hybrid zoom

How to use different camera lens to zoom in and zoom out on Galaxy S20?

Galaxy S20 is all about the camera. The three primary camera lenses on the back of Galaxy S20 allows you to zoom in and zoom out quickly to capture any objects/scenes far or close.

For example, Galaxy S20 Ultra offers up to 100x super-resolution zoom and up to 10x hybrid zoom.

But many Galaxy S20 owners are a bit confused on choosing the correct camera lens and set the proper zoom levels.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the differences among the three main (rear) cameras, the link between zoom and camera lenses, how to choose different camera lenses, and how to zoom in and zoom out properly.

In this guide, we mainly use the Galaxy S20 Ultra rear cameras as an example. When there are any differences, we will highlight whether the feature is for Galaxy S20 Ultra, or Galaxy S20 (and S20+). All camera software features on three Galaxy S20 models are identical, although Galaxy S20 Ultra has better hardware specs for the primary wide-angle camera and the telephoto camera.

What are the different camera lenses on Galaxy S20?

Besides the depth sensor camera on Galaxy 20+ and S20 Ultra, on all three models of Galaxy S20 phones, there are three camera lenses for different purposes:

Wide-angle camera.
Ultra-wide-angle camera.
Telephoto camera.

Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ share the identical hardware of these three camera lenses.

Wide-angle camera

The 12MP (or 108MP on Galaxy S20 Ultra) wide-angle camera is the primary shooter. By default, you will take photos and record videos (except 8K videos) with this camera lens. Of course, you can choose other lenses if you want (read on).

On Galaxy S20 Ultra, you can choose to save the pictures as 12MP (at the aspect ratio of 4:3) after combining pixels, or as 108MP (which take s far more storage). Usually, you should save the photo as normal 12MP in indoor or low-light conditions. You may consider the108MP option when lighting is excellent (e.g., outdoor in sunny days).

Ultra-wide-angle camera

The 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera is identical on all three Galaxy S20 models.

With a field of view (FoV) of 120˚, this camera allows you to capture “more” in the frame. Compared to the 79˚ of FoV for the wide-angle camera, the area captured by the ultra-wide-angle camera nearly doubles. So, it functions as “zoom-out”.

Shape correction for the ultra-wide-angle lens is … Read the rest

What is Galaxy S20 Hybrid Optic Zoom and Super Resolution Zoom?

By simon Leave a Comment

One of the most useful new features of Galaxy S20 is the camera zoom: up to 10x hybrid optical zoom, and 100x Super Resolution zoom. Samsung called it Space Zoom and registered a trademark for it.

Actually, the camera in S20 Ultra probably is the only reason for you to migrate to Galaxy S20 as explained in this post.

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the details of Galaxy S20 hybrid optic zoom and super-resolution zoom, the differences between these two zooms, and their relationships with the optical zoom and digital zoom.

Please note, Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra have different camera configurations as explained in this page. 10x hybrid optical zoom and 100x Super Resolution zoon can only be found on Galaxy S20 Ultra. Galaxy S20 and S20+ only have 3x hybrid zoom and 30x super-resolution zoom.

You may check this guide to learn to use the new Galaxy S20 camera app and this guide (coming soon) on how to use the hybrid optical zoom and super-resolution zoom.

What is the optical zoom and digital zoom?

When taking photos or shooting videos, you may want to change the focal length of the photo. Sometimes you want to take a “close-up” (zoom-in) photo or wide ones (zoom-out).

This has been easily implemented on the cameras using a lens with controllable focal length. Even most sub-$300 point-and-shoot cameras are equipped with a lens which can offer 10x to 30x optical zoom.

But for smartphones, these traditional lenses cannot be used due to thinness fo the smartphone. The higher zoom levels usually mean a longer (thicker) lens.

So, up to now, the flagship smartphones usually stop at 3x optical room simply because of the thickness limitations fo the phone.

The zoom achieved through changing the focal length in the optical system is called “optical zoom”.

You should not be confused the optical zoom with the digital zoom, which can be found in almost all smartphones.

Digital zoom does not special hardware. In plain terms, it works in two stages:

Crop the centre part of the photo.
Resize the cropped photo to the size of the photo.

So, basically, the digital zoom is just an image editing.

When resizing the cropped photo, the actual “pixels” captured by the camera sensor cannot be increased. The software has to “create” some pixels to fill the space.

Of course, some vendors may use … Read the rest

Top 5 new features of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra

By simon Leave a Comment

As the 11th generation of the Galaxy S phone, Galaxy S20 sets the bar for flagship Android phones in 2020. As expected, there are numerous new features in Galaxy S20 (including S20+ and S20 Ultra).

This Galaxy S20 guide explains the top 5 new features of Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra: better cameras, larger battery, Less curved screens, 120Hz refresh rate, and faster CPU. We did not include some new features that are available only in some regions, like eSIM support.

Please note, although Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra differs in some aspects as explained in this guide. They share many common features. So, in this guide, Galaxy S20 usually refers to all three Galaxy S20 models (Galaxy S20, S20+, Galaxy S20 Ultra) by default.

Better cameras: the most appealing new features of Galaxy S20

The No.1 reason you may consider to choose or upgrade to Galaxy S20 is the camera.

If you are happy with the camera on your current phone, there is NO reason to change or upgrade to Galaxy S20. Period.

As explained in the differences among Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, the cameras in Galaxy S20 and S20+ are similar. What differs Galaxy S20 camera from competitors is the camera on Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Front camera

For the front camera, Galaxy S20 and S20+ share the identical 10MP camera sensor with last year’s Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+. They are only slightly better than the front cameras on Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S10, and Galaxy S10e.

But S20 Ultra is a different story.

The 40MP front camera on Galaxy S20 Ultra is a significant improvement compared to previous models. In low-light conditions, Galaxy S20 Ultra can combine 4 pixels into one and delivers better quality 10MP photos.

Please note, all 3 models of Galaxy S20 only have single front camera sensor. There is no secondary front camera as in Galaxy S10+.

Rear cameras

Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20+ share similar wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle camera sensors as in last year’s Galaxy S10 and Galaxy Note 10. The increase of the pixel size on Galaxy S20 and S20+ will definitely improve the photo quality when the lighting condition is not ideal.

The 64MP telephoto camera sensor in Galaxy S20 and S20+ is a big improvement from the 12MP telephoto sensor in Galaxy S10, S10+, Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+. … Read the rest