Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Dual Camera is a smartphone targeted towards the selfie lovers, but I had some other plans while reviewing it. Being a photographer and an old Asus smartphone user, I wanted to test the 16 Megapixel rear camera capabilities of this Zenfone 4 Selfie Dual Camera version (dual-front camera). What’s better than putting the smartphone camera to the low-light test and get to know about its performance.
I decided to visit the Jama Masjid to capture some sunset and after-sunset photos using the Zenfone 4 Selfie camera in auto mode. Before I start talking about its camera performance, I would like to highlight the fact that the smartphone is very lightweight which makes it easy to use while clicking photos.
As I entered the Jama Masjid, the sun had just started setting and it made the ideal situation for me to try my hands on Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Dual Camera smartphone camera. The photo that you see below is straight out of the camera and I have haven’t edited it at all.
The Colors and Dynamic Range captured by this 16 MP camera is impressive, considering the fact that the available light was not that good. The image below does not have any over-exposed areas, which means that it balances the exposure in the frame quite well. If you look at the sky you would clearly see the blue as well as yellow color tones, which are very well retained by the camera.
Talking about the second image shared below, I switched on the HDR mode to capture the frame as the sun was right behind the structure. Trust me, HDR mode is the trickiest test for any smartphone camera especially when the sun is right behind the subject. The Zenfone 4 Selfie scores a 10/10 here because of the way the software processed the HDR image, making it look natural and well balanced in terms of exposure. I can clearly see the details in both the dark as well as bright areas of the frame.
Another challenging situation I face while clicking photos during sunset is to capture a well-focused photo. The 16 MP PDAF (phase detection auto focus) rear camera sounds impressive on paper, but does it focus accurately in low light conditions was my question. While clicking the photo shown below, I simply raised the phone, framed the scene, and clicked the photo.
Usually, I tap on the screen to focus on the subject and then click a photo to ensure that the focus is locked accurately, but while testing the focusing ability of a smartphone camera I don’t. Zenfone 4 Selfie rear camera again proved to be an ideal smartphone choice for low light photography because of swift and accurate focusing in this condition.
My last test was to click a photo when the sun is completely gone and the moon is taking over the sky. The photo shared below was clicked in auto mode and the camera settings were 1/15 sec and ISO 4500.
My comment on this photo would be that the camera does a decent job in capturing such a photo at such high ISO and slow shutter speed. The focusing is on point, the colors are accurate, and the grains are less compared to some of the other smartphones available in the market in this price range.
If you are impressed by the low light performance of this smartphone camera, you can purchase it from Flipkart: Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Dual Camera (Black, 64 GB)