Granted, optical zoom on phones is nothing new, but previous attempts at making a proper zoom lens for phones have resulted in pretty bulky devices and needless to say they never caught on. LG is taking a different approach this time around, by developing a slim optical zoom camera that should fit today’s increasingly slim smartphones.
LG research engineer Jakyung Jeon told Techradar that the outfit is looking at developing a 16-megapixel cameraphone sensor, with optical zoom and perhaps even more importantly, optical image stabilization and mechanical shutter.
The advantages of such a device would be quite obvious. The zoom lens would provide consumers with a bit more flexibility, allowing smartphone to truly replace cheap compact cameras. Optical image stabilization and a proper mechanical shutter could result in crisper images and vastly improve low-light performance.
More here.