Optical zoom in a phone for the first time.
) beat in a lot of ways, but there’s one thing traditional cameras still do better than phones: zoom. The new Sony Xperia 1 IV aims to change that with a true continuous optical zoom lens. It’s a technical achievement, for sure, but at this stage, it’s more proof of concept than game-changer.
You might also have a telephoto lens on your smartphone, like the 3x lens on the iPhone 13 Pro or the 10x on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. They aren’t “zoom” lenses either, meaning they’re fixed and don’t allow you to move between focal lengths. The Xperia 1 IV’s telephoto lens is different because it does allow you to set the focal length at 85mm, 125mm, and anywhere in between.
First, the good: there is that real zoom lens on this phone, and it works fairly well. It’s a little bit soft but certainly good enough for the small image sizes used on social media. The small zoom range doesn’t make much of a difference for distant subjects, but up close for portrait subjects it provides some added flexibility.This image at 85mm features some unattractive blown highlights and appears to have missed focus.
There’s also no getting around the fact that the Xperia 1 IV is working with small sensors and small optics compared to a traditional camera. Sharp photos of moving subjects in dim light are a challenge, as they are for all smartphones, and don’t expect to get much subject separation even at the long end of the telezoom.