#autofocus

#autofocus

The small, lightweight, inexpensive camcorder was a great liberator for filmmaking. Not only did it mark a significant leap in accessibility, it also made it easier for filmmakers to achieve the kind of raw, immediate visual language that had been established by directors like Spike Jonze in Video Days (1991).

Oppo is going the other way - the upcoming Oppo Find X9s Pro will have cameras that will rival the Ultra model. Both the Find X9 Ultra and Find X9s Pro will debut in China on April 21.

In recent years, smartphone photography has become increasingly dominated by software. Computational imaging, AI processing, and post-capture optimisation now play a central role in how images are produced. Yet as these techniques become more widespread, camera hardware is once again emerging as a key differentiator. The REDMI Note 15 Pro 5G Series reflects this shift clearly, placing renewed emphasis on sensor capability and optical fundamentals rather than relying solely on software to define image quality.

Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra wasn't the first phone to feature a periscopic telephoto lens - both Huawei and Oppo beat the Korean company to it - but it was the first in the US to make such a big deal about it. Almost all of Samsung's marketing for the S20 Ultra centered on its so-called Space Zoom, its 5x optical folded periscope lens, capable of digitally zooming much further.

This update includes the next iteration of the app's much-discussed Process Zero mode, adding HDR and ProRAW support to what is intended to be a hands-off, anti-computational image processing method. There's a new black-and-white film simulation that also supports HDR, and more new "Looks" to come. This is my semi-regular cue to remind you that HDR is not a dirty word. We tend to associate the term with an over-processed look when high-contrast scenes are translated to an SDR display.

For millions of people, the ability to share a fresh photo wirelessly - Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, text message - is so tempting, they're willing to sacrifice a lot of real-camera goodness. That's an awfully big convenience/photo-quality swap. A real camera teems with compelling features that most phones lack: optical zoom, big sensor, image stabilization, removable memory cards, removable batteries and decent ergonomics. (A four-inch, featureless glass slab is not exactly optimally shaped for a hand-held photographic instrument.)

Younger folks are snapping up old point-and-shoots because they view the aesthetic as more authentic and more appealing than smartphone images. Companies are even rereleasing old tech at new prices. And there are cameras like the original Camp Snap: a $70 single-button point-and-shoot with no screen, designed as a modern take on a disposable film camera. It's cheap enough to send off with a kid to summer camp and accessible enough for just about anyone to enjoy its lo-fi aesthetic.

If it's speed you want for sports or action shots of your kids, models like Canon's R50 can shoot bursts as fast as many high-end cameras. Creators, meanwhile, can choose Sony's ZV-E10 for vlogging jobs. There are also great, and cheap, models in the action and gimbal camera categories.

Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products. Catch up on the recent reviews published by Engadget. Our reviews team is rested up after the CES grind and we're back to business. This week we reviewed the latest devices from Valerion,

The new camera features, on the other hand, are neither of those things. They're something worse. Something scarier. On this episode of The Vergecast, Nilay and David discuss the new phones, then dive into the ways in which the S26's AI camera features seem to be clearly designed to change the whole idea of what happens when you try to take a picture.

The GT 9 Pro would keep that, presumably, while also employing a 200MP main camera. Two 200MP cameras on one phone will be a massive trend in China later this year, with the Oppo Find X9s, Oppo Find X9 Ultra, and vivo X300 Ultra all expected to have such a setup.

The teaser is all about "vibrant night even in low light", and while Samsung doesn't explicitly mention which device it's talking about, we assume it's the Galaxy S26 Ultra, since that one will have the best cameras of the trio. Of course, Samsung's competitors from China may rightly point out that you need big sensors for nighttime photography, since they can take in more light,