So you have 100 thousand rubles, and you want a new smartphone. Something flagship that would not be a shame to get, and would be nice to use, an excellent screen, several cameras, and definitely some features that no one else has.
Who said iPhone? This is the wrong answer. Of course, I'm hinting at the top-end Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.
Do you remember how much talk there was about him at the beginning of this year? Large, fast, convenient, there are four cameras, and most importantly, a monstrous 100x hybrid zoom.
That’s what they showed at the presentation – how perfectly everything can be seen right on the other side of the bay in San Francisco!
Of course, I immediately wanted to see the capabilities of this smartphone with my own eyes. Otherwise we know these marketing things.
So after the presentation, I began to look forward to this gadget for review by the editor.
100x zoom test in February 2020
I was lucky to be one of the first to get this smartphone for testing, and I immediately rushed to test the camera in the vicinity of Gorky Park in Moscow.
To be honest, I was a little disappointed at the time. No, without the maximum zoom trick, the camera on the S20 Ultra is really good, as you can see by comparing it with the camera on the iPhone 11 Pro.
But as soon as the zoom was turned up to one hundred percent, blood began to flow from the eyes:
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Publication from iPhones.ru (@iphones_ru) March 2, 2020 at 9:25 PST
Then I immediately sent a messenger with a letter to Samsung asking what was going on? How can I see the same miracles that were demonstrated in promotional videos and at the presentation of this gadget itself?
In response, they reassured me that I was using almost a pre-release sample of the smartphone, I needed to wait for a firmware update, which would fix everything, but most importantly, it would fix the 100x zoom function and I would throw away my iPhone, switching to Samsung.
After almost 6 months and many updates to both the shell and operating system of the Galaxy S20 Ultra, I went on a photo hunt again. In full confidence that now everything is fine, and the main feature of the smartphone in the form of a powerful zoom is working as it should.
Let's see what 100x zoom photos look like on the Galaxy S20 Ultra now:
What's the result? Killer feature still doesn't work very well
Despite regular updates, one of the main features of the flagship Galaxy S20 Ultra does not work very well. Let me remind you that at the presentation they talked about it separately, boasting about photo processing algorithms and image quality at 100x magnification.
I don't know how popular this feature is today. There's no point in these blurry photos.
Buy a smartphone for 100 thousand rubles so that you can boast in words about the camera’s ability to shoot with a magnification of 100 times? Quite funny, isn't it?
Yes, the manufacturers themselves somehow do not advertise their 100x zoom too much. Neither in promotional videos, nor in reviews. They mention it in passing, as if they themselves are embarrassed by such an innovation.
But without zoom, the camera in the Galaxy S20 Ultra is good. And it takes great pictures at night. And it records video in 8K. And the screen with a refresh rate of 120 Hz... In short, don’t hesitate to buy it. Only 100 thousand rubles.
( 33 votes, overall rating: 4.64 out of 5)
