Mobile Technology

Samsung Galaxy K zoom has point and shoot cameras in its viewfinder

Samsung Galaxy K zoom has point and shoot cameras in its viewfinder
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom further blurs the line between smartphones and point and shoot cameras
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom further blurs the line between smartphones and point and shoot cameras
View 38 Images
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom further blurs the line between smartphones and point and shoot cameras
1/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom further blurs the line between smartphones and point and shoot cameras
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
2/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
3/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom packs a
4/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom packs a
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
5/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
6/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom measures 137.5 x 70.8 x 16.6 mm
7/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom measures 137.5 x 70.8 x 16.6 mm
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom has a 4.8-inch AMOLED display
8/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom has a 4.8-inch AMOLED display
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom with lens retracted
9/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom with lens retracted
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom packs a 24-240 mm, F3.1-6.3 retractable lens
10/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom packs a 24-240 mm, F3.1-6.3 retractable lens
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom with lens retracted
11/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom with lens retracted
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom with lens extended
12/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom with lens extended
Samsung Galaxy K zoom's retractable lens
13/38
Samsung Galaxy K zoom's retractable lens
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
14/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom in "charcoal black"
15/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom in "charcoal black"
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom in "electric blue"
16/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom in "electric blue"
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
17/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom in "electric blue"
18/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom in "electric blue"
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
19/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
20/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
21/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
22/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
23/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
24/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
25/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom
26/38
27/38
28/38
29/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom in "shimmering white"
30/38
Samsung's Galaxy K zoom in "shimmering white"
31/38
32/38
33/38
34/38
35/38
36/38
37/38
38/38
View gallery - 38 images

With many people using their smartphone's image capture capabilities as often as they use the device for making calls, it's not surprising that manufacturers continue to beef up the camera credentials of their smartphones. The latest device to blur the lines between smartphones and dedicated point and shoot cameras is Samsung's Galaxy K zoom.

The Galaxy K zoom joins Samsung's Galaxy line alongside other photo-centric devices, such as the Galaxy Camera, Galaxy Camera 2 and last year's Galaxy S4 zoom. None of these exactly set the world on fire, with the Galaxy Camera and Galaxy Camera 2 lacking the ability to make calls and the Galaxy S4 zoom suffering from poor battery life and less than zippy performance. With its latest offering, Samsung is aiming to finally provide a smartphone that will allow users to leave their dedicated point and shoot camera at home for good with no regrets.

The body of the Galaxy K zoom is more smartphone-like than the aforementioned devices, weighing 200 g (7 oz) and measuring 137.5 x 70.8 x 16.6 mm. This last figure extends to 20.2 mm when the 24-240 mm, F3.1-6.3 retractable lens is deployed, providing 10x optical zoom. Images are captured via a 20.7 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, with Samsung also boasting excellent low light performance for the device that also packs a Xenon flash.

Other features commonly found on dedicated point and shooters include an optical image stabilizer (OIS), auto focus/auto exposure separation to balance light and clarity, smile/blink detection, object tracking, various filters, and the ability to capture 1920 x 1080/60p video. There's also a "selfie alarm" that lets users take a 20.7-megapixel selfie using the rear camera rather than the 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

The device is powered by Samsung's Exynos hexa-core processor, which combines a 1.3 GHz quad-core and a 1.7 GHz dual-core processor, packs 2 GB of RAM and runs Android 4.4 (KitKat). The 4.8-inch AMOLED display packs 1280 x 720 pixels, while connectivity specs include 802.11 a/b/g/n dual band (2.4+5 GHz) Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, NFC, and A-GPS and GLONASS. It comes with 8 GM of internal memory, with a microSD card slot supporting micro SD, SDHC and SDXC cards to increase storage capacity.

Onboard sensors include a gyroscope, proximity sensor, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor and accelerometer, which enables with the included S Health Lite fitness tracker app. There's no word on battery life, but the device comes with Ultra Power Saving Mode to squeeze some extra time out of the 2,430 mAh battery when it gets low.

Samsung is yet to announce pricing details but is planning to release the Galazy K zoom in various European and Asian markets from next month. There's no word on if or when the device will get a release in the US.

Source: Samsung

View gallery - 38 images
3 comments
3 comments
Aiden Richardson
Unimpressed with Samsung's efforts. I would rather take the Nokia Lumia 1020 over this any day, it's just far, far better
Keith Lamb
I'm not particularly impressed with this offering, but going after the point and shoots makes a lot of sense and makes me wonder why we haven't seen more of them. At a minimum I want my next phone to move the camera from the top corner to somewhere closer to the middle so it's easier to hold and give me a little optical zoom. The options out there right now that do this are unimpressive IMO.
mvp
There comes a time when a smart phone needs to be separate from a point and shoot camera. This is one of them!