DxOMark: The Samsung Galaxy S20+'s "fake zoom" is better than the S10's optical zoom

[Redaktion]

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ has now been tested by DxOMark. The scores offer a few notable takeaways, including inferiority to the S20 Ultra, an overall lack of improvement over the Note 10+, and the real-world effectiveness of the S20 and S20+'s digital zoom.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/DxOMark-The-Samsung-Galaxy-S20-s-fake-zoom-is-better-than-the-S10-s-optical-zoom.464467.0.html

[_MT_]

Just because it's possible to screw up everything, including optical zoom, doesn't mean that cropping is the better approach. Remember, we're not talking about actual zoom (and even in the real camera world, variable focal length comes at the cost of image quality). We're talking about two separate cameras offering two different perspectives, but typically also different sensors. If the main camera has a significantly better sensor and high resolution, cropping can indeed be a good idea. I mean, if the "longer" camera has smaller sensor with lower resolution, it's in principle the same thing as cropping a bigger sensor with higher resolution. That's just physics. The benefit of using optics to magnify image is that you can utilize the whole sensor with all of its resolution. I.e. you can use its full potential. When cropping, you're just throwing part (perhaps most) of the sensor out of the window. And you're only doing it because you don't have the space for proper optics. Because you're building a phone, not a camera. You can't get around it. It's just an exercise in putting lipstick on a pig.

[Ricci Rox]

Just because it's possible to screw up everything, including optical zoom, doesn't mean that cropping is the better approach. Remember, we're not talking about actual zoom (and even in the real camera world, variable focal length comes at the cost of image quality). We're talking about two separate cameras offering two different perspectives, but typically also different sensors. If the main camera has a significantly better sensor and high resolution, cropping can indeed be a good idea. I mean, if the "longer" camera has smaller sensor with lower resolution, it's in principle the same thing as cropping a bigger sensor with higher resolution. That's just physics. The benefit of using optics to magnify image is that you can utilize the whole sensor with all of its resolution. I.e. you can use its full potential. When cropping, you're just throwing part (perhaps most) of the sensor out of the window. And you're only doing it because you don't have the space for proper optics. Because you're building a phone, not a camera. You can't get around it. It's just an exercise in putting lipstick on a pig.

Excellently put. That's what makes the S20 Ultra so impressive--Samsung actually put a 1/2" sensor under a periscope lens.

Sadly, most other companies use trash sensors and optics on their 2x zoom lenses, and it's mostly better to just crop into a bigger, better sensor instead.