Huawei Mate70 Series: A Deep Dive into the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Ultra-Telephoto Era

Huawei Mate70 Series: A Deep Dive into the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Ultra-Telephoto EraOn November 26th, Huawei unveiled its highly anticipated Mate70 series and MateX6 at its brand launch event. The Mate70 series' camera upgrades were particularly noteworthy

Huawei Mate70 Series: A Deep Dive into the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Ultra-Telephoto Era

On November 26th, Huawei unveiled its highly anticipated Mate70 series and MateX6 at its brand launch event. The Mate70 series' camera upgrades were particularly noteworthy. Lei Technology's hands-on experience with the standard Mate70 revealed a remarkable 5.5x optical zoom, equivalent to a 125mm focal length. (Image: Lei Technology) This isn't an isolated incident. Driven by increasing consumer demand for telephoto capabilities, the iPhone 16 Pro series now features a 5x optical zoom across the board, and the Xiaomi 15 Pro also boasts a 5x periscope telephoto lens. However, does this increase in telephoto magnification genuinely enhance the shooting experience, or is it merely a marketing ploy? This "truth reveal" about ultra-telephoto lenses is about to begin.

The Rise of Telephoto and the Decline of Mid-range Lenses: A Shift in Mainstream Flagship Lenses

In optics, lens focal lengths are typically categorized into five ranges: wide-angle, standard, mid-range, mid-telephoto, and telephoto. Using a 135-format camera as a standard, mid-range lenses generally fall between 61mm and 100mm. However, mobile imaging systems usually consist of multiple fixed-focal-length lenses, so focal lengths between 50mm and 85mm are also often considered mid-range.

Apple first introduced a "telephoto" lens in the iPhone 11 series, with an equivalent focal length of 52mm (2x magnification). This was upgraded to 72mm (3x magnification) in the iPhone 13 Pro and further evolved to 120mm (5x magnification) in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. (Image: Apple)

Xiaomi, Huawei, OPPO, and other manufacturers have followed suit, continually increasing telephoto magnification, albeit through slightly different methods. A common trend is the reduced emphasis on mid-range lenses. This has raised questions among consumers: the debate over whether 3x or 5x zoom is better has raged since the iPhone 15 Pro Max's 5x telephoto launch, with Xiaomi's 15 Pro also sparking considerable discussion. Why are manufacturers abandoning the 72mm focal length in favor of 120mm and beyond?

The core of a mobile imaging system lies in the synergy of multiple cameras. This means that even with an extended telephoto range, other lenses can compensate for missing focal lengths. In 2021, Sony's IMX766 sensor debuted In-Sensor Zoom (ISZ) technology, utilizing sensor area cropping for zoom, enabling lossless magnification on high-resolution sensors. This technology allows most main cameras to support multiple magnification levels such as 1.2x, 1.5x, and 2x, equivalent to 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm respectively. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro Max claims to offer seven "golden focal lengths" through cropping algorithms. (Image: Apple)

However, even with ISZ technology providing more lossless focal lengths without increasing the number of lenses, jumping directly from 50mm to 120mm or more remains a gamble. On one hand, 72mm is a prime focal length for portrait photography, offering suitable subject distance and pleasing background blur and compression; 120mm requires a greater shooting distance. On the other hand, 72mm is also well-suited for street and documentary photography, with many award-winning works originating from similar focal lengths.

Of course, the saying "mobile photography prioritizes capturing the image, then its quality" holds some truth. While the absence of a mid-range lens may concern photography enthusiasts, and no main camera currently offers lossless 3x zoom, the lack of an ultra-telephoto lens essentially eliminates the possibility of 20x, 30x, or even higher digital zoom.

Hardware and AI: Unleashing the Value of Telephoto Imaging

Within the limited space of a smartphone, manufacturers have made different choices: Apple sticks with a triple-camera system, sacrificing mid-range capabilities for stronger telephoto performance; Xiaomi and OPPO employ dual-telephoto solutions, balancing mid-range and telephoto; vivo and Honor rely on large sensors and high-resolution sensors to cover mid-range to telephoto scenarios; Samsung has scaled back from 10x ultra-telephoto to 5x.

Xiaomi and OPPO's dual-telephoto approach might best suit photography enthusiasts, with the main camera covering golden focal lengths like 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm, while a 3x optical zoom bridges the gap between 72mm and 120mm, with longer ranges handled by high-resolution cropping and AI algorithms. However, this seemingly perfect solution isn't flawless. (Image: Xiaomi)

Limited phone size necessitates compromises in quad-camera setups. For example, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra uses a periscope and a telephoto lens, but with smaller sensors, resulting in reduced light sensitivity with zoom cropping. The OPPO Find X7 Ultra, while employing a dual-periscope design, has a smaller aperture and sensor area on its 135mm telephoto lens, resulting in weaker low-light performance. The periscope setup used in the iPhone 15 Pro Max and subsequent Pro models also uses a small size, small aperture, and low-pixel solution. While compact, image quality suffers.

Honor and vivo opt to forgo mid-range lenses, relying on AI algorithms to cover all focal lengths from the main camera to mid-range and telephoto. The vivo X100 Ultra and X200 Pro, equipped with the Samsung HP9 sensor, boast 200MP and a 1/1.4-inch large sensor, significantly enhancing image cropping zoom and low-light capabilities. (Image: vivo)

According to Digital Chat Station, some manufacturers are experimenting with smaller main camera sensors to increase focal length, paired with the 200MP HP9 telephoto for a more practical imaging solution. Another approach involves adding a smaller mid-range lens to the HP9 for better focal length coverage. Regardless of the approach, manufacturers are striving to address shortcomings in various focal lengths.

Beyond hardware, AI algorithms are crucial. Since Xiaomi 14 Ultra integrated large-model algorithms into its mobile imaging, vivo, OPPO, Huawei, and Honor have followed suit. These algorithms have qualitatively improved ultra-telephoto performance in landscapes, stage photography, and portraits. While the number of phone lenses is limited by size, as long as pixel and light sensitivity meet minimum standards, missing focal lengths can be compensated for by AI algorithms, making the abandonment of mid-range lenses understandable.

Ultra-Telephoto is Useful, but Proficiency is Key

Apple and Xiaomi's shift away from mid-range to telephoto lenses is controversial, but ultra-telephoto is undoubtedly a popular feature: first, 100x zoom is a key indicator of smartphone imaging power for consumers; second, focal lengths exceeding 100mm are practical, offering spatial compression unmatched by mid-range lenses.

However, ultra-telephoto isn't for everyone. Achieving high-quality ultra-telephoto images requires either a sufficiently long equivalent focal length or a lens with a large sensor and high pixel count. For instance, the vivo X200 Pro uses a 200MP sensor and large sensor, and the OPPO Find X7 Ultra features a 135mm equivalent telephoto lens. But large sensors and high pixel counts result in bulkier devices. The X100 Ultra, for example, feels noticeably heavy, and with the camera bump, its thickness reaches 14.9mm, sacrificing everyday usability for imaging capabilities. While acceptable for photography enthusiasts, this may not appeal to average users. (Image: Lei Technology)

It's noteworthy that this year's flagship phones are returning to periscope telephoto lenses. The OPPO Reno13 Pro, vivo S20 Pro, and Honor 300 Ultra, for example, use the IMX882 sensor, achieving 3x optical zoom, a 72mm equivalent focal length (mid-range). With AI algorithms, they can still achieve 100x zoom, far more practical than the first iterations of 100x zoom technology from Samsung and Huawei in 2020.

So, is ultra-telephoto merely a marketing tactic? The answer is no. Wide-angle, mid-range, and telephoto lenses each have their appeal. Smartphones can't swap lenses like cameras, so manufacturers use various hardware combinations and AI algorithms to improve image quality across all focal lengths. Ultra-telephoto's popularity stems from the fact that main cameras now boast higher-spec sensors, and algorithms for wide-angle to mid-range coverage are mature. However, telephoto capabilities can't be fully achieved by AI alone, making high-spec telephoto sensors the latest focus for manufacturers.