The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is one of the most powerful camera phones ever, and not just because it has a 108MP main sensor. It also has two telephoto zoom lenses: a 3x hybrid optical zoom and a 10x optical zoom. And it can make a big difference in what you can shoot.

With the S21 Ultra, Samsung's Space Zoom allows you to shoot even farther with up to 100x digital zoom. There is also a zoom lock feature that attempts to stabilize the viewfinder so that it does not jump around when shooting.

Meanwhile, Apple's most powerful camera phone, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, has a single telephoto lens with 2.5x optical zoom and 12x digital zoom. in the Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. iPhone 12 Pro Max showdown, Apple s smartphone had better image quality in some cases, but this significant advantage when it comes to zoom cannot be ignored.

Additionally, there are rumors that the iPhone 13 will not offer periscope zoom. Reportedly, Apple will add this feature to the 2022 iPhone. Let's see how far behind Apple is.

For the first zoom test, the Galaxy S21 Ultra and iPhone 12 Pro Max were set up across the highway, facing a fish market and restaurant. And it quickly became clear how good the zoom of the Samsung phones is.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

The photo above gives you a sense of how far away I was from the sign across the street and below you can see the 10x, 30x, and 100x space zoom.

As you proceed through the above slides, you will see that the Galaxy S21 Ultra produces a sharper image at 10x than the iPhone 12 Pro Max at 12x. The iPhone image has a lot of noise, but the Wooley's Fish Market on the building text on the building is crisp.

The S21 Ultra's zoom camera zooms in further so that the "Any Size Lobsters" text on the sign can be easily seen. (At 100x space zoom, the Galaxy S21 Ultra did not produce the clearest images, and shooting was not as easy. The new Zoom Lock feature on the S21 Ultra, however, reduces camera shake. Tap the display to lock on the subject, then press the shutter.

iPhone 12 Pro Max

In this case, the iPhone 12 Pro Max gets me across the highway and I like the warm color profile. However, the overall image of the Apple phone is quite noisy compared to the Samsung photo at similar zoom levels. Lettering on signs is more blurred and there is less detail toward the top of the building.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

This image was included to give a sense of how far the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra's 50x zoom reaches versus the S21 Ultra's 100x zoom. Obviously, the Note also has a much better zoom than the iPhone 12 Pro Max, but it does not benefit from the S21 Ultra's zoom lock feature. However, it does not benefit from the S21 Ultra's zoom lock feature.

Galaxy S21 Ultra

The fact that the Galaxy S21 Ultra can even capture the roof shingles is quite impressive, since it is not that easy to tell from a quick glance that there is a gazebo across the half-frozen lake in this photo.

The 10x zoom allows for more detail in the ice across the lake and in the gazebo itself; even at 30x zoom, the image is quite sharp, but there is some noise in the shadows on the left side.

Again, using the S21 Ultra's zoom lock function at 100x, the tiles on the roof are not as clear. This was taken without a tripod, so in general, if you are going to use more than 30x, you should use a tripod.

iPhone 12 Pro Max

The 12x digital zoom on the iPhone 12 Pro Max is quite disappointing in this case. The columns in the gazebo are not clearly visible and the ice on the water almost looks more like a painting than a photograph.

Galaxy S21 Ultra

Turning to the bench on the other side of the lake, it is barely visible in the distance.

At 30x zoom, the bench is almost in focus on the Galaxy S21 Ultra, and the surrounding grass and the lake itself are quite clear. The upper left portion of the bench is a bit blown out by the sun, but overall the image is decent.

At 100x space zoom, the bench is quite blurry, but this is with zoom lock engaged on the S21 Ultra. This is the S21 Ultra with zoom lock engaged.

iPhone 12 Pro Max

The 12x zoom on the iPhone 12 Pro Max looks a little worse than the 30x zoom on the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Galaxy S21 Ultra

In this zoom test, I tried to see how close I could get to a mailbox number with the Galaxy S21 Ultra and capture the number clearly.

At 10x zoom, both the flower and butterfly on the mailbox above the number appear very clear, as does the bark on the tree to the left. even at 30x zoom, the flower and butterfly seals are remarkably sharp.

It is at the 100x space zoom on the mailbox that one begins to see significant noise in the image. In this case, however, the image looks a bit better than other photos taken at the maximum zoom level.

iPhone 12 Pro Max

Unfortunately, you will notice that the iPhone 12 Pro Max so far does not show as much detail in the road and trees as the Galaxy S21 Ultra. The mailbox itself, however, looks quite good.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra's zoom has a big advantage over the iPhone 12 Pro Max's camera: if you can get great pictures at 10x zoom and fairly sharp pictures at 30x zoom, you simply have more shooting options. It is only at 100x zoom that image quality begins to decline, and a tripod can help alleviate this situation.

As for the iPhone, rumor has it that the zoom on the iPhone 13, which will be released this fall, will not be as much of a leap forward as we had hoped and that Apple may delay until 2022 to give us a powerful periscope zoom. I hope that is not true ...