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Oppo teases smartphone cameras with 10x hybrid zoom
Even though Oppo showed off a 5x "lossless" zoom dual camera back at MWC 2017, the system never showed up on any of the phones afterwards. But don't worry, the company hasn't given up on this precious tech. In fact, earlier today, Oppo teased a new and improved design that offers 10x hybrid zoom, ranging from an equivalent of 15.9mm all the way to 159mm. This is all thanks to a new triple-camera setup, starting from an ultra-wide camera, then a main camera in the middle, and then a periscope to top it off with some sweet optical zoom action -- likely the same 3x optical zoom in the previous design, based on the render.
ASUS is bringing optical zoom to a reasonably sized smartphone
The last smartphone to feature an optical zoom camera was Samsung's Galaxy K Zoom, but we didn't like it -- no thanks to its inconsistent camera performance plus poor battery life (the bulky body didn't help either). Merely hours away from South Korea, Taiwan-based ASUS decided to have a go at making its own optical zoom-enabled smartphone, which ended up being its surprise announcement at this year's CES: the Lumia 1020 ZenFone Zoom. What we've been told so far is that this $399 device is the world's thinnest smartphone that packs a 3x optical zoom camera, and there's more: It's actually a 13-megapixel f/2.0 imager with optical image stabilization, precise laser autofocus (as used by the LG G3), full manual mode and dual-color LED flash.
Optical zoom tipped to hit HTC handsets in 2015
Like most companies in the smartphone game, HTC wants to pack its top-of-the-range devices with powerful camera tech, and that's no longer just a case of adding more megapixels. The new HTC One (M8), for instance, hosts a pair of cameras on its rear that allow you manipulate depth-of-field, among other special features. Talking with UK carrier Vodafone on HTC's roadmap for camera tech, imaging guru Symon Whitehorn claimed "we could be 4K ready now," if it actually made sense to do so (burn, Sony). Whitehorn also mused that with phones well on their way to making point-and-shoot cameras obsolete, we could see performance encroach on DSLR territory within two years. To make that happen, however, handsets need to incorporate optical zooming, which according to Whitehorn "is not too far off at all for HTC." He wouldn't "give too much away," he said, "but within 12-18 months we'll see huge advances in phone optics." If HTC is indeed this close to adding optical zoom to it camera tech repertoire, let's hope it can keep things classy -- something previous attempts have universally failed to do.
Nokia to revamp Symbian UI, ship dual-core phones in 2011
We don't have any hard details yet, but Computerworld reports that Nokia's planning a busy 2011, with four to five updates to the Symbian UI on tap, as well as dual-core phones. The information comes courtesy of Nokia senior manager Gunther Kottzieper, who gave a presentation at the 2010 Internation Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing earlier today -- a slide labeled "Nokia Symbian 2011 focus areas" indicated that a Q1 Symbian update will include over 50 features, including a more intuitive browser, while second- and third-quarter updates will add "a new look and feel for the user interface, a more flexible home screen, an updatable HTML5 browser and an easier software update experience." A hardware-related slide tipped upcoming 1GHz phones with more graphics memory in the second or third quarter, as well as dual-core phones and something called a "true zoom camera" in late 2011 or early 2012. (We're guessing that means an optical zoom, which would be just wild on a mobile phone.) Ignore this morning's E7 delay and all of that sounds like evidence of renewed focus at Nokia under new management -- and it also sounds like Nokia taking over Symbian development might have lit some serious fires. We're dying to look at these slides ourselves -- we'll keep digging and let you know.
Avatar Digital Binocular Sports camera is a little bit KIRF-y, a little bit crazy
Sure, you can get a relatively compact camera with a nice built-in 10x, 15x, or even 20x optical zoom, but where's the fun in that? This new so-called Avatar Digital Binocular Sports camera, however, will never be saddled with labels like "boring" or "practical." It's big selling point, as you can see, is 21x optical zoom that gets further bolstered by a blinding 40x digital zoom, all of which apparently must be managed without such niceties as auto focus. On the business end of the equation is a 2-megapixel camera with a 2.5-inch LCD, which just so happens to also double as a full-fledged media player with a curiously familiar-looking interface (check it out after the break). The best news? It's available to order right now for just $128, or even less if you buy 'em in bulk. Never to early to start that holiday shopping.[Via Red Ferret]
Samsung launches SCH-W480 with inner zoom, outer bulkiness
Samsung's handsets have been all about razor thin, good cameras and long spec sheets of late, and the SCH-W480 fills most of those categories, but falls a bit short -- and fat -- of attaining thin-dom in this case. Featuring a 3X optical zoom, 5 megapixel camera, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, WCDMA / GSM roaming for worldwide enjoyment, Bluetooth, and a microSD slot for memory expansion. Admittedly, it packs a 3X optical zoom into its beefy housing that rather than extending outside the case does all it's zooming inside -- though we'd still prefer to roll with thin and svelte, not high tech and hidden. No word on pricing on the W480 -- that we promised we wouldn't compare to the N95 -- but hopefully we'll hear more soon. Granted, this isn't likely coming to a carrier near you in the US as it's all Anycall branding suggests, but feel free to import and let us know what ya think.
Tessera's OptiML Zoom gets cameraphones 3x closer without moving parts
Oh sure, those with no shame whatsoever can snag a totally sketchy LV 2008 with an attachable zoom lens, but those of us with a shred of dignity are waiting on something better. Enter Tessera Technologies, which is today announcing that its OptiML Zoom solution is available for licensing. Said innovation brings a unique lens design and specialized algorithms to replace "traditional mechanical zoom capabilities," giving equipped cameraphones 3x optical zoom capabilities in a "compact camera module without moving parts." Hailed as the industry's first non-mechanical optical zoom solution, it promises to not degrade images the way digital zoom does, and while it's eager to see handset OEMs pick up the tech and integrate it into forthcoming mobiles, we've yet to hear of any big players jumping on board.[Via PhoneScoop]
The CP-8660: Acer's new flagship digital camera
Chances are, if you walk up to the red carpet, or into the photo pit at the next U2 concert, sporting the new Acer 8660, the pros will die laughing behind their 1Ds Mark IIs and D2Hs, so we were a little surprised to see the word "professional" on the product page. Sure, the specs are fine, with an 8.28-megapixel sensor (maximum resolution 3320x 2496), big 2.8-inch TFT LCD, image stablization and 6x optical zoom, but any cam with 25MB of internal memory, which is only expandable to 1GB using an SD card probably isn't going to cut it for the aspiring paparazzi. Other specs include an 8.5x completely useless digital zoom, 30 fps VGA video recording, 17 different shooting modes and a complete lack of bright red paint. No word on pricing, but the product page suggests it will be "competitive," so your guess is as good as ours.[Via Mobilewhack]
