Traditional camera manufacturers are beginning to inch into the mobile phone market. Starting with the Panasonic CM1 and Huawei P9 with their Leica-certified lens, Motorola has also recently entered the market, breaking their silence and raising public attention for the first time in a long while. Cooperating with Hasselblad, they have introduced their all new external True Zoom optical module for their Moto Z series (including the Moto Z, Moto Z Force, and Moto Z Play) to provide a tremendous enhancement to optical performance.
True Zoom uses magnets to attach the camera-like exterior lens shell to the back of a phone where, through an exclusive application and a matching zoom lever, the user can manually adjust the lens magnification, shutter and flash. The module utilises a 1X 2.3 inch BSI CMOS sensor, with a resolution of 12 megapixels. The module’s standout feature is its focal length range of 4.5mm to 45mm with a corresponding aperture range of f/ 3.5 to f/ 6.5. The lens provides a 10x optical zoom and a 4x digital zoom, and can support a 5cm macro function. Even though True Zoom has a slightly lower file size than the original phone’s 16 megapixels, its optical power allows images to have better detail and colour. Last but not least, True Zoom supports shooting in RAW format, which significantly improves the image’s quality while expanding processing control.
