Camera Shootout: ASUS Zenfone 3 vs Zenfone 2

Since the Zenfone 3 is already in our hands, why not take it for a spin against its predecessor? Here’s a camera shootout for you guys especially for those who are thinking of upgrading to the latest Zenfone 3’s shooter. It’s a 16MP Sony IMX298 versus the 13MP Toshiba sensor of the Zenfone 2. But, the ZF3 has a 4-axis optical image stabilization feature as an advantage. Here are a number of samples and we’ll let you be the judge.

Note: The images were taken with the same composition and framing as much as possible using Zenfone 3 (ZE552KL) and Zenfone 2 Deluxe (ZE551ML). They were resized to 1920×1440 pixels for uploading.

Daylight

In broad daylight, the Zenfone 3 produces a colder image and a more natural looking scenery than its older version. The Zenfone 2 may have a brighter and punchier image but it doesn’t look as natural as we like it to be.

HDR

High dynamic range mode for the two phones, based on the images above, slightly helps to capture details in the shadows. We noticed that the Zenfone 3 is a bit aggressive on the highlights with using HDR mode thus resulting to a bit flat image. The Zenfone 2, on the other hand, captures a brighter but playful looking image.

Indoor

Heading inside with a mix of natural light and artificial house fixtures, the Zenfone 3 shows that it’s the better camera phone of the two. Thanks to the optical image stabilization (OIS) built-in to the new Zenfone 3, it was able to bring in more light to the sensor without the blur.

Macro

Again, the Zenfone 3 shines when it comes to the macro shots. The images above were shot indoors with a lot of lighting coming from the window but the Zenfone 3, again, captures more details and better saturation, thus resulting to a sharper close-up.

Low-light

This is where we knew the 2nd-generation Zenfone will have a hard time. As expected, the Zenfone 2 captures a dimmer still compared to the Zenfone 3 which takes advantage of its OIS. Also, the Zenfone 2 struggles to focus properly on the subject in dim environments. We’re using the non-Laser variant of the Zenfone 2, so that might explain why.

Flash

Turning on the flash to help with the dark environment does light up the subject enough for both phones. Although, in this round, the Zenfone 3 misses to focus properly on Bob. Just like in daylight, the Zenfone 3 still produces colder tones while the Zenfone 2 really likes to keep things warm.

Selfie

And for selfie lovers, the Zenfone 3 will give you better justice. It’s sharper, more natural, and just has a better front-facing camera overall.

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQwOcokBIGQ

As for video, the Zenfone 3 is just the better camcorder of the two. It has a wider FOV and more natural tones. It also has 4K option if you have a 4K monitor around to enjoy it with. Audio recording is also richer with the Zenfone 3 but it’s not near Nokia Lumias’ quality that we greatly miss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wAnOT-1xJE

Turning on the stabilization feature of the two helps keep things steady but we already know who’s the winner here. The Zenfone 2’s electronic stabilization is also a bit quirky at times.

And that’s pretty much it. What are your thoughts about the Zenfone 3’s improved camera? Hit the comments section below and share with other readers.