SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 ZOOM

Rather than a smartphone with a big camera, it’s more apt to think of the Samsung S4 Zoom as a digital compact camera with a smartphone tacked on. It’s not that much bigger than your average compact camera, but it is way thicker than an average smartphone today, and you won’t want to keep this one in your back pocket.

The S4 Zoom has a dedicated shutter release button which makes it easy to open up the camera app, but unlike the Nokia 1020, the S4 Zoom won’t respond if the camera is locked. This makes it harder to get to the camera, but does prevent any accidental unlocking. The camera app’s operation is fuss-free if you use it in Auto, but the camera, like the 1020, will always autofocus in the center for some reason. If you want to focus elsewhere you need to tap to focus yourself.

When you go to Expert mode the screen becomes a little cluttered, but the S4 Zoom offers you much more control than your average smartphone or compact camera; you can change shutter speed, aperture as well as ISO values. The one complaint is that sometimes the touch controls don’t respond (maybe because they’re small targets) and it takes multiple taps to get them to respond.

“IT IS THICKER

THAN A SMARTPHONE, ANDYOUWON’T WANT TO KEEP THIS ONE INYOUR BACK POCKET.”

The zoom ring helps you to quickly zoom in and out, and can also activate the camera app if the S4 Zoom is unlocked.