Pridam pro ty, co nectou...Od autoru DXomarku.To respond to some frequently asked questions and remarks:A note about zoomA good zoom photography experience implies all zoom ratios work properly. This is why our test protocol covers a very large range of zoom ratios. The photographer doesn’t select a zoom ratio, but she/he frames exactly what she/he wants to capture. Therefore, DXOMARK evaluates all framing capabilities of the camera system so that the photographer is confident about his device. To do that, we test a lot of zoom ratios in the lab as well as in real life conditions i. e an equivalent focal from 40mm to 300mm systematically which translates to a set of 200 shots. Many devices in the market use very efficient fusion algorithms that mix 2 cameras in order to provide the best achievable quality for every type of focal. Our objective is to assess image quality of not just one zoom ratio but the entire range.S21 Ultra 5G (exynos) – zoom performanceFor this device we have tested long range, medium range and close range zoom.For tests of 10x zoom, results are good in bright light giving the camera the best score for “very long range”.The problem with the S21 Ultra is with shorter focal (between 40mm and 200mm):For close range (focal between 40 and 60mm, zoom ratio between 1.8 and 2.8) the level of detail is low and far from other devices that have similar specifications (See Huawei Mate 40 Pro Plus results for instance).For medium range (focal between 70mm and 110mm), results are not consistent and repeatable over the focal range. Fusion artefacts are more noticeable than competitors. Level of detail is low. Something to note, it seems that applying even a slight digital zoom, degrades image quality. Please note that tele camera (3x) was tested for this range.For long range (focal between 140mm and 200mm) same kind of results and problems are observed. For outdoor shoot, fusion between long tele and tele do not look good as the level of details in the center of images is low and we also observe strong fusion artefacts.For longer focal (higher than 220mm), the device provides good quality (best we have tested so far) but not that far from the other devices with similar specifications (Huawei Mate 40 Pro plus for instance).With the zoom score we try to provide a fair overview of the image quality provided on the entire focal range. While 10x zoom is important, we can not afford to not assess and benchmark all the other zoom ratios in between, which are an integral part of the camera user experience.About the firmware, at the time of testing which was the beginning of February, the most recent firmware available by Samsung was G998BXXU1AUAC. We realize that there have been updates since then, but at the time we did the Camera tests, it was the most recent version available. For those unfamiliar with our testing process, the time to test a product to the end result which is the published review is not a matter of days, it takes a few weeks. In addition, we also had the Audio and Display reviews to prepare in order to provide those to you all at approximately the same time.
