Related Articles
Which Samsung Phone Has The Best Camera – The editors select and review the products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which helps support our testing.
Samsung recently announced a trio of attention-grabbing smartphones at its annual Galaxy Unpacked event. As you might imagine, the Galaxy S22, Galaxy S22+, and Galaxy S22 Ultra feature a variety of cameras: the S22 and S22+ offer ultra-wide, standard, and 3x zoom views, while the S22 Ultra offers a additional 10x optical zoom. lens.
Which Samsung Phone Has The Best Camera
Zoom lenses close one of the remaining feature gaps between smartphones and compact cameras, which are slowly losing popularity. Many smartphones already do better in low light than affordable dedicated cameras; for example, night shot modes from Apple, Google, and Samsung produce results well beyond what you might expect from point-and-shoot.
World Photography Day: Top 5 Camera Smartphones In 2020
The S22 Ultra’s camera stack includes a 10x zoom, not found on the regular S22 or S22+ (Photo: Molly Flores)
The competition between modern smartphones and most point-and-shoots is one reason we focus our camera coverage on enthusiast gear and lenses. But when it comes to flagship phones meant to serve as your only camera, it’s worth seeing how they stack up against dedicated imaging devices. With that in mind, we’re taking the new Galaxy S22 devices on a photo walk to see how well they fare.
The S22 and S22+ have the same rear camera setup, including a 0.6x ultra-wide lens for expansive views, a 1x standard lens with a bright aperture for low-light shots, and a 3x telephoto lens for portraits. The S22 Ultra adds a 10x optical lens to the mix, making it a bit more versatile for trips to the zoo or, in my case, a local trail lined with birds, squirrels, and other suburban wildlife. It also offers 100x digital zoom, but image quality quickly drops off beyond the 10x optical setting.
The S22 Ultra’s 10x zoom lens is useful for shooting wildlife, but you still have to get pretty close (about 10 feet away in the case of this photo) (Photo: Jim Fisher)
Dear Samsung, Here’s A Heartfelt New Year’s Resolution For You
The sensors behind the main lenses are also a differentiating factor. The S22 and S22+ use a 50MP sensor for capture, but the best results come from a pixel-binned 12MP mode. More pixels aren’t better here: the 50MP is pretty grainy, with ugly noise in the shadows (and the molded plastic optics aren’t high-res). The story is very similar with the S22 Ultra; It trades a 108MP sensor, but also output pixel bins up to 12MP.
All rear cameras support 4K video recording at up to 60 fps. You can also record at 8K locked at 24fps. With the S22 and S22+, the 8K view is as wide as the 1x lens, but the S22 Ultra only uses part of its main camera for video, so the angle of view is narrower. However, the 8K feature is more for grabbing headlines than a practical option – we prefer 4K footage, especially since you can zoom in and out and use all the lenses for 4K capture.
(We’ve got a story with additional details on the differences between the three phones if you’re interested in more than just their imaging capabilities. Screen size and battery life are among the biggest factors.)
The design here is also important for photography. When buying a phone that I plan to use as a camera, I prefer one with a larger screen and slightly thicker build, as I find it difficult to hold an ultra-thin phone directly with a subject. In this regard, all three Galaxy S22 models pass the size test (especially the S22+ and S22 Ultra), though my preference remains to choose a camera with a proper shutter release and even a small bump for the grip. A case can help you keep your hand steady, and it’s also a good idea for phones with ultra-wide lenses; without one, you’re more likely to catch a stray thumb or finger in the frame.
Camera Comparison: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Vs Galaxy S20 Ultra
The volume rocker, which can be used to zoom or take photos, is on the left side when you hold the phone in landscape orientation (Photo: Molly Flores)
You change the camera settings through an app. The large touchscreen is a great help for post-shot edits, but I’m always disappointed when it comes to using it for manual settings and creative photography. Touching the icons on the screen to switch between zoom settings isn’t as natural as using a rocker or turning a lens barrel to adjust the view. And while you can use the volume rocker to adjust the zoom (or use it as a shutter release), it’s not the place for right-handed photographers. However, lefties will be happy to see it under their dominant index finger when holding the camera in landscape orientation.
Samsung Galaxy S22Review 4.0 Excellent $645.96 at Amazon See It (Opens in a new window) Samsung Galaxy S22+Review 4.0 Excellent $845.00 at Amazon See It (Opens in a new window) Samsung Galaxy S22 UltraReview 4.0 Excellent $1,199.99 at Verizon See It (Opens in a new window)
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor that powers the S22 is much more powerful than the image processors in dedicated cameras. It makes sense: A phone’s processor handles everything from 5G connectivity to the latest mobile games, while most digital cameras simply don’t have those processing needs.
The Best Smartphones For 2023
Samsung harnesses the extra processing power to complement the comparatively meager optics – these computational photography features allow the S22 to punch above its weight and deliver better photos than you’d expect from a phone.
HDR capture performs best when shooting subjects in mixed lighting and against a strong backlight (Photo: Jim Fisher)
The basic computing features are all here. You get an HDR boost for everyday photography for one. This long-running feature is quite common for smartphones. Adjusts the image output to display a wider range of brightness, with more detail visible in the shadows and less chance of blown out highlights. Modern smartphones handle difficult landscape scenes with spectacular lighting effortlessly. You can turn off Auto HDR if you prefer (via the camera app’s settings), but most casual snappers should leave it on.
Night Shot works with all three of the main rear lenses, but not with the 10x zoom of the S22 Ultra; this sample is of the 1x lens of the S22+ (Photo: Jim Fisher)
Samsung Galaxy S22 Review: Sleeper Powerhouse
Low-light images are enhanced with a multi-shot night mode. When your phone detects a dark scene, it displays a crescent moon icon in the app to let you know it’s ready to shoot in low light. The phone achieves brighter, low-noise images in the dark by combining multiple short exposures. The process takes a couple of seconds, but the results are amazing. For the cleanest, sharpest results, try to find a cooperative subject: ask your model to stay still and wait for passing cars to show motion trails. The S22 is a better low-light camera than most point-and-shoot cameras, except for 1-inch sensor models with F1.8 lenses like the vlogging-friendly Sony ZV-1. Night mode is available on the 0.6x, 1x, and 3x lenses, but not on the S22 Ultra’s 10x optical zoom.
I used the Petzval-inspired swirl bokeh effect for this portrait mode image I captured with the S22 Ultra’s 1x lens (Photo: Jim Fisher)
Plus, a portrait mode helps you achieve a blurred background look, also called a bokeh effect. You can use the 1x or 3x lens here (the 0.6x has too wide a view to map depth and blur backgrounds), but for best results you should keep three to five feet from your subject. If you take a photo outside of that range, the S22 still takes the photo, you just won’t have the option to blur the background.
The S22’s camera app doubles as an editing suite (Photoshop in your pocket, to put it simply). Touch editing is intuitive and you can easily change color photos to black and white or a filtered look; crop frame; adjust exposure; and make other edits, all from your camera roll. I particularly like some of the editing options available for portrait effect shots; for example, you can change the shape and intensity of the background blur. A spiral Petzval lens option mimics the effect of zooming in with a lens during a longer exposure, a favorite with wedding photographers.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Has One Of The Best Cameras You Can Find On An Android Phone
As for how the S22 stacks up against the other best camera phones on the market, we didn’t have the iPhone 13 Pro or Pixel 6 Pro on hand for this round of testing. But in our review of the Galaxy S22+ we noted that “Google’s Pixel 6 Pro has slightly better cameras. Pictures we took with that phone have more vibrant colours, making photos on the S22+ appear comparatively washed out.”
And for the Galaxy S22 Ultra: “In daylight, Samsung’s tendency to push colors is even more noticeable here than with the S21 series models. You might prefer that look, but otherwise, the models iPhone 13 produce images with more natural colors. The S22, however, handles shadows better than the S21.”
The debate over whether smartphones can replace standalone point-and-shoot cameras was, for
Which phone has the best camera 2021, which huawei phone has the best camera, which samsung phone has the best camera quality, which cell phone has the best camera, which samsung galaxy has the best camera, which samsung galaxy phone has the best camera, which phone has the best camera, which galaxy phone has the best camera, which xiaomi phone has the best camera, which phone has the best camera quality, which samsung has the best camera, which samsung cell phone has the best camera
