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Last year’s Asus Zenfone Zoom was one of very few smartphones to feature a conventional style 3x zoom lens. The downside to that was a slightly thicker than usual device and at F4.8 a very slow aperture at the tele end, for smartphone standards.
On the new Zenfone 3 Zoom, just announced at CES in Las Vegas, Asus has changed strategies and opted for an iPhone 7 Plus style dual-cam. The Zenfone 3 Zoom offers the usual ‘bokeh-effect,’ and similar to the Apple device comes with a ‘tele’ lens that offers a 59mm equivalent focal length next to a 25mm wide angle. Both modules come with a 12MP image resolution. On the wide angle image data is captured on a 1/2.55″ Sony IMX362 sensor with 1.4 µm pixel size, F1.7 aperture and optical image stabilization. The longer lens has an F2.8 aperture but sensor specifications have not been revealed yet. It’s fair to assume the chip will be smaller than the one in the wide angle module, though.
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The camera also comes with phase detection and laser assistance in the AF system, a dual-LED flash and 4K video recording. Other specifications include a 5.5″ inch 1080p display with Gorilla Glass 5, a Snapdragon 625 chipset and a huge 5,000 mAh battery. At 7.83mm the Zenfone 3 Zoom is considerably thinner than its predecessor and could be the first real Android alternative to the iPhone 7 Plus. It will become available in February at which point Asus will hopefully also reveal complete camera specifications.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)