Beyond the alphabet
Beyond the Alphabet is a weekly column that focuses on the world of technology both inside and outside the borders of Mountain View.
After our initial review of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, an offer was made to see how the phone held up in photos in the rain. Part of the reason is that this is Samsung’s first IP-rated foldable, as the Fold 6 is equipped with an IP48 rating.
I tend to try to wait for “perfect” photo conditions. This goes for both product shots and sample cameras as I just enjoy the way the photos look in the sun. But the phone’s new IP rating gave me a different option.
Seeing as how I’ve been moaning and complaining about Samsung’s inability to do anything with the cameras, it was the perfect storm to try and compare the Z Fold 6 to the OnePlus Open. There is some irony in the previous sentence and you will soon learn why.
| Category | Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 | OnePlus Open |
|---|---|---|
| Rear camera 1 (primary) | 50 MP, ƒ/1.8, 1.0 μm, 85 degree FoV, OIS | 48MP f/1.7, 1.12um pixels, OIS, Dolby Vision video |
| Rear Camera 2 (Ultra Wide) | 12MP, ƒ/2.2, 1.12μm, 123-degree FoV | 48MP f/2.2, 0.8um pixels, 114-degree FoV |
| Rear camera 3 (telephoto) | 10MP, ƒ/2.4, 1.0μm, 3x optical zoom, OIS | 64MP f/2.6, 3x optical zoom, 6x internal sensor zoom, OIS |
Using the main cameras
As I mentioned earlier, the original idea was to try and see how the Z Fold 6 held up in the rain, but Mother Nature decided to hold out a bit. Fortunately, the sky didn’t clear, providing a cloudy backdrop for most of the photos I took.
To start things off, it’s important to note that I didn’t make any adjustments to the photos, just using the default settings in each device’s camera app. From here, the Z Fold 6 seemed to give a bit of a bluish tint to its photos, while the OnePlus Open offered a bit more ‘life’.
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This continues in many of the photos between these two foldable phones. But I don’t necessarily think this is a negative for the Fold 6 and instead comes down to more personal preference. However, I think there is a bit more detail in the images made by Open.
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There are a few key differences, such as in the first image in the gallery above. In my opinion, the Z Fold 6 takes darker photos, but for some reason the roles are reversed in the photo of the flying birds. I actually prefer the Z Fold 6 here, as it looks more natural, while the Open slightly oversaturates the shore rocks.
Telephoto cameras
If there’s one thing I care about, it’s having a good telephoto lens. For reference, my preferred “big camera” lens is 100mm, so I can take close-up product shots without needing to get close. Both devices offer telephoto lenses with 3x optical zoom, but the Open has an extra trick up its sleeve with 6x “in-sensor” zoom.
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Unfortunately, in the photo of the bird above, it’s pretty obvious that the Z Fold 6 takes the better photo. I’m not quite sure what happened here, as not only is the picture darker, but it lacks detail when looking at the bird. I’ll give props to Open, though, because he actually managed to capture a heron flying in the background.
With the image above, comparing the Fold 6’s 10x preset to the Open’s 6x preset, it doesn’t take long to notice a big difference. No, I’m not talking about the darker shade of Open’s picture. It’s that Samsung’s processing is starting to rear its ugly head, and in a big way.
There is very little accuracy in the way the water looks, as much of it just looks smoothed out. Needless to say, I’d rather have the picture from Open and just do some adjustments in Lightroom to make it a bit brighter.
Ultrawide and macro
Admittedly, I didn’t pay much attention to the ultrawide cameras between these two devices. Part of it was just because of the location, as it didn’t make much sense, but really, it’s just not something I personally use that often.
That being said, we have another role reversal as the Fold 6 provides the darker photo of the two, while the Open is the brighter. It’s like there’s some kind of fog on the Fold 6’s picture, while the Open is bright and vibrant.
Another advantage of the ultra-wide cameras for both devices is that they can also be used as macro lenses. You just have to stick your phone as close to the subject as possible, but it’s still a pretty cool option.
In the image above I think it’s a bit of a coin toss. Colors are a little brighter with the Fold 6, but the Open fights back by offering more detail. If you look really up close you can see a cameo made by an ant in the middle of the Open painting.
Super zoom at 30x
As it turned out, this little trip to Point Lookout State Park offered an unexpected opportunity. There was a huge cargo ship off the coast, which was an excuse to check out the ultra-zoom capabilities of these phones. Seriously, the ship was so massive that you could see at standard 1x magnification, something that isn’t always the case.
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The first thing I’d like to point out is that trying to use 30x zoom without a tripod is incredibly annoying. I just stood on the beach using two hands for stability and holding my breath just to try to focus the ship. That being said, none of these photos are good and are more of a parlor trick than anything else.
Stuck in the rain
The original purpose of this comparison was to see how the Galaxy Z Fold 6 would fare in the wild. Mother Nature had other plans in mind as the weather started to clear and I hopped in the car to head back home.
However, as I got closer to home, I saw a storm coming my way, so I decided to make one last effort to take pictures in the rain. Unfortunately, when I got out of my car to head to the beach, I quickly realized that I had locked my keys in my car.
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This resulted in me spending an hour and a half in the pouring rain trying to use a hanger to unlock the car. After getting a little help from a family sitting in the parking lot waiting out the storm, I successfully made it back to my car. Unfortunately the park was closing at that point which meant I didn’t get to take any of the pictures I had in mind.
What I learned is that despite being drenched from head to toe, the Fold 6 and Open were completely unphased. To be honest, I was a bit worried about what would happen, but I was pleasantly surprised.
So the moral of the story is, don’t listen to Jerry Hildenbrand and quadruple check that your keys are in your pocket. Otherwise, you might end up in a thunderstorm in a park and have no shelter from the elements.
