At the bottom of this post, a two-minute video explains it in an easy-to-follow way, with illustrations and side-by-side comparisons. Watch the video ▶
The camera app shows a Galaxy Fold8 Wide 2x zoom button. But the Wide has no telephoto lens. So what is this 2x button?
First, the camera setup. The Fold8 Wide has two lenses, a 50MP wide-angle and a 50MP ultra-wide. It has no optical telephoto lens, the one the Fold8 Ultra has. This is the most criticized point about this model. The Ultra has three rear lenses, including a 10MP, 3x optical telephoto.
The Galaxy Fold8 Wide 2x zoom in the camera app is not optical zoom through a lens. It crops the center of the 50MP sensor and enlarges it. This is called a sensor crop, or digital zoom. It comes with some loss in image quality.
So is a 2x photo from a sensor crop unusable? No. The sensor has plenty of pixels to work with, so results in bright light are fine. In low light, the limits of the cropped area show clearly.
Maximum zoom on the Wide is 10x digital, and image quality drops the further you zoom. Up to 2x, it is usable in bright light. Beyond that, the camera enlarges an even smaller crop, and image quality drops a lot.
The Ultra’s maximum zoom is 3x optical plus digital zoom. In other words, up to 3x, the lens does the zooming, so there is no loss in quality. Beyond that, you are in digital zoom, and quality drops.
Personally, if you often shoot subjects far away, I do not think the Wide is the right phone for you. On the other hand, if most of your photos are everyday snapshots and wide landscapes, you will rarely feel that anything is missing. For more on the Galaxy Fold8 Wide, watch the full videos.
Galaxy Fold8 Wide 2x zoom Key numbers
- Rear cameras: 50MP F1.8 wide with OIS + 50MP F1.9 ultra-wide (no telephoto)
- 2x = sensor crop from the center of the 50MP sensor; max zoom 10x digital
- Ultra: three rear lenses, including a 10MP F2.4 3x optical telephoto (3x optical + digital)
💡 FAQ
Q1. Does the Fold8 Wide have a telephoto lens?
No. The rear camera is a two-lens setup: a 50MP F1.8 wide with OIS and a 50MP F1.9 ultra-wide. The Ultra has three rear lenses, including a 10MP F2.4 3x optical telephoto.
Q2. How good are 2x photos?
The 2x option isn’t optical zoom. It crops the center out of the 50-megapixel sensor. With that many pixels to spare, results hold up fine in good light. Once the light drops, the limits of a cropped area show through immediately.
Q3. Is the ultra-wide different from the Ultra’s?
No. The Fold8 Wide uses the same 50MP F1.9 ultra-wide as the Ultra. It’s the one place in the camera setup where the two are on equal footing. With both the resolution and the aperture covered, indoor group shots and night scenes hold up at a decent level of quality.
Watch next
- 📝 Full specs and details 👉 Galaxy Fold8 Wide Specs In Depth, 4 Differences from the Ultra
- Full video (13 min) 👉 Galaxy Fold8 Wide vs Fold8 Ultra: Full Comparison – Camera, Price, Colors and S Pen
