As mentioned in earlier posts on the Zenfone Zoom, the phone has 3 times optical zoom. The 2 shots below are using just over 2 x optical zoom. Except in the first shot the phone had photo optimisations set to Auto and the second I manually adjusted the settings.

Just to explain a bit further, the camera app settings has an option called optimisation. You can set it on auto, off or manual. By default it’s on auto. 

Using manual, you can fine tune the levels of saturation, contrast, sharpness, noise reduction, backlight and detail enhancement. 

First shot is in auto mode and auto photo optimisation. Both photos are tighter crops of the original which was using 2 x optical zoom of the pepper dispenser. 

So now manual photo optimisation shot again in auto mode.
  
So which do you prefer ?