I honestly didn’t think I would like ZenFone Zoom. Why would I ever need 3x zoom in a smartphone? I have a DSLR for that – but then I spent the day with the ZenFone Zoom when my “real” camera’s battery ran out, and something unexpected happened. I took a picture so compelling that I spent $150 of my hard earned money to have it printed out 16×20” on aluminum!
Incredible right? The editing process only took about 5 minutes in Lightroom using sliders to adjust the darks, lights, and contrast.If I hadn’t taken it myself, I wouldn’t believe this came out of a smartphone. What is so amazing about ZenFone Zoom is that no other smartphone could have taken this picture due to the amount of magnification required to capture the sharp detail of the gecko scales and twinkle in those reptilian eyes.
Even when compared to a 41MP smartphone camera cropped at 3x, ZenFone Zoom has 2.8 times the effective resolution.
The basic math is 41MP divided by 3^2 or 41/9 = 4.6 Megapixels vs. ZenFone Zoom’s 13 Megapixels. (13/4.6 = 2.8)
Anything less would be unacceptable for a print this size. In addition, ZenFone Zoom has optical image stabilization for long exposures with minimal noise, down to 50 ISO, allowing me to take this picture in relative darkness, free of noise and grain found in most non-DSLR cameras.
In the coming weeks, I will be sharing more of my ZenFone Zoom photography and techniques on MyZen. Whether you have a ZenFone Zoom, a ZenFone, or any other smartphone with a camera, I hope you tune in for some fun tips and tricks with photography!
Until next time,
Mark Chan