Samsung ALoP Zoom Camera: 5 major features and advantages for smartphones

Samsung ISOCELL ALoP camera brings immense potential and effective zoom quality while reducing the module size compared to traditional periscope cameras. These features make ALoP a perfect fit for slim smartphone applications.

A smartphone employs different cameras including a wide, ultrawide, and telephoto. This situation gets complicated for slim devices targeting higher zoom capabilities.

That’s how these phones are limited with few specs and forced to neglect key technologies such as higher zoom. With these constraints, a slim smartphone would appear aesthetically rich rather than a complete package with good features.

That’s where Samsung’s All Lenses on Prism (ALoP) kicks in with new zoom module size and space efficiency.

 What’s ALoP

ALoP is a new zoom camera module, organizing the optical structure with a horizontal lens group to cut the camera bump height and improve imaging quality.

Samsung ALoP Camera Features:

1. Reduced camera bump
2. Utilizing large aperture lens
3. Max zoom quality
4. Improved night time
5. Slim look

1. Reduced camera bump

Conventional folded telephoto camera optics place the lens group between the prism and the sensor.

In this arrangement, the lens group stands vertically and increases the camera module height. The module also requires an increased lens diameter to improve brightness intake, thus increasing the camera height. These two elements add thickness to the camera bump.

Conventional Folded Zoom (Credit – Samsung

ALoP takes a different approach, this structures horizontal lenses on a prism. It increases effective lens size (EPD) by increasing lens diameter for improved brightness without increasing the camera module height.

Samsung ALOP Camera Structure (Credit – Samsung)

According to Samsung, the new lens cuts 22 percent module length compared to conventional folded camera optics. It has a low module height with 40 degree-tilted prism reflection surface and 10 degree-tilted sensor assembly.

This change also reduces module length by cutting vertical lens placement in existing prism cameras.

Conventional Folded Zoom vs Samsung ALoP (Credit – Samsung)

2. Utilize advanced large-lens

ALoP supports an f/2.58 lens aperture at 80mm focal length. This way, the ALoP module supports larger aperture sensors underneath to deliver high image quality at max zoom level and brighter images with low noise.

For example, the S24 Ultra’s periscope zoom has an f/3.4 aperture, which will not only reduce light intake but also compromise the image quality. A larger lens offers stability and better pixels in each zoomed shot.

Samsung ALOP Camera Structure (Credit – Samsung)

3. Max zoom quality

Prism offers a wider range than optical cameras, therefore, it is used in almost all flagship smartphones. However, its peak zoom is still questionable due to the final results.

These camera zooms up to 5X and 10X and at max, the pixel becomes inconsistent. Eventually, the image becomes more distorted and loses quality.

ALoP has the potential to reduce these max zoom problems and bring a better image output.

4. Improved night time

High zooms are generally preferred in the daytime due to the lack of light intake in a low-light environment. Yet, a large lens can improve this camera section for a better

5. Slim Look

Thick camera bumps are quite prominent in flagship phones. Whether you see an all-square, rounded square, triangular, single opening, or whatever the design may be, this feature is apparent in folded zoom cameras.

These cameras create an unnatural weight on the smartphone’s back, which needs extra work to sum up the rest of the design.

There’s more to it, folded zoom lens sits as an elephant in the room and separates as a rectangular cutout among main and ultra wide-angle cameras. Compared to this, ALoP optics maintain circular lens shapes, aligning with other cameras.

Conclusion

Samsung has designed ALoP for all smartphones targeting a slim camera bump outlook with improved zoom quality and quality. This module is rumored to streamline with Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim launching in early 2025.

(source)