Back in 2003, the Electro-Mechanics division of Samsung Electronics began its sojourn in the camera module market and ever since, there have been camera modules for dual-camera (OIS) cameras made by the division. Now, the company has made an announcement saying that it has developed a flat, ultra-slim camera module which has the ability to deliver 5x optical zoom. Even better, reports say that mass production of the camera module will commence very soon.
Earlier this year, Oppo released the Reno smartphone which features a camera capable of delivering 10x optical zoom and since then, the feature seems to be gaining ground by the day. The Huawei P30 Pro which was recently released comes with a camera sensor capable of delivering 5x optical zoom. The usual telephoto lens which comes on most smartphones provides just 2x optical zoom. However, getting a smartphone camera to deliver 5x optical zoom needs some level of engineering and that isn’t something to challenge Samsung. It is also worth mentioning that Samsung recently acquired Corephotonics. Corephotonics is the company that was responsible for making optical zoom lenses for Oppo phones. This, probably, maybe the reason why the technology is swiftly entering into mass production.
In terms of features, the camera module by Samsung features a build which is barely 5 mm thick. This gives the module a build which is much thinner than most 2x zoom lenses currently in the market. The technology which the module features isn’t very different from the ones found on those of OPPO or Huawei. The camera module still uses a periscope design which houses many mirrors. These mirrors keep things slim by reflecting light sideways.
There is a chance Samsung will sell the camera module to other OEMs in the near future but Samsung may want it to make its debut on a Samsung device. As such, the Galaxy Note 10 or any of the mid-range Galaxy series may launch featuring the 5x optical zoom periscope lens.
