Evolution of the ZenFone camera

Some of you might have already experienced the excellent perfomance of ZenFone 4’s cameras. In this article, we take a look at how the Sony IMX 362 of the ZenFone 4 compares to the IMX 298 of last year's ZenFone 3.

Better low-light performance
Here's a direct comparison of both, with similar settings selected in each phone's Manual/Pro modes.

As you can see, even with a faster shutter speed setting the ZenFone 4 easily produces a brighter photo; the details of the scene can easily be seen, even the people sitting at the back are still visible. In this shot by the ZenFone 3, you can hardly see the lighting, let alone the environment.

ZenFone 4 original photo: https://imgur.com/GBVqfGK
ZenFone 3 original photo: https://imgur.com/9NPARhG

Zooming into details

Again, the ZenFone 4 easily produces a brighter photo compared to the ZenFone 3 under the same settings.

Doing a 100% full crop to better see the details, you can see that the ZenFone 4 can capture more detail, but you there is also a bit of visible noise. The ZenFone 3 on the other hand captured a darker, redder photo with details smoothened over by the noise reduction when cropped in a similar way.

ZenFone 4 original photo: https://imgur.com/De9i8Tu
ZenFone 3 original photo: https://imgur.com/ELNnOcg

Auto mode
Here we see one of the bigger differences between the two: how PixelMaster 3.0 and 4.0 handle their respective Auto modes.

In Auto mode, the camera automatically determines the parameters. And we can see here that there is a big difference: exposure time is almost the same at 1/20 and 1/15, respectively, but ISO value on the ZenFone 4 is much lower than the ZenFone 3 under the same conditions.

Zooming in, we can see that due to the high ISO, the ZenFone 3 produces photos with much more visible grain. Comparing this with the ZenFone 4, which managed to still capture the folds and threads in the jeans, as well as producing a much more cleaner shot overall.

ZenFone 4 original photo: https://imgur.com/6NX3qQl
ZenFone 3 original photo: https://imgur.com/9LFj7Yf

Smarter HDR
Part of the reason why the ZenFone 4's camera performs so well compared to its predecessor is because of the improved AutoHDR feature.

HDR off

HDR on

In this last photo, AutoHDR automatically kicked in to make sure the text that is still readable despite the harsher lighting projected by the lamps.

PixelMaster 4.0

For the ZenFone 4, PixelMaster received a make-over. The new UI brings significant changes to improve usability and give you more access to the manual controls.

All the commonly-used settings such as HDR, aspect ratio, portrait mode, timer and flash are all on one side for easy access. The Pro mode is delegated to the corner, right next to the shutter buttons, so you don't have to look for it in the list of modes. You can also change this to another mode you often use if you need to.

The settings adjustments for Pro mode is also changed from a scrolling list to a more rounder interface, designed to help your fingers change the settings easily while holding the phone with one hand. Its translucent menus will also help with wide photo composition (the PixelMaster 3.0 UI would usually block some part of the viewfinder when set to 16:9 aspect ratio).

What do you think about the performance of ZenFone 4's camera? Do you think it's worth an upgrade over last year's ZenFone 3? Let us know in the comments.

Also, if you'd like to showcase your ZenFone's photography abilities, join the 2017 ASUS ZenFone Photography Awards! We only have a few weeks left to win your very own ZenFone 4! - https://www.asus.com/zentalk/ph/thread-152742-1-1.html

Laki talaga difference ng F1.8 aperture nitong Zenfone 4 compared sa previous na F2.0 ng Zenfone 3. Much better low light performance talaga.