Halide + KinoMar 11, 2023

Reddit user ibreakphotos discovers that Samsung's 'Space Zoom' simply replaces user's moon photos with higher-res images of the moon through a clever testing process.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/11nzrb0/samsung_space_zoom_moon_shots_are_fake_and_here/

This isn't computational photography — it's inserting imagery that simply isn't there.

Samsung "space zoom" moon shots are fake, and here is the proof

**This post has been updated with several additional experiments in newer posts, which address most comments and clarify what exactly is going...

reddit
Show threadTobias Due MunkMar 11, 2023
@halide it _is_ there though. The phone just isn’t able to capture it.
Why should my photos that include the moon not look like what I was seeing when took the picture?
Show threadsdwMar 11, 2023
@tobiasdm @halide because this isn't adding the detail you saw, it's adding manufactured, pre-stored data that doesn't match reality. It just infills a texture. Do you want your camera to do this for say, your kids' eyes too?
Show threadbetalars  @homeMar 12, 2023

@sdw is it tough?

This looks like aggressive image sharpening on the blurred image and whatever noise the camera chip introduces.

To test for pre stored detail you'd have to use an image of a cratory white object that isn't the moon and see if a moon is being put on top of it.

Show threadChris K.Mar 12, 2023
@betalars @sdw I recommend reading the full post. They do numerous tests, including clipping the whites of the test image, and it always results in the same detailed photo of the moon.
Show threadbetalars  @home
@chrisk okay the last edit had me convinced, I didn't read as much.
Mar 12, 2023 at 1:03pmWeb