The Galaxy Ultra telephoto: In 2023 it was 10x, now we're back to 5x. Is this what you call progress?

The Galaxy Ultra telephoto: In 2023 it was 10x, now we’re back to 5x. Is this what you call progress?،

Moving forwards and backwards – is this what's happening with Samsung's Galaxy S24 range?

By now, even if you're not a die-hard Samsung fan, you've probably heard that Samsung's new champion – the maxed-out Galaxy S24 Ultra – will receive a 5x optical zoom telephoto lens.

“So what? The iPhone 15 Pro Max and Google Pixel 8 Pro both offer 5x optical zoom,” some would say.

This is correct, but neither iPhone 15 Pro Max nor the Pixel 8 Pro got their 5x optical zoom after a digital downgrade from their predecessors.

You see, the Galaxy S23 Ultra offered a 10x optical zoom telephoto lens.

What happened?

On January 17, Samsung presented the new Galaxy S24 during a 90-minute live demonstration in San Jose that focused heavily on the AI features of the Korean giant's devices.

Of course, camera configurations were also highlighted in the presentation – nowadays, as the saying goes, “he who neglects cameras will not sell many phones and will suffer greatly”.

In a witty short film, which speaks more to the heart than to the head, Samsung announces that the Galaxy S24 Ultra gets a 5x optical zoom camera, calling it “the smartest AI-powered camera ever.”

What is the difference between the 5x camera and the 10x camera (besides the obvious one)?

So what's the problem with the 5x camera that replaced the old 10x? Does this mean I don't get a 10x telephoto lens on the Galaxy S24 Ultra? Well no. You get 10x zoom capabilities, but not 100% optical zoom.

Let's zoom in.

The new 5x optical zoom lens sits in front of an all-new 50MP sensor. In contrast, the 10x optical zoom camera offered by the Galaxy S23 is built on a 10MP sensor. So what is Galaxy S24 Ultra Basically what he does with his new 5x telephoto lens to get a 10x zoom is… a crop.

Wait, isn't the cropping horrible?

By its nature, culture is neither good nor bad: the results depend on the source. If you crop a low resolution image you will get horrible results. If, on the other hand, you get a juicy, high-resolution image, you can crop a ton of it and still get nice end results. In short, five times megapixels should not be underestimated. As a side note: there is an ongoing discussion about pixel size and its impact on photography. Some like to use the latest sensor with the maximum pixels available, others prefer fewer pixels, but physically larger. You see, on the same size sensor, the larger the number of pixels, the smaller they become. For example, you can place 20 basketballs on a sufficiently large table. On the same table, the only way to group 100 basketballs is to make them five times smaller.

The thing is that Galaxy S24 The Ultra's sensor is larger than that of the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Sensor Size (bear with me for a moment)

THE Galaxy S23 Ultra's 10x camera contains a 1/3.52″ sensor, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra's 5x camera is said to have pixels 1.6 times larger than before. Although not confirmed at this time, it is very likely that Galaxy S24 Ultra contains a Sony IMX854 – a 1/2.52″ sensor.

In addition to having a larger sensor and greater resolution to crop from the Galaxy S24 Ultra has one more trick up its sleeve that the S23 Ultra doesn't have: AI.

As Samsung explained, the new magical “Galaxy AI” will not only be limited to Circle to Search features, but will also help with image processing, including zoom capabilities.