Asus Zenfone Zoom S joins the dual-camera bandwagon and delivers

The pictures are sharp, full of detail, colours are vivid with very little noise

ith Instagram and Snapchat, most of us have turned into photography enthusiasts who compulsive use hashtags. Since lugging a DSLR is an arduous task, many of us rely on smartphones to capture that beautiful sunset or the plating of a spaghetti carbonara. While Instagram filters eliminate the need for smartphones with an exceptional camera, those who prefer using #nofilter on all their pictures are in constant pursuit of one. 

Asus aims to be the problem-solver with its newly-launched Zenfone Zoom S that boasts of dual cameras with 12x zoom. 

The Zoom S is slim with an aluminium unibody and is comfortable to hold. The back of the phone houses a fingerprint sensor and owing to the sandblasted texture, you don’t have to worry about visible fingerprint smudges. 

It comes with a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with 1920x1080 resolution. The colours are vivid and the display is bright enough for outdoor use. 

The phone houses an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor with 4GB of RAM. I played Injustice 2 and Order & Chaos 2: Redemption.The phone was able to handle both but I did notice some stutter. 

Nonetheless, the phone’s selling point is its camera. The rear has a dual-camera setup — a 12-MP main camera and an accompanying 12-MP zoom camera. The main camera has a Sony IMX362 sensor with a four-axis optical image stabilisation (OIS), while the zoom camera uses a Samsung 3M3 sensor and offers 12x total zoom and 2.3x optical zoom. 

The output pictures are sharp and full of detail; the colours are vivid and there is very little noise. Even low-light conditions produce clear photos. The camera app has a variety of modes, including an HDR pro mode and a portrait mode that enable you to capture photos with the bokeh effect. 

However, the zoom feature lacks OIS and results in considerable noise, especially when used in low light. Also, the phone heats up if the camera is used for a long time. 

The secondary 13-MP camera clicks selfies that are sharp and have vibrant colours. The phone has a much better camera than its predecessor and captures great pictures. 

The phone comes with a  5,000mAh battery and holds its own. Even with heavy usage, it lasted for an entire day. It also has the reverse charging feature that makes the phone double up as a power bank. 

Priced at Rs 26,999, the Asus Zenfone Zoom S is a well-rounded phone and is a great option for photography enthusiasts.