visual assessment of color balance. (The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance does not matter much there, and the measurement error of color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

Let's summarize. The screen has an acceptable maximum brightness and a very effective anti-glare filter, so the device can most likely be used outdoors on a sunny summer day without any problems. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is acceptable, and in bright light you even need to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works more or less adequately. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating and the advantages common to OLED: true black, excellent white field uniformity, less than LCD, the drop in image brightness when viewed from an angle. The disadvantages are screen brightness modulation that appears at medium and low brightness values, excessive color saturation and far from ideal color balance. This is hardly the best option for a "photographic" device.

Smartphone part

The main characteristics of the device are given in the comparative table. It is not so easy to single out a smartphone from K zoom that is similar to any of the existing ones, so the comparative table shows, first of all, camera phones, as well as smartphones that have something in common with it.

Based on the data in the table, and also taking into account the current prices for smartphones, we can estimate that the price of the smartphone part of K zoom is no more than 15,000 rubles. Yes, the competitors in the table are not new, and at the start of sales they cost under 30,000 rubles, but we are more or less interested in the real cost, and not the price at the peak of the hype. We will take this assessment into account in further reasoning and conclusions after studying the photo part.

Interface and features of work

According to the first sensations in the hands, the coating of the case is pleasant, and definitely better than the glossy plastic of the Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom. Of course, it would be nice if the cover looked more like a “plastic skin”, like the Galaxy Camera 2 and Note 3, but it was probably necessary to follow the general style of the fifth series devices. Therefore, the front surface of the camera is made of perforated plastic, like the Galaxy S5 (only without the “soft-touch” coating), which the people have already dubbed “band-aid” or “Zhiguli ceiling”. We would like to stand up for the manufacturer and note that although the coating is not so pretty in appearance, it is pleasant to the touch and does not evoke any associations with the patch, even visual ones. Apparently, in reality, much looks different than in the pictures.

The smartphone has added a little in thickness, but it looks more natural and balanced. It looks like a completely finished device, and not an engineering model, like last time: the design of the S4 zoom was, to put it mildly, unsuccessful. The shaft of the lens protrudes from the body quite a bit. The all-white front and all-black back also complete the look: the S4 zoom had white bezels around the display. As you can already see, the smartphone lacks a tripod socket, which can hardly be considered a big loss, as well as a protrusion under the right hand for a more comfortable grip, which did not make much sense. Among other things, following our recommendations and common sense, Samsung removed the zoom ring from the lens, which was completely out of place on a device of this format. Now, from the physical controls, only a small shutter button and a volume rocker responsible for zooming remain.

You can quickly turn on the camera only from the lock screen, which takes about three seconds. You can also launch the camera application from the desktop through the corresponding icon or by long pressing the shutter button. This ends the ways to turn on the camera. If the smartphone was turned off in camera mode, then, of course, when turned on, it will immediately launch the camera application. In this case, combat readiness can be expected in four seconds. Ideally, of course, I would like the camera to start up as quickly as the lock screen appears when you press the power button - in a second. By making allowance for the work of the mechanics that opens the lens, you can add another second. As a result, two seconds is a good result for such a camera. In fact, with practice, you can get the hang of turning on the camera in two seconds, while first starting the stopwatch with one of your hands. That is, the result is practically achievable, then everything rests on the capabilities of the smartphone - awakening and turning on the lens. Well, here it is quite possible to praise the manufacturer for such a significant improvement.

The interface has undergone many changes - in general, rather positive.

All manual mode settings are now moved to the top (previously they were located on the side of the sensor dials around the shutter button), which is very convenient, especially considering that hardly anyone will use manual mode in this device, since, thanks to discrete shutter speeds and only two aperture values, there is practically no sense in it. The settings for these parameters are duplicated in the settings menu, which has also undergone many changes and has become wider: several parameters have been added, both interesting and useless. For example, the remote viewfinder mode is hardly relevant for a camera that does not even have a tripod socket.

In general, it would be nice to divide the menu into two blocks - the necessary parameters and useless rarely used ones, since items that are not needed often adjust, only clutter up the menu.

An interesting function "Virtual tour" appeared in the modes. It allows you to create videos that resemble the promotion of Yandex panoramas. Thus, you can record the route or shoot the interior.

Video playback

We have tested the capabilities of the camera phone for playing video files - both when displaying an image on the screen of the device, and using the MHL interface. In the latter case, we used the monitor LG IPS237L, which supports direct MHL connection using a passive Micro-USB to HDMI cable. Recall that Samsung has implemented its own version of this interface at the physical level. As a result, to connect an external device via MHL, you need to use special adapters or connect standard MHL adapters through simple passive adapters.

In this case, we conducted the test using a proprietary Samsung adapter, while MHL output was carried out at a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels at 60 fps. When a photo smartphone is in portrait orientation, the image is also displayed on the monitor screen in portrait orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the screen boundaries in height, and wide black fields are displayed on the right and left.

In this case, the actual resolution on the screen of the monitor is, of course, lower than the resolution on the screen of the Samsung Galaxy K zoom. With landscape orientation K zoom, the image is displayed on the monitor screen in landscape orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed in the boundaries of the screen and exactly matches the image on the screen of the device itself:

The exception is the start screen, which is displayed only in portrait orientation. The sound is output via MHL (in this case, the sounds were heard through the headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and has a good quality. At the same time, at least, multimedia sounds are not output through the Samsung Galaxy K zoom speaker, and the volume is controlled by the buttons on the device case. MHL connection provides battery charging.

The video output deserves a special description. To begin with, using a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Methods for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”), we checked how the video is displayed on the screen of the Samsung Galaxy K itself zoom. Screen shots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped to determine the nature of the output frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied from 1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels and a frame rate of 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps. In this test, we used the MX Player video player in Hardware mode. The results of this (block titled "Samsung Galaxy K zoom screen") and the following test are tabulated:

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Passes green ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven interleaving and dropping frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the respective files.

According to the criteria for displaying frames, the quality of video files playback on the screen of the device itself is very high, since frames (or groups of frames) can be displayed with even intervals and without frame drops. However, uniform frame interleaving is a relatively unstable state, since some external and internal background processes lead to a rare failure of the correct interleaving of intervals between frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1280 by 720 (720p) on the Samsung Galaxy K zoom screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the screen border, one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution (adjusted for some PenTile features). The brightness range displayed on the screen corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - all gradations of shades are displayed in the shadows and in the highlights. However, dark scenes may not look very good, as the darkest shades are too different in color tone, which can lead to excessive visibility of compression artifacts.

With a monitor connected via MHL, when playing video with a standard player, the image of the video file is displayed only in landscape orientation, while only the picture of the video file is displayed on the monitor, and only information elements and virtual controls are displayed on the screen of the mobile device (which disappear after a few seconds, and until the next touching the screen, only a dark picture-pictogram in the center is displayed).

The results of the monitor output tests are shown in the table above in the "MHL (monitor output)" block. The output quality is very good. When playing video files with a resolution of 1280 by 720 (720p) on the monitor screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen while maintaining true proportions, and the resolution corresponds to 720p. The brightness range displayed on the monitor is not equal to the standard range of 16-235, since in the shadows and in the highlights many shades are indistinguishable from black and white, respectively. Also, depending on the brightness range selected in the monitor settings, either black is brighter than true black or white is dimmer than true white. As a result, both the detailing of dark and light areas of the image and the contrast are reduced.

The conclusion is typical - the MHL connection can be used for games, viewing photos and movies (with the ability to get normal color saturation), displaying web pages and other activities that benefit from a multiple increase in screen size. True, you will have to purchase an adapter specifically for Samsung or find an appropriate adapter, as well as put up with the above shortcomings in the brightness balance.

Image quality

Since K zoom is a camera phone, we decided to test its camera according to the method for mobile devices. And he showed himself not so bad: the result is generally slightly worse than that of Camera 2, but here it is worth remembering that K zoom is more like a smartphone, and Camera 2 is more like a compact camera. Therefore, in what follows we will treat Camera 2 more strictly than K zoom, but we will try to be objective. Also, do not forget that, unlike K zoom, smartphones do not have an optical zoom, so they may well give a sharper picture.

The camera passes the standard light sensitivity test well.

ISO 100
ISO 200
ISO 400
ISO 800
ISO 1600
ISO 3200

And this is where some very interesting things begin. In general, the K zoom performs worse than the Camera 2, but it performs better at the lowest ISO settings, including ISO 400.

In manual mode, the camera, like the S4 zoom, offers only two apertures, so it can be assumed that instead of aperture, one neutral filter is used, which, by the way, does not work at all focal lengths and does not allow you to “close” the aperture. The resolution graphs in the center and at the edge of the frame also do not contradict this hypothesis. The quality of the optics is not high and is very similar to the Camera 2 lens. The behavior of the resolution depending on the focal length is strange, but generally natural: the resolution decreases with increasing focal length. In this case, a certain dip in the edge dependence at medium focal lengths with a subsequent rise seems strange.

In general, in absolute terms, K zoom behaves almost the same as Camera 2.

frame center
Focal length	f/3.1	f/9.0
25 mm
	f/4.1	f/11.6
49 mm
	f/5.2	f/14.8
100 mm
	f/6.3	f/18.2
217 mm
Frame edge
Focal length	f/3.1	f/9.0
25 mm
	f/4.1	f/11.6
49 mm
	f/5.2	f/14.8
100 mm
	f/6.3	f/18.2
217 mm

Geometry is not so good. The right edge of the frame has a pronounced barrel-shaped appearance, which is observed at all focal lengths. Therefore, the fragments are shown on the left side, which behaves more naturally. At minimum focal lengths, the left edge demonstrates a small “barrel”, which at medium focal lengths is replaced by a “cushion”, gradually decreasing towards maximum ones. It can also be noted once again that a closed aperture slightly worsens sharpness.

At some focal lengths, slight chromatic aberrations can be noticed, which are rather the exception.

Focal length	f/3.1	f/9.0
25 mm
	f/4.1	f/11.6
49 mm
	f/5.2	f/14.8
100 mm
	f/6.3	f/18.2
217 mm

Video

An interesting feature of the camera is the ability to shoot 1920×1080 video at 60 frames per second. In fact, such a video does not visually differ much from 30 frames per second - the picture also ripples, although a little less, but the freeze frames show that the blur has noticeably decreased.

With the ability to display up to three functions on the sidebar, you can now monitor the multi-motion mode: the icon displays the acceleration factor, which virtually eliminates shooting in the wrong mode by mistake. Previously, sometimes there were situations when, when shooting a video, you completely forget that slowdown is enabled or, even worse, acceleration. As a result, the video turned out to be corrupted, and it was already impossible to fix it.

The camera does not have enough light sensitivity when shooting video, so the picture will be darkish in low light.

Outcome

The camera showed only satisfactory image quality, but making allowance for the wind and allowance for relative compactness, we can conclude that in fact it is not so bad. If we consider K zoom as the result of work on the bugs, then it can be rated at five, without a plus.

Despite the low quality of the pictures, the device left mostly positive impressions. Yes, the camera often failed with soapy contours or unpleasant blurring at the edges, although sometimes good shots came across. The problems are most likely the result of design flaws in the optical system, because the sharpness in the center was often not so bad. If at the edges of the frame it at least remained the same, then the camera could be safely praised. However, optics does not allow this. So, good image quality is not about her. On the other hand, this cannot be demanded of such a camera, although one can strive for this. In any case, Samsung is on the right track, which means that it is quite possible to count on improving the quality of shooting of such a device in its subsequent modifications.

If in the case of the S4 zoom we had plenty of wishes for improvement, then in this case we should think about it. Of course, it would be great to correct imperfections in the lens so that the sharpness is uniform across the frame. In this case, we would have a really good compact camera with good image quality for a compact, and even with a smartphone. If we focus on the quality of images, then we still need to improve the quality of optics, which, undoubtedly, would entail an increase in cost. And now the price of K zoom reaches 26 thousand rubles, and with good optics it would have completely exceeded 30. And if you can still put up with a price of just over 20 thousand rubles for such a device, then the cost in the region of 30 thousand already seems unjustified. Of course, everything depends on who sets what tasks for himself.

Here we digress a little and traditionally speculate about the price. Analogues of K zoom in terms of shooting quality can be found among compact cameras costing 3000-5000 rubles, or even cheaper (without delving into the pricing policy of individual stores). A tenfold zoom has long ceased to be something unusual, and the compact ultrazoom that has it is no longer considered. And consequently, the price of such cameras is usually low. Next, let's remember the smartphone part of the device, which we estimated at 15 thousand rubles. Without further ado, we add these two numbers, and even making a small markup “for the brand”, we find that the cost of K zoom should clearly be below 20,000 rubles. It seems that if you add a good lens here, the cost could be put within the limits of 25,000 rubles, but this is already pure theorizing. Meanwhile, the declared cost of the universal Samsung device is again higher than its two components separately, which again makes one think about the appropriateness of such a purchase. At the same time, you can also notice that the autonomy of both devices, enclosed in one case, suffers. But there is no limit to perfection, and it is quite possible to increase the battery - it would be the desire of the manufacturer.

It is also worth understanding that we have a camera phone of a slightly different plan than, for example, Nokia Lumia 1020, where the emphasis was on the quality of the pictures. In this case, the key feature of the camera is not the image quality, but the optical zoom (it cannot be said that without loss of quality). These two concepts quite clearly divide people into two types:

• those who care about taking a picture of high quality - or not at all (Nokia Lumia 1020);
• those for whom it is more important to take a picture at least somehow than not to take a picture at all (Samsung Galaxy K zoom).

As a ready-made solution, this device can still be recommended only to those who do not need high quality images. Whether you are satisfied with its quality or not - everyone will determine for himself.

And we, in turn, will wait for the next Galaxy zoom and hope that Samsung will still try to fix the remaining shortcomings. After all, it's a good start.

Samsung Galaxy K Zoom is a new model in a family of devices designed to "combine a horse and a quivering doe in one harness", that is, to create a smartphone that can completely replace a compact digital camera. And this, as we all perfectly understand, is impossible without the use of a zoom lens.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy K Zoom

If the previous model - Galaxy S4 Zoom - was essentially a budget-class phone, to which, for the sake of experiment, a camera with optical zoom was screwed, then Galaxy K Zoom is already a much more serious device. In particular, he received a screen with HD resolution, a sufficient amount of RAM and a fast Exynos 5 Hexa processor, which will be discussed in more detail below.

Appearance and design features

When viewed from the front, the Galaxy K Zoom can easily be confused with any other Samsung smartphone, such as the Galaxy S III: the same smooth outlines, rounded corners, a hardware home button below the screen...

This illusion, however, is shattered as soon as you turn the phone upside down: it turns out that behind it is a huge (by telephone standards) lens of the built-in camera and a xenon flash. The lens protrudes noticeably from the body of the device, so the smartphone lies at an angle on the table, and it looks a bit strange in a jeans pocket.

But in the hand of the Galaxy K Zoom lies nowhere better: a considerable thickness helps, and the lens protrusion serves as a good finger rest. At the same time, the front lens of the lens does not get dirty, because when folded it is covered with “petals”.

All side buttons are crowded on the right side: there are a dual volume key, a power / lock button and a camera key. On the left side there is a microSD card slot and a strap loop.

The battery capacity of the Galaxy K Zoom is 2430 mAh. By the way, the lid of the device (covered, like the Galaxy S5, with a pimply pattern) fits very tightly, so I personally managed to open it only at the cost of a broken nail.

Screen

The Galaxy K Zoom is equipped with a 4.8-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels and a PenTile sub-pixel arrangement. Previously, the same screen was used in the Samsung Galaxy S III. Unfortunately, it has almost all the "classic" disadvantages of previous generation AMOLED screens. The color gamut of the screen goes beyond the sRGB standard, which leads to excessive saturation and "toxicity" of colors. Add to this a very noticeable shift in color reproduction to the cold side - and you get a picture that is not very pleasant for the eyes. By the way, in Galaxy K Zoom, unlike SGS4 and SGS5, there are no switchable color rendering profiles (which are called “screen modes” in Samsung terminology), so even with a strong desire to moderate the riot of colors will not work.

The maximum screen brightness is only 251 cd/m 2 . The screen is noticeably dimmer than the Galaxy S5 - this can be clearly seen in the photo below:

Camera

Without a doubt, the camera is the key feature of the Galaxy K Zoom, its raison d'être. The smartphone is equipped with a 20-megapixel BSI-CMOS 1 / 2.33 "form factor, which works in conjunction with a 10x optical zoom lens (which has an equivalent focal length of 24-240 mm). True, to cram such a zoom into a smartphone, I had to sacrifice aperture, which is only f / 3.1 at wide angle and f / 6.3 at telephoto, so, ironically, when shooting in non-ideal lighting conditions, the Galaxy K Zoom provides the same quality as smartphones with smaller sensors, but faster Optics The smartphone is equipped with an optical image stabilizer, which will be very useful when shooting video handheld.

When unfolded, the lens protrudes noticeably from the body of the smartphone. It is quite comfortable to hold the device while shooting. Unlike "regular" Samsung smartphones, Galaxy K Zoom is equipped with a separate camera button, which personally seemed to me too "loose" (although this may be a feature of a particular test instance).

The camera interface is very close to that of the Galaxy S5. The only major difference is that the K Zoom has a P (program) mode that allows you to manually set the sensitivity and exposure compensation. The device allows you to select different modes of focusing and exposure compensation. In general, the Galaxy K Zoom has exactly the same opportunities for controlling photographic parameters as inexpensive “soap dishes”.

The smartphone perfectly shoots video, shooting videos in FullHD resolution with a refresh rate of 60 fps is supported. During video recording, zooming may occur.

The photo quality of the Galaxy K Zoom is generally in line with inexpensive compact cameras. Photos taken in good light have excellent detail in the center of the frame, but loss of sharpness is noticeable at the edges. At the extreme telephoto position, the situation is aggravated by the fact that the f/6.3 aperture initially lies beyond the diffraction threshold for a matrix of this size and resolution, in other words, the lens is physically unable to resolve the matrix.

Of course, having a 10x optical zoom makes the Galaxy K Zoom more flexible in a photographic sense than any other smartphone. For example, these two frames were taken from the same point in the wide and telephoto lenses:

performance and autonomy

The Samsung Galaxy K Zoom is equipped with a very interesting Exynos 5260 processor, which boasts Mali-T624 graphics, two ARM Cortex-A15 cores (1.7 GHz) and four Cortex-A7 cores (1.3 GHz). Interestingly, this processor supports Heterogenous Multi-Processing (HMP) technology, which allows the use of cores in any configuration, including all six at the same time. This chip, combined with 2 GB of RAM, demonstrates excellent performance and even slightly outperforms last year's Galaxy S4 in benchmarks, which used 4 Cortex-A15 cores and 4 Cortex-A7 cores, but without HMP support.

In terms of autonomy, the Galaxy K Zoom behaves like a typical Android smartphone: with active use, it lasts exactly one day with a small margin.

In the dry matter

The Samsung Galaxy K Zoom is a smartphone that combines tradition and innovation. The "traditions" include an outdated screen and a design typical for Samsung phones. In the “innovation” column, you can write down a very smart 6-core Exynos 5 Hexa processor and a camera unique for a phone.

Without a doubt, the Galaxy K Zoom is a niche device, but the smartphone is not without a certain charm. At least, personally I would use it with pleasure. Even rather big sizes in some sense benefit him: because of them, the device lies perfectly in the hand. And don't forget the convenience of a 10x zoom lens with optical image stabilization.

5 reasons to buy Samsung Galaxy K Zoom:

• excellent performance and high speed;
• camera with 10x optical zoom and optical image stabilization;
• good video quality and the possibility of smooth zooming during shooting;
• xenon flash;
• the best combination of smartphone and photographic capabilities on the market.

1 reason not to buy Samsung Galaxy K Zoom:

• questionable screen quality.

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As in 2013, Samsung is preparing to release several alternatives to its flagship Samsung Galaxy S5. It is already known that the announcement of the Mini version is waiting for us soon, about which we have already released the Zoom camera phone. The characteristics of the latter will be discussed in this note. Just yesterday, all the specifications of the device became known, and we will share them with you.

The photo shows the predecessor of the camera phone, but it is likely that the new version will not be much different in appearance, apart from the “bumpy” surface of the back cover.

Camera

One name "cameraphone" tells us that a smartphone is a hybrid of a camera and a modern phone. Thanks to the development of the Korean company's engineers, a smartphone with optical zoom became available last year, but in the new version we are waiting for improved hardware performance, as well as a software shell with extended functionality.

Unlike its predecessor, the smartphone received a main camera with a resolution of 19 megapixels, compared to 16 megapixels in the S4 version. The front camera received a photomodule with an indicator of 2 mega-pixels. Both the rear and front cameras can record video in Full HD with a resolution of 1920x1080.

Performance

The Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom received quite decent hardware, which, although not up to the flagship, can compete with most mid-range smartphones.

As a core, a six-core Exynos chip operating at a clock speed of 1.3 GHz was installed in the camera phone. The ARM Mali-T624 graphics accelerator is responsible for video processing. The amount of RAM, as in most top-end devices in 2014, is 2 GB. The device has 16 GB of flash memory for storing pictures and installing applications, and there is also a slot for installing microSD cards up to 64 GB. The display received HD resolution (1280 * 720) with a diagonal of 4.8 inches.

Platform and Applications

The latest generation Android (4.4 KitKat) was chosen as the operating system for the new Zoom. In addition to the branded launcher, the camera phone will receive a redesigned Camera application, which will give even more options to photography lovers. It is already known that the smartphone supports macro photography, many filters and the function of creating a 360-degree panorama.

Release date and price

Officially, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom has not yet been presented and it is premature to talk about the start of sales, but we can assume that our hero will hit the shelves within 1-2 months after the release of the flagship. It can also be assumed that the official price will not cross the threshold of 16 thousand rubles, as was the case with its predecessor, which went on sale last year.

Today, Samsung introduced another device that belongs to the top line of its smartphones - the new Galaxy K Zoom camera phone. The gadget is a direct successor and was supposed to receive the series number “S5”, but the Koreans decided to separate camera phones into a separate series.

The novelty received the usual design inherent in the brand's smartphones, but, nevertheless, began to look much more interesting than its predecessor. The back cover is made in the style of Samsung's new design round - the plastic is stylized as perforated leather, as we could see on the current flagship Galaxy S5. Here, in fact, their relationship can be traced. The model is presented in three colors: black, white and blue. According to preliminary data, the Galaxy K Zoom will appear at the end of May (starting from the 21st) and its price in Russia will be 24,990 rubles.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy K Zoom:

• Dimensions: 137.5 x 70.8 x 16.6 mm
• System: Android 4.4.2 KitKat
• Weight: 200 grams
• Display: 4.8-inch Super AMOLED, 1280 x 720 pixels, pixel density 306 ppi
• Main camera: 20.7 Megapixels, Xenon flash, F3.1-F6.3 aperture, 1/2.3-inch BSI CMOS sensor, focal length - 24-240 mm, 10x optical zoom, optical stabilization system, Full HD video recording (60 frames per second), various new camera modes
• Chipset: Exynos 5 Hexa
• Processor: 6-core - 2x ARM Cortex-A15 1.7GHz and 4x ARM Cortex-A7 1.3GHz
• Video: ARM Mali-T624
• RAM: 2 GB
• Internal memory: 8 GB (supports microSD memory cards up to 64 GB)
• Battery: 2430 mAh
• Communication technology: GSM, UMTS, FDD LTE, GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
• Wireless and wired connections: Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b, g, n, n 5GHz, NFC, MHL, USB 2.0

Contents of delivery:

• Camera
• Charger with USB cable
• Battery Li-Ion 2430 mAh
• Hand strap
• Instruction

Important preface. Since Samsung has only prototypes so far, it is impossible to evaluate the photo part on these devices, as well as to conduct a full-scale comparison with other devices. At the end of May, when commercial samples become available, we will update this first look and share more shots. Also on Friday there will be quite a lot of test shots from the prototype, they will give you an idea of ​​​​the capabilities of the camera - I think that this will be quite legitimate. At the moment, there are noises in a number of shooting modes, the picture is soapy. This is promised to be fixed for the commercial version. Keep this in mind when you evaluate certain pictures.

Positioning

Samsung is trying to emphasize that the Zoom line is a separate direction in the development of smart devices, a kind of hybrid of cameras and smartphones. The first generation of S4 Zoom did not make any splash - the camera was released in June 2013 and became a niche product. But even then the positioning of this device was clear - this is a camera for those who need good pictures that are possible in different conditions, the presence of a zoom, which became possible thanks to the built-in optics. The appearance of the Zoom line to some extent called into question the existence of such a product as the Galaxy Camera - why buy a smart camera on Android that cannot make calls, if you can buy a smartphone with similar characteristics, that is, a device that combines two directions at once.

Samsung Galaxy Camera 2

Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom

Many consumers say that image quality is very important to them, but everyone understands something different by this quality. The vast majority of people believe that photos should look great on the screen of the device, they do not care how these pictures look on the screen of a laptop or TV. Yes, and prints pictures today, a very small number of people.

Phone manufacturers are constantly improving the quality of PV modules, most common solutions use the Sony EXMOR module of one generation or another, they are considered the best. Optics plays a role, but given the limited height of the smartphone body, it is not possible to embed normal lenses. The Zoom line was created as an intermediate product between cameras and smartphones, that is, a device that takes the best of both worlds. Perhaps such a hybrid will be of interest to those who shoot a lot, do not want to carry two devices with them and are satisfied with the quality of pictures of modern phones, but still want to be able to use optical zoom. For cameras, having a zoom is a great thing that creates new opportunities for taking pictures, sometimes you can’t get closer, but you want to take a picture - there are many such situations, from a zoo to a photo of the other side of the road or building details.

The number of those who are fond of photography and do not have their own permanent camera is very small. The number of mirrorless cameras that do not have built-in NFC / Wi-Fi today is also rapidly declining - transferring instant pictures to a smartphone has long been no longer a difficult task. Therefore, the existence of such products as the Galaxy K Zoom raises questions, they are definitely not needed by the mass market, they are too expensive for it. For enthusiasts, this is an interesting toy, for the average consumer - a good but expensive camera that replaces a soap dish. There are scenarios in which such a solution wins (for example, reportage shooting and instant publication of images on the network), but there are very few of them. Just as the first S4 Zoom was not a niche solution for everyone, the second generation looks exactly the same. It is possible that by some miracle it can become widespread, but there are no serious prerequisites for this today.

Design, dimensions, controls

The ideology of this device completely repeats that of its predecessor - S4 Zoom. A fairly massive case - 137.5x70.8x16.6 (20.2) mm, weight 200 grams. In the Galaxy S4 Zoom, the size was smaller - 125.5x63.5x15.4 mm, weight 208 grams. But on the other hand, both products are such that you can put them in your jeans pocket, but they will stick out a lot. This is a typical size of a small soap dish, and not a smartphone at all.

Compared to Nokia 1020

I repeat my thought expressed a year earlier - the Zoom line is positioned closer to smartphones, this is an idea of ​​​​marketers that is harmful. A modern smartphone should easily fit in the pockets of clothes, and not only the top.

On the back of the device you can see the lens, there are no rotary rings, all control is automated - the lens itself extends when the camera is activated. On the right side is a paired volume rocker, a little lower is an on/off button, and below is a camera key. Silly, but you can’t activate shooting with the camera button, it was forbidden due to fear of damage to the lens if accidentally opened in a pocket or bag. This is logical, but still you expect that such an option should have been provided. Interestingly, in the menu you can choose to activate shooting when the device is turned on - that is, it turns out that we still come to the same thing we were struggling with, but the camera button is still not used.

A speaker is visible near the lens, to the left - a xenon flash. On the left side there is a slot for memory cards microSD, it is covered with a flap.

The back cover of the device is made under the Galaxy S5, but the material is completely different, it is ordinary plastic. The case does not have any protective properties, no special coating has been applied to it.

Compared to Samsung Galaxy S5

The lid is easy enough to open, inside you will see the battery, under it is a slot for a microSIM card. There are no complaints about the build quality, everything is pretty well fitted, which, however, is typical for Samsung.

On the front surface you can see the central key, it is mechanical, there are two touch buttons on the sides. Near the speaker is a front 2-megapixel camera, as well as a proximity sensor.

On the top end there is a 3.5 mm jack for a headset or headphones, one of the microphones is right there, the second one is on the bottom end, there is also a microUSB charging connector.

Display

The screen diagonal is 4.8 inches, and the resolution is 1280x720 pixels, which somewhat distinguishes the device from flagships with FullHD resolution. On the other hand, this is quite enough for comfortable work, the quality of the implementation of the SuperAMOLED screen does not cause any complaints. Just like the Galaxy S5, there is a maximum power saving mode that uses a gray color on the screen, which allows you to get more time. There are also a large number of settings, you can choose the color temperature, choose both brightness and color saturation to suit your perception. Samsung gives you the maximum control over the screens in their devices, but the default settings give a very bright, acidic picture, which you might not like. Everything is in your hands, you can change how the display will work. In the sun, the screen is visible well.

Battery

The phone has a 2430 mAh Li-Ion battery. When used only as a camera with the 3G / 4G module enabled, the device is able to work for a couple of days and take three hundred photos. If you actively use the smartphone component - call, write messages, communicate on social networks, then by the evening of the first day the device will ask for recharging. That's a little more than current flagships, but still not that great, especially for a hybrid device. If this is an addition to your smartphone, then the operating time is acceptable, if this is the main device, then it is clearly low - although it does not stand out from what other manufacturers or Samsung have on the market.

USB, Bluetooth, communication capabilities

Bluetooth. Bluetooth version 4.0 (LE). When transferring files to other devices that support this technology, Wi-Fi 802.11 n is used, and the theoretical transfer speed is about 24 Mbps. Checking the transfer of 1 GB of a file showed a maximum speed of about 12 Mbps within three meters between devices.

The model supports various profiles, in particular, Headset, Handsfree, Serial Port, Dial Up Networking, File Transfer, Object Push, Basic Printing, SIM Access, A2DP. Working with headsets does not raise any questions, everything is ordinary.

USB connection. USB version - 2, data transfer rate - about 25 Mb / s. When connected via USB, the device is charged.

The microUSB connector also supports the MHL standard, which means that using a special cable (available from electronics stores) you can connect your phone to a TV (to the HDMI output). In fact, the standard describes the ability to connect via microUSB to HDMI. This solution looks more preferable than a separate miniHDMI-connector on the case.

For GSM networks, EDGE class 12 is provided.

WiFi. 802.11 a/b/g/n is supported, the wizard is similar to that of Bluetooth. You can remember the selected networks, automatically connect to them. It is possible to set up a connection to the router with one touch, for this you need to press a key on the router, and also activate a similar button in the device's menu (WPA SecureEasySetup). Of the additional options, it is worth noting the setup wizard, it appears when the signal is weak or disappears. You can also set Wi-Fi to work on a schedule.

WiFi Direct. A protocol that aims to replace Bluetooth or compete with its third version (it also uses Wi-Fi version n to transfer large files). In the Wi-Fi settings menu, select the Wi-Fi Direct section, the phone starts searching for devices around. Select the desired device, activate the connection on it, and voila. Now in the file manager you can view files on another device, as well as transfer them. Another option is to simply find the devices connected to your router and transfer the necessary files to them, this can be done from the gallery or other sections of the phone. The main thing is that the device supports Wi-Fi Direct.

NFC. The device has NFC technology, it can be used with various additional applications.

S Beam. A technology that allows you to transfer a file of several gigabytes to another phone in a few minutes. In fact, we see in S Beam a combination of two technologies - NFC and Wi-Fi Direct. The first technology is used to bring and authorize phones, but the second is used to transfer the files themselves. The creatively redesigned way to use Wi-Fi Direct is much easier than using the connection on two devices, selecting files, and so on.

Memory, memory cards

The phone has 8 GB of internal memory, initially about 5 GB is available to the user. Memory cards up to 64 GB are also supported.

The amount of RAM is 2 GB, after downloading about 900 MB is free. This is sufficient for all applications.

Hardware platform

This device is the second from Samsung to use the 6-core Exynos 5260 processor, the first being the Galaxy Note 3 Neo. Let me remind you that the performance of Neo in comparison with the regular Galaxy Note 3 on Exynos was not amazing, and the operating time did not differ much. Exactly the same situation in the Galaxy K, the performance is noticeably lower than in the Galaxy S5, but at the level of conventional smartphones of the current generation. Not the fastest, but you can’t call it slow either - the only question is what you are used to.

The processor has 4 slow A7 cores with a frequency of up to 1.3 GHz, two fast A15 cores with a frequency of up to 1.7 GHz.

Below you can see the results of synthetic tests.

Software features - software for working with photos

I don’t know why they decided to abandon the name Galaxy S5 Zoom (it is present in some menus, as before), but in terms of software stuffing (Android 4.4.2) this is an almost complete copy of the Galaxy S5. It makes no sense to repeat all the features, especially since this is done in a separate material. Let's talk about new features related to photography.

The picture editor was renamed to Studio, and the ability to edit videos was added to it. It turned out pretty nice - the editor is rich in features and covers the needs of the vast majority of users.

But the Pro suggest market application is a completely different story, in it you can see both photos of other people and lessons on how to shoot a particular composition. Curiously, you can save individual "lessons", they will appear in your list. But the main thing is that by clicking on the camera icon, in one touch you will set everything up for shooting in exactly the same way as it is shown in the test picture. For example, when shooting a portrait, the camera itself will set all the optimal settings for this type of picture.

This program is not the first tutorial on photography in phones, perhaps for the first time something like this appeared about ten years ago in the CyberShot series from Sony Ericsson, but it never caught on. There is a trick here, it is that you can not only read how to take such a photo, but also try to take it right there. This increases the value of such a "tutorial", and it is assumed that there will be a lot of tips and you can download new ones. In my opinion, this option can really be considered interesting, and I hope that other manufacturers will take it into service.

The application also has a certain social component, your name is shown in the list (linked to Samsung Account), when you post a photo, you increase the level. What advantages this gives you personally is not yet very clear. But in the future, something similar will be on all photo solutions from Samsung that work on Android.

It remains to say what comes free with this device - the Vine service has prepared a special version of the application so that it uses the zoom capabilities when creating 6-second videos. Traditionally, a 50 GB and two-year subscription is issued in DropBox (for new users only). Up to 1 TB of space in Bitcasa for 3 months, which is not so interesting. On the Blurb app, you get a $5 coupon to print your photo album. The Fast Burst Camera app is free for 3 months (must be downloaded) and allows you to capture up to 30 shots per second. Picsplay Pro is also free for 3 months and contains about 200 filters. And finally, the Share Lens program for broadcasting pictures in real time.

Camera - shooting options

The focal length of the lens is 4.4-44 mm, the aperture is from 3.1 to 6.3. 10x optical zoom (same as previous model). The camera module is not very expensive, it is a 1/2.3 inch BSI matrix, exactly the same one used in Sony Z1/Z2. The presence of a normal lens is leveled by a small matrix, which is inherent in smartphones, not cameras, this is the biggest drawback of this device. The maximum image resolution is 20.7 megapixels.

The ISO value is from 100 to 3200. Interestingly, in most cases, the device tends to set low ISO values, and rightly so. I also want to note separately that the device works out the white balance well, which is unexpected for such a camera.

For most users of the device, it makes no sense to manually set the ISO value, in most cases, the automation works out everything correctly. The working ISO remains 800, then the blurring of the picture is clearly visible.

Of the curious innovations, it is worth noting separate focusing and exposure, you can click on the image on the screen, and then after focusing, select another part of the image, on which the exposure will be set. An example of how this works can be seen in our .

And this is how the optical zoom function works, it is interesting in most situations, except for certain scenarios. First and foremost, the maximum zoom cannot be used with smart modes, then the result becomes unpredictable.

The number of different smart shooting modes exceeds two dozen, you can choose the one that suits you.

Here are sample photos compared to the Galaxy S5.

Galaxy K Zoom	Galaxy S5

More photos in this article will appear on Friday, be sure to come back to see different shooting options.

Video recording is supported in FullHD, it can be either 30 or 60 frames per second.

Comparison with other devices - plates

Samsung conducted a paper comparison of the specifications of the Galaxy K Zoom with other devices, here are these plates, they may be useful to someone.

Impression

Sales of Galaxy K Zoom should begin in late May or early June. The cost of this device will be 24,990 rubles, which is catastrophically high, especially against the backdrop of the price of the Galaxy S4 Zoom, which was 19,900 rubles at the start of sales, and today this model costs about 12,000 rubles (4G version), the regular version costs about 10 000 rubles (in the Euroset, this is the price at the time of writing this material).

What is the reason for such a high price, I personally do not understand at all. Trying to pull this device closer to the Galaxy S5? But in the company, on the contrary, they are trying to avoid comparing them and dilute them into completely different niches. It is clear that the cost of components in the Galaxy K Zoom is quite high, but it cannot be so high as to justify a noticeable increase in price compared to the previous generation device. Perhaps Samsung decided that the weakening of the ruble plays a role, and therefore changed the price for a niche product.

In my opinion, there is no point in buying a camera for this money. It's just outrageously expensive. I'm not saying that for comparable money you can buy a SLR or mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses, although this is possible. Exactly the same device from Samsung, but last year, costs half as much. The quality of the photos is comparable, only the resolution is different, and the zoom is the same as the optics. Of course, there will be a small number of those who are chasing novelty. But there will be very few such people. And the niche itself, in which the Galaxy K Zoom plays, is very small. You should not expect any noticeable sales, this product is definitely not for everyone. The shocks in the market from its release will not happen, as it did not happen a year ago for the Galaxy S4 Zoom.

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