My photography is very important to me both as a hobby and part of my work as a online-media publisher / social media influencer so taking good photos is critical. I always carry my mirrorless camera with him during events to take good photos.
However with the advent of smart phones having better and better cameras, I saw my self taking photos of my smart phone in a lot of situations and don’t even bother to get my camera from the bag for simple events.
During the Sinulog festival in Cebu, Asus Philippines gave us and great opportunity to try out the new Asus Zenfone Zoom.
Here are the things I like about the Zenfone Zoom that makes it an ideal mobile photography smartphone:
13 megapixels camera
The Asus Zenfone Zoom has a high definition camera sensor of 13 Megapixesl (MP). It can shoot photos 13 MP photos in 4160 x 3120 pixels in 4:3 ratio. This results in high resolution photos.
Its also has a 5 MP front camera with f/2.0-aperture, 88-degrees wide lens for your selfies.
3x optical zoom
A typical smartphone will only have a fixed focal length and cannot be zoomed optically like your DSLR kit lenses. Phone users just use the digital zoom and the quality of the resulting photo will be of lower quality.
With the 3X Zooming capability of the Zenfone Zoom, its like having a 28-84 mm zoom lens with f/2.7- to 4.8-aperture. You can now have a larger image of your subject without having to come closer.
The resulting larger image is also better because it is optically zoomed and not digitally zoom like the ordinary smartphone.
Thin In-spite of the Zoom
The Zoom’s optical zoom is a Hoya f/2.7- to 4.8-aperture 10-element lenses with a periscope design. Its innovative state-of-the art design makes it the World’s Thinnest 3X Optical Zoom Smartphone with just 11.95mm thickness. Unlike the Samsung K Zoom, the lens does not protrude out of the phone making it not only thinner but also less prone to breaking. The Zoom just measures only 158.9 x 78.84 x 11.95 mm and weighs only 185 grams. As the famous photographer Chase Jarvis say, “The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You”. With the Zoom’s thin profile makes it ideal to carry around as if you are carrying an ordinary phone making it ideal for mobile photography. 
Dedicated Shutter Release and Video Record Buttons
The dedicated shutter release button makes you feel you are using a real camera. Of course you can still touch the camera icon on screen to take a photo. The Video Record button plays a similar role for the video. To zoom you can also use the volume control in addition to the normal pinch zoom gesture. 
Optical image stabilization (OIS)
Laser auto-focus
The Zoom’s ultra-fast laser auto-focus system focuses in just 0.03 seconds. The speed in focusing helps in reducing the lag. This means when you press the shutter button, the phone immediate takes a photo without any delay so no more missed decisive moments.
PixelMaster
PixelMaster is ASUS-developed technology that combines software, hardware and optical design to deliver incredible image quality and great photos / videos. It is one of the best smartphone image processing options and capabilities. Standard PixelMaster modes that you can find on Zenfones are: Auto, Full Manual, HDR/Backlit, Low Light, Beautification, Super Resolution, Panorama and Timelapse to name a few.
The beautiful view at the Fishing Village Island Cove. Timelapse taken with the Asus ZenFone Zoom mounted on Joby Gorillapod Action tripod. #EATgetaway #EATgetwayatislandcove #JobyPH #AsusPH Posted by Ted Claudio on Sunday, January 31, 2016
Manual Mode for doing Ligth Rails
More Storage (128 GB storage + microSD)
The built-in storage of the Zoom is 128GB. That is 8X more than an Apple iPhone 16GB. You can shoot and store it on the Zoom without deleting them for longer periods. You can shoot longer videos and use it for tempory storage longer without deleting files.
Looks Good
The Zoom not only takes good photos but looks good as well. With the genuine leather cover and its premium metal frame edges makes it very classy to look at. It comes also with a leather strap / lanyard for securing the phone while taking photos.
Strong and Durable
The display has a Corning Gorilla Glass 4 to protect it from scratches and even short drops. It makes it stronger compared to other smart phones.
Fast Charging
In 39 minutes you can recharge the phone from 0 to 60%. Lesser wait to get the Zoom to action again after charging.
OTHER FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS
- 2.3GHz quad core processor from Intel coupled with 4GB of RAM.
- 5.5 inch full HD display 1920 x 1080 403 ppi
- 4G LTE Connectivity
- 3,000 mah non removal battery
- With micro USB that supports OTG)
- Dual SIM (micro)
- OS: Android 5 Lollipop
With the impressive features of the Asus Zenfone Zoom especially with the 3x zoom, it looks like a very good mobile phone.
The phone is now available in the Philippines for Php 26,995.
Check out more detailed review and sample photos soon.
