The curious case of the phone-camera crossbreed

Optical zoom is great for photo composition; High customisable software

Screen not pin-sharp; Bulky and heavy; Oversaturated display colours; Poor battery life

The Samsung Galaxy K Zoom is the sort of device you might imagine resulting if you put a compact camera...

The Samsung Galaxy K Zoom's impressive 10x optical zoom gets you up close with your subject without...

Screen not pin-sharp; Bulky and...

The Samsung Galaxy K zoom moves the concept on from its last incarnation with 4G connectivity and a beefed up camera spec, though it's now lost the bulge grip. It's still very much a low to midrange digital camera masquerading as a mid- to high-end mobile phone, but if you need a phone with a...

Advanced camera; decent processor; expandable memory

Screen doesn't do the pics justice; bulky and heavy; battery life not as good as it could be

Here is what we know; this is a phone made for photography fanatics who want to have a serious camera and a smartphone all at once so if you can handle the size and build of the phone, keep the Galaxy K Zoom in mind.

Superb camera with 10x optical zoom; Android KitKat and decent processor

Limited internal memory and bulky design

¿Es posible meter una cámara compacta en un smartphone, con un flash potente y un zoom suficiente como para compararse? Samsung, por segunda vez, cree que sí. Este segundo intento se llama Galaxy K Zoom. Lo hemos tenido, lo hemos probado, y estos son los resultados.

Cámara, claro ; Su calidad, y sobre todo su zoom óptico, hacen justicia sobrada a su tamaño (otra cosa es si compensa el grosor) y no tendremos un zoom igual en cualquier otro smartphone, Empieza a parecer un smartphone .

Tamaño ; Aún siendo mucho mejor que el del S4 Zoom, no puede considerarse un smartphone normal por su grosor (no hablo del objetivo extendido); 16 milímetros son más del doble de lo que tiene cualquier smartphone actual, Construcción ; ¿Te gusta su parte trasera?

Samsung has been trying to blend a proper point and shoot camera with a powerful smartphone for a while now. How close does it come to making a perfect match with the Galaxy K Zoom?

Good camera; 10X Optical zoom; Decent hardware

Expensive Bulky; Low resolution display

It was just about this time last year that we were asking some valid questions about the Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom : Is it a phone? Is it a camera? Who would buy it? Why?!? One year later, its successor has reached the market with the same functionality and almost the same form factor.

+ optical zoom lens; – bulky; ugly; hefty; – only 8GB of internal storage (5GB available; – no LED notification light; shutter button won't wake the device (unless you combine it with the volume up key; which takes up two hands; – poor battery life

– bulky; ugly; hefty; – only 8GB of internal storage (5GB available; – no LED notification light; shutter button won't wake the device (unless you combine it with the volume up key; which takes up two hands; – poor battery life

The smartphone has claimed many scalps - the portable games console, the MP3 player, the satellite navigation system - but the point-and-shoot camera has clung to survival because a large, zooming lens doesn't sit neatly with smartphone designers' lust for thinness.

Superb camera with unrivalled zooming capability; Sharp and bright display; Removable battery; Expandable storage

Chunky compared to regular smartphones; More camera features than most will use; Lower screen resolution than others; Poor internal storage

It's probably a long time since you owned a phone as chunky as this, so it will take a bit of getting used to. Because of its size, it feels like a step backwards in terms of design, but if it means you don't need to take a camera everywhere you go, perhaps that's not such a problem.

Big zoom; Excellent camera for a phone; Good build and general specs

Very bulky; Not ideal ergonomics for a camera

: The Galaxy K Zoom has a proper zoom lens. If you want an excellent snapper with great zooming capabilities this could be the one.