Samsung Galaxy A9: May the four be with you!
The dream of every photographer is to capture moments that are as close to what the human eye can see. Technology limits this ability as no device can pan around as the human eye does, and stare deep into objects. In its quest to become a photographer's primary tool of choice, smart phones have come closer and closer to reality with respect to imaging technology.
While primary cameras today are able to achieve excellent white balance and depth, selfie cameras are able to contour the edges of your face and blur out unnecessary background. Sometimes it takes not one, but two lenses on a smart phone camera to achieve this. Samsung has taken smart phone photography rather seriously and has created a device that dedicates a separate lens to each aspect of an image — depth, width, focus and detail. The Galaxy A9 launched last week in India, is the world's first smart phone with four lenses at the back.
The first lens is an 8MP Ultra Wide one, the second is a 10MP Telephoto lens with 2X optical zoom, with an F/2.4 aperture, the third one is the good old main camera (24MP) with F 1.7 and the fourth one is a 5MP depth sensor. Additionally, the Galaxy A9 comes with a 24MP selfie camera. Having taken the device for a spin at various outdoor locations, what sets it apart from other camera phones is the fact that it captures more real estate. Every image is deeper and wider, which essentially means there is more background, foreground and more elements in an image, pretty much like watching movies on a 70mm screen instead of a 35mm screen.
With four lenses firing simultaneously, the A9 is able to let you tinker with the image after you have clicked it. You can manually adjust the depth of field and change focus after you have shot the pictures. Low-light photography is also quite impressive.
The 6.3-inch device is powered by the Snapdragon 660 processor, and runs on a 3800mAh battery with fast charging. To ensure that you can leverage the lenses for better videos, the A9 comes with Dolby Atmos that captures and reproduces fine sound nuances and offers an all-round music feel.
Design wise, the A9 is all metal with a classy back panel that houses the four lenses in a row on the top left of the device. We aren't used to seeing so many lenses together, but it's a refreshing change, since it nicely blends with the shiny colour-changing back, that also houses a fingerprint sensor. Available in two memory variants, the A9 is for those that look to smart phone photography beyond social media profile pictures. The device is priced at Rs 36,990 (6GB + 128GB) and Rs 39,990 (8GB + 128GB), and is available in Caviar Black, Lemonade Blue and Bubblegum Pink.
