The 100x Space Zoombelonging exclusively to the Galaxy S20 Ultra, for now,could be a gimmick for some, and a blessing for others in some situations. For private investigator Michael McKeever, it is a chance to see how far smartphones have come in terms of zoom levels and to see how Samsung’s latest and greatest flagship stacks up against his go-to cameras. For comparison, the iPhone 11 Pro Max, a Sony HDR-CX190, and a Nikon P100 were included in the test.

Private Investigator Tests Whether the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s 100x Space Zoom Is Sufficient Enough to Outperform Standalone Cameras

McKeever has been doing private investigation for 30 years now and this was the first time when he decided to shoot videos with a smartphone. The Wall Street Journal’s senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern was able to provide her insights too and states that while the Galaxy S20 Ultra can capture 30x zoomed images at crisp quality, it struggles when taking a decent picture when the 100x Space Zoom feature is used. This is confirmed by the way McKeever uses the Nikon P100.

This professional camera is equipped with a 125x optical zoom and looking at the results, it will be the ideal companion if you’re a private investigator. In terms of image quality, the Galaxy S20 Ultra is able to beat the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Sadly, this is because Apple’s current flagship can only achieve 2x optical zoom. If you want to experience higher levels of zoom, you’d best invest in a Galaxy S20 Ultra but a lot of you won’t be comfortable shelling $1400 for a handset like this.

In a lot of cases, users might not even find a use for a 100x Space Zoom outside of showing the feature off to friends to gain some bragging rights. That’s not to say that the flagship doesn’t have an impeccable camera system. It most certainly does, and Samsung states that it’s only going to get better thanks to future software updates. Unfortunately, if you’re an aspiring private investigator and want something that will capture zoomed footage with a little more quality, smartphones cannot trump standalone cameras for now.

Here’s some more Galaxy S20 Ultra coverage that you might like to check out.

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