Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G First Camera Samples
We take out Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G's cameras for a spin in varying situations. Here are the results.
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| Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G's rear quad-rear camera with Laser AF |
Announced back on January 14, 2021, the Samsung Galaxy S21 series is currently under pre-order until January 28, 2021, and will be available for purchase this January 29, 2021.
There are three variants and the top of the line Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G features a significant camera upgrade over the other models.
In front is a 40MP f/2.2 selfie camera with Dual Pixel autofocus while at the back is a quad-rear camera set-up made up of a 108MP f/1.8 main camera with OIS and Laser autofocus, 12MP f/2.2 120-degree ultra-wide-angle camera, 10MP f/2.4 3x optical telephoto camera with OIS, and 10MP f/4.9 10x telephoto with OIS with LED flash.
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| One UI 3.1's Camera App |
Along with the updated camera set-up, the S21 Ultra 5G now comes with One UI 3.1 and its new camera app.
Camera modes include Photo, Video, Night, Pro, Portrait, Director's View, AR Doodle, Panorama, Food, Portrait Video, Pro Video, Super Slow-Mo, Slow Motion, Hyperlapse, and Single Take.
Pro mode allows for control of ISO (50-3200), shutter speed (1/12000 to 30 seconds), White Balance, Exposure Compensation (+-2), focus, and Filters.
Surprisingly Samsung has changed the 'Live Focus' branding to Portrait. Portrait mode with the rear camera is available with the wide camera and the 3x telephoto camera. Both rear and front-facing cameras include face smoothening, skin tone, jawline, and eye beautification sliders (0-8).
A new feature that was introduced along with the phone is the new "Director's View." It allows the user to view and record video with the front-facing camera and the rear main, ultra-wide, and telephoto cameras.
In the video, the main camera and rear cameras can shoot up to 8k 24fps with stabilization while the front-facing cameras can record up to 4K 60fps with stabilization.
Let's dive in!
Surprisingly Samsung has changed the 'Live Focus' branding to Portrait. Portrait mode with the rear camera is available with the wide camera and the 3x telephoto camera. Both rear and front-facing cameras include face smoothening, skin tone, jawline, and eye beautification sliders (0-8).
A new feature that was introduced along with the phone is the new "Director's View." It allows the user to view and record video with the front-facing camera and the rear main, ultra-wide, and telephoto cameras.
In the video, the main camera and rear cameras can shoot up to 8k 24fps with stabilization while the front-facing cameras can record up to 4K 60fps with stabilization.
Let's dive in!
Rear Camera Samples
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| Main camera daylight |
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| 3x telephoto daylight |
As expected, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G's main camera, ultra-wide camera, 3x telephoto, and 10x telephoto deliver sharp, detailed, vibrant, and contrasty images. The 100x zoom is decent and is a large improvement over the S20 Ultra's 100x Space zoom.
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| Main camera indoors |
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| 3x telephoto camera indoors |
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| 10x telephoto camera indoors |
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| 100x zoom indoors |
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| Rear ultra-wide camera indoors |
In indoor situations, the story is the same as the main camera. All of the rear cameras except when using the 100x Space Zoom produces sharp, detailed, vibrant, and contrasty images. It is worth noting that the 10x telephoto and the 100x Space zoom are very prone to motion blur.
This is one of the best indoor performance we've seen on a smartphone.
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| Rear main camera low light |
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| Rear 3x telephoto lowlight |
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| Rear 10x telephoto low light |
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| 100x Space Zoom low light |
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| Rear ultra-wide low light |
In low light, the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G performed nearly just as good as in daylight and indoors. Grain and noise levels increased but sharpness, detail, color, and contrast are mostly retained. It continues to amaze us how powerful flagship cameras have become over the years.
In front is a single 16MP f/2.1 front-facing camera that is placed on the punch hole on the display.
One UI 3.1's new camera app features Photo, Video, Night, Director's view, Single Take, Portrait and Portrait video for the front-facing camera.
The camera is able to record up to 4K at 60fps with the selfie camera.
Selfie Camera Samples
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| Daylight selfie |
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| Indoor selfie |
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| Low light selfie |
In both daylight and indoors, the selfie camera can take vibrant and contrasty images with crazy amounts of detail and sharpness. It is worth noting that in the indoor shot above, the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G struggled with skin tone as the scene had a lot of fluorescent lights. Samsung may need to tweak the white balance. Otherwise, indoor and daylight selfie is great. Worthy of a flagship.
In low light, the selfie camera performed well as it managed to retain color and contrast but with a slight increase in noise. It is worth noting that the detail and sharpness in the hair of Peter and Neil have been slightly reduced.
Quick thoughts
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| Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Selfie cameras |
So far, for a smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G can take amazing images in all situations like daylight, indoors, and low light. In fact, Samsung continues to get better especially in low light and with the digital and hybrid zoom.
We have yet to try the Night Mode and the Pro Photo and Pro Video, so stay tuned for our full review coming soon.
Stay tuned!
What do you guys think?
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