Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom: Camera or Smartphone? It's Both

On Wednesday, Samsung officially introduced the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, a specialized device for photography buffs, to its ever-expanding lineup of smartphones. This announcement brings forth a competitor to the rumored, but yet to be announced, Nokia EOS or PureView 808 camera, which may be around the corner. Lets dive in and take a look at some of the official specifications and features of Samsung's new offering.

First, let's talk about the Galaxy S4 Zoom as a smartphone. Though the new phone is labeled with "Samsung Galaxy S4," putting it in that family of devices, it's actually closer to the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, as far as the phone side of the hardware is concerned. This means the general specs of the Galaxy S4 Zoom are a little pared down, compared with the Galaxy S4 or Galaxy S4 Active.

For example, the Galaxy S4 Zoom will come with a 4.3-inch qHD super AMOLED screen, with a maximum resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. A 1.5GHz dual core processor powers it, though Samsung is saying that may differ depending on the market. It comes with 1.5GB RAM, and 8GB storage included in the phone. This actually leaves about 5GB of storage after the operating system and Samsung's software is included, but like the Galaxy S4, there's a microSD card slot, so you can expand your total memory to up to 64GB. The operating system is going to be Android Jelly Bean, 4.2 and it's powered by a 2,330 mAh battery. One qualm with the battery size, though—you'd think that for a device that boasts such a battery-intensive activity as photography with an optical zoom, Samsung would make a much larger battery standard. For photography buffs, extra batteries might become a necessary accessory. The Galaxy S4 Zoom will come in both LTE and 3G versions.

So far as these specs go, it's a mid-range smartphone. And from the front, it really does just look like a Galaxy S4 Mini.

But lets get to the main feature of the Galaxy S4 Zoom: the camera and lens. The lens, as you see in the pictures, is a hulking mass around which they built the body of the device, which comes in at about double the thickness of the Galaxy S4, at 0.6 inches.

Samsung is betting that the lens, along with the Zoom Ring, shutter button and camera grip will bring photography enthusiasts who don't need all the elements of a premium smartphone to the Galaxy S4 fold. The Zoom Ring is a multi-function twisting ring around the Galaxy S4 Zoom's lens that emulates the zoom operation of a DSLR and also acts as a camera-mode selector, as well as facilitating some neat shortcuts like in-call photo sharing and quick launch to start snapping instantly.

The lens itself has 10x optical zoom, with an aperture range of F3.1-F6.3 and focal lengths between 24 and 240 mm. It supports ISO settings of 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, and 3200, with an automatic ISO mode as well. Also on the back (camera-front) of the Galaxy S4 Zoom is a xenon flash/LED light for video. Samsung paid attention to detail for their camera buffs, because along with the camera grip on the right side, there's a tripod-mounting screw slot on the underside of the device's chassis.

On the inside is a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor that Samsung promises will be great for low-light photography, and a built-in optical image stabilizer that should help reduce blur, especially when you're shooting at full zoom. The front of the phone has a 1.9-megapixel camera, in case you need to video chat or take selfies.

The phone comes with Samsung's software, but the real interesting addition to the Galaxy S4 Zoom is the camera-specific software. It comes with 25 automatic "Smart" modes — including some interesting settings like snow, macro, sunset, fireworks, light trace, and panorama — and in smart mode, "smart mode suggest" will give you three options depending on your conditions. You can also choose up to five of your most used modes (or your customized settings) and set those for easy access.

For photography pros, the camera has quick access to the full range of settings — ISO, apertures, filters, etc. — as well as a help menu to help amateurs who are learning what those advanced settings do. Samsung also has a "Photo Suggest" app that will point you towards photogenic scenes nearby, using the map. With those features, as well as instant photo sharing using Samsung, Google, or Facebook sharing apps, this could be a great camera for aspiring photographers.

Samsung has yet to announce when the Galaxy S4 Zoom will be available, or how much it will cost. Stay with us for more information as it becomes available.