100x zoom for the second time: The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra after the update

At last! Samsung has rolled out an update for the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G. The release notes promise a lot. Among other things: "Camera Improvements".

Smartphones

EUR599,–

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G EU

128 GB, Cosmic Gray, 6.90", Hybrid Dual SIM, 108 Mpx, 5G

1

Smartphones

EUR599,–

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G EU

128 GB, Cosmic Gray, 6.90", Hybrid Dual SIM, 108 Mpx, 5G

1

The update arrived about two hours before I wanted to publish an extensive S20 Ultra review. My review would have been a spoiler, essentially stating that with specs like these, there should simply be more performance. Better pictures, longer battery life, less heat development. That sort of thing. The update promises to fix all that. Maybe. The release notes don't give that much information. Therefore: emergency brake, re-test the camera at the weekend.

The 100x zoom is still useless

The zoom function has been improved. The 100x zoom is still useless. Yes, it is an image. Yes, it is 100x zoom. No, nothing is sharp or recognisable. As my travels have taken me to Aargau, there is no Lake Constance to see this time, but the view from Berikon in the direction of Zufikon/Hermetschwil.

"Yes, but," I can already hear critics of this statement, "the competition isn't any better."

True. This image shows the same panorama, but from the camera of the Huawei P40 Pro.

The difference, however, is that Huawei doesn't go and advertise the camera in a big way and doesn't chant phrases like "The Phone to End All Cameras" in the windows of mobile shops.

Anybody who thinks reasonably knows that this can't be true. 100x zoom is already a pretty difficult endeavour with a DSLR or system camera. Samsung counters this with the statement "Yes, but they don't have artificial intelligence". Artificial intelligence (AI), which can somehow do everything, is supposed to fix it. But it doesn't. Don't get me wrong, the image is an image and the fact of a 100x zoom with AI enhancements is fulfilled. The so-called Space Zoom does exactly what it advertises, but the images are still neither beautiful nor usable.

This is unfair to the consumer, i.e. you. Samsung should still be ashamed of this advertising.

Better up to 30x

However, something has changed in the lower zoom levels. Up to a zoom of 30x, if we only work with the zoom levels suggested by the system, the system is better than before the update. The loss of image quality only becomes so bad above 30x that I would no longer use the image for anything.

Interesting to see here is that the colours seem to fade the more I zoom in. This is because the camera's AI has no information with which it can reliably push colour values. This is because at the lower zoom levels, the AI goes and analyses the image before it is taken and optimises the colours accordingly. Essentially, the AI softens all edges and - this is the part that stands out even without pixel-precise observation - corrects colour levels. I can easily do this in Photoshop. Less white, more black, voilà. This was done manually in about 20 seconds with a little prior knowledge and looks good.

At 30x, however, there is simply not enough data left to produce a good image, even if I correct the levels.

At 100x, there's nothing more to be gained even with Photoshop.

The zoom on details

A trick that iPhone users in particular like to use is the zoom for macro shots. The iPhone does not have a dedicated macro mode, but detail shots can be quite sexy. Therefore, a trick in the bag: Simply use the zoom. The closer you zoom in and the better the AI can work with the image data, the more beautiful your macro shot will be. The Huawei P30 Pro, whose AI can take dedicated macro pictures, was particularly good. The P40 Pro no longer has a macro mode.

The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra also does without a dedicated macro mode. Does this mean that detail shots are not possible without the zoom trick? No. The S20 performs well at 1x zoom, but focusses extremely strongly on depth of field. So a fake macro shot in which everything is sharp is only possible with difficulty or without physical depth.

For comparison

But if you have to work with the zoom, then the details quickly get lost. At 100x you can see the spring of my shock absorber well, you can also see that it's probably part of a motorbike, but the colours, shapes and reflections of the spring look fake. The AI is working at full speed, turning the red-orange component into a bright orange. It is more obvious here than in the landscape shot that the Samsung phone lacks data to make the whole thing look nice.

Surprisingly good, however, is the processing of the lettering on the tyre, which is easier to understand for a machine, as the contrasts in the image element are clearly recognisable despite the play of light. You can pay particular attention to the "Y" on the left-hand edge of the picture. Where the "D" and the following letters are quite sharp and nicely worked out, the "Y" is in shadow. The AI does not understand what the element is supposed to be and does not process the image accordingly. The warnings on the upper component next to the suspension, however, lose all clarity, as does the decoration in the chrome above the suspension.

It's also nice that the navigator appears at the top left of the screen at 30x.
Since our Content Management System does not allow large data and compresses images additionally to save bandwidth while reading through, I have created a zip archive with all images of this article for you.

Video: Better. Much better.

When it comes to moving images, Samsung has really stepped up its game. The video quality of the device has been massively improved. I could go on at length, but I'd like to refer you to the video above, which was recorded entirely with the Galaxy S20 Ultra. I also recommend the following portrait format video, which you can also watch on Instagram in today's story.

Up to and including 4x zoom, the image is decent. After that it gets difficult. At the maximum zoom level of 10x, the pixel flicker is then too obvious, too noticeable for me to use the video data for anything outside of a test.

Also worth noting is the audio zoom function, even if the technology is still in its infancy. Audio Zoom describes a kind of virtual directional microphone. In other words, in the footage above, the phone recognises that I am employing 10x zoom and concludes that I am also interested in the noise that sounds in the distance. Not the sound that I make as the cameraman. That's why my voice recording gets worse at 4x and is distorted at 10x, as the AI tries to block out my commentary. Must have been a bit too much St. Gallen local colour for Samsung.

The update brings a lot, but is too late

The update turns the below-average and scandalously poor camera of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G into a camera to be proud of. It only fulfils the advertising promise of a 100x zoom in technological terms, but not in practical terms. The images are not usable from a zoom level of over 30x, which is impressive in itself.

But the update should have come sooner. I don't see what significant changes had to be made to Android to make such a delay worthwhile. This update shouldn't have been "Yes, we'll do it then", but should have been there at the launch of a phone so that early adopters don't have to think that their phone might be good one day.

So, that's it. Dear St. Gallen public transport. I will never forgive you for replacing Jeannot Lucchi's legendary local announcements on your buses. Nobody and nothing will ever say "Nögschte Halt... Broderbrunne" as beautifully as our radio legend. If you don't know Jeannot's voice, you can listen to a sample of his audio book.