Does the Realme 3X Super Zoom see as far as it claims? - 20 Minutes
- For a few months, Realme has been investing in the French market with chic and not (too) expensive Chinese smartphones.
- To stand out, the brand is launching for the summer of 2020 a photo smartphone with 60x zoom sold for less than 500 euros.
- When tested, the camera is distinguished by many advantages such as its incredible stabilization, but many of its photos sometimes lack detail.
The new Chinese brand Realme arrives in France with its X3 Super Zoom. She too wants to make photography her selling point. The technical sheet of this new smartphone sets the bar high enough technically to claim to follow our summer wanderings. So, does it deserve to find its place in our suitcase?
Big screen but small sound
Realme? Really ? If its name may not tell you anything, this Chinese brand does not fall from the sky. An independent entity of the BBK Electronics group, its cousins are the house brands Oppo and OnePlus. Suffice to say that Realme knows the song in the smartphone department. Launched at 499 euros (256 GB / 12 Gb), its X3 Super Zoom delights the retina with its rear shell in pearly finish. Although made of plastic, this shell (also available in blue) has one advantage: fingerprints have no hold on it. At the front, its 6.6 '' / 16.76 cm screen rests on an IPS panel and not OLED, which is a shame. It's also a shame that the X3 Super Zoom doesn't sound great: with a single mono speaker, summer viewing without headphones may lack a little flavor.
Complex architecture
But who says "summer", first says "summer vacation"! To immortalize them and allow us to share the best moments (on the condition of leaving), the new smartphone wants to see far. In this case up to 60x. Technically, the alchemy proposed by Realme in the photo is quite complex. Based on four rear modules *, it must allow all daring.
To get to the bottom of it, we took the X3 Super Zoom in the Vexin, from the impressive Château de Vigny to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise, passing by the vast expanses of wheat that light up the horizon.
Unmistakable portraits and selfies
The ultra-wide-angle images open up the field of possibilities: photographing a site, a monument is a breeze here. Beware however of the distortions on the sides of the image which are not, or not enough, corrected. The 1x shots are generally of good quality and we salute the Portrait mode rich in detail, with a bokeh effect (blur behind the subject).
Good point: the X3 Super Zoom also excels in the art of the selfie ** again with portraits with faces extremely rich in detail, good cropping to detach the subject and blur the background, but also group selfies successful.
Astonishing stabilization
Faced with the endangered masterpiece that is the Château de Vigny (where around forty films were filmed including The Visitors , The Barbouzes and We found the 7th company ), we activate the smartphone zoom. 5x optical, 10x hybrid, it is possible to reach 60x in digital.
This allows us to get closer to the building, unfortunately closed to the public. Stupor without shaking: the X3 Super Zoom has an excellent stabilization system. If the image on the screen “moves” more and more as you get closer to the turrets of the castle, it remains possible at any time to achieve its framing, even without a tripod.
Lack of details
Same observation, later, facing the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise where Vincent Van Gogh lived and died: located more than 50 meters away, we manage without any problems to zoom in on the commemorative plaque of the building and to immortalize a cropped and sharp image.
Obviously, you should not ask the X3 Super Zoom to offer what it cannot offer: beyond 10x, the smartphone struggles to deliver usable photos. What is more, the X3 Super Zoom sins by excess of smoothing, which can be seen on many views, and not necessarily those taken with its zoom. Finally, we note that most of the images may lack details.
As soon as you try to enlarge them to focus on a specific point in the image, finesse is no longer required. For their part, the macro photos (up to 4 cm) are correct ... even if it is necessary to take several to be sure that the sharpness is well done.
Our enthusiasm for the first takeover is therefore followed by a mixed feeling. But also a feeling to put in perspective: the X3 Super Zoom is worth less than 500 euros. Overall good, the Realme smartphone "does the job" in photos in most situations, but it has shortcomings. On video, it can film up to 4K at 60 frames / second, but at the cost of a few jerks. Full HD (up to 60 frames / second) remains to be preferred. With its 4200 mAh battery and its fast 30 W charger (i.e. a full charge in less than an hour), you can validate your passport for the summer. With a size restriction, however: the X3 Super Zoom is not waterproof.
* 64 megapixels (26 mm wide-angle equivalent; f / 1.8) + 8 megapixels (ultra-wide 16 mm / 119 °; f / 1.8) + 8 megapixels (with 5x 124 mm periscope zoom; 124 mm; f / 3.4) ; 2 megapixels (macro; f / 2.4).
** 32 megappixels + 8 megapixels (ultra-wide angle).
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- Tik Tech
- Photo
- Summer holidays
- Smartphone
- 20 minutes video
- High-Tech