The cameras on the Samsung Galaxy smartphones have always ranked among the best. But there were always two or three other smartphones that kept the Samsung cameras from being the leader.
Samsung hopes to change that after launching new smartphones today that feature multiple cameras, new effects and a partnership with Instagram that builds the photo-sharing app directly into the native camera.
The specs are promising but will the cameras deliver on those promises? Keep your eyes open for reports in the weeks ahead as mobile photographers take them out into the field for testing.
Galaxy S10 camera specs
For now, the Galaxy Fold, and four different Galaxy S10 models look pretty good on paper.
The Fold will come with six different cameras. Three rear-facing cameras, a 12MP 27 mm camera with dual-pixel focus, a 12MP 52 mm telephoto featuring phase-detection autofocus and a 16Mp 12mm ultra wide fixed-focus lens. The Fold will have two 10MP selfie cameras, one on the front and one on the inside as well as an 8MP depth-sensing camera.
The Galaxy S10, S10+ will each feature a triple-camera panel on the back plate, the same three rear-facing cameras as on the fold. Each will offer a hole-punch front-facing selfie camera embedded in the screen. The S10+ will have a second front-facing camera with an RGB depth sensor to blur the backgrounds on selfies.
The S10 and budget model S10e have just one front camera. The S10e will only feature two rear-facing cameras, the standard 27 mm camera and an ultrawide camera.
The Galaxy S10 5G will have depth-sensing cameras on the front and back for photography and AR.
The S10 cameras will have a number of AI-assisted features. One will offer suggestions for ideal compositions, another called Scene Optimizer is able to recognize 30 unique scenes.
The S10 will also allow users to change the look of the bokeh in portraits. Along with a blur option, there are spin, zoom, and color fade effects that can be applied to backgrounds.
Up until now, Samsung’s best-rated cameras have been on the Galaxy Note 9, according to DxOMark Labs, which tests and ranks digital cameras. four other smartphones, including the iPhone XS Max rate slightly better.
It will be fun to see how the five new smartphones compete.
