Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G Camera Test:

Launched in September 2020, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G is the brand's sequel to the first Galaxy Z Fold, released in late 2019. It has a larger cover screen (6.2 compared to 4.6 inches on the first edition ), and the unfolded screen inside is a 7.6-inch square Dynamic AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate (compared to 60Hz on the Fold 1). Weighing 282 grams and powered by the Qualcomm SM8250 Snapdragon 865+ chipset, it's basically a tablet you can put in your pocket. Speaking of pockets, they'll need to be deep, as the Z Fold 2 is priced at around $2,000.

Photographically speaking, the Galaxy Z Fold2 describes its setup as having three main cameras - a standard with an f/1.8 equivalent lens, 26mm with dual

pixel

PDF

and

OIS

; an ultra-wide with an f/2.2 lens, equivalent to 12mm; and a telephoto lens with a lens equivalent to f/2.4, 52mm. All three are paired with 12MP sensors.

Read on to find out how the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 performed according to our latest test protocol.

Key camera specs:

Main: 12MP 1.8µm pixel sensor, f/1.8-aperture lens

with 26mm equivalent focal length, OIS, Dual Pixel PDAF

Ultra-wide: 12MP sensor with 1.12µm pixels, f/2.2 aperture lens with 12mm equivalent focal length

Telephoto: 12MP sensor with 1.0µm pixels, f/2.4 aperture lens with 52mm-equivalent focal length

LED flash

4K/60fps video (tested at 4K/30fps)

About DXOMARK Camera Tests:

Click here.

More details on how we rate smartphone cameras are available

here

.

Summary of the test

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G

109

camera

108 p>

photo

63

zoom

102

video

With a DXOMARK camera score of 109 (and a photo score of 108), the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G is down considerably in the ranking of the best flagship phones, but not far off from previous folding models. The main selling point is that big screen. That said, the Z Fold2 produced vibrant, eye-catching colors in nearly all conditions tested for both photos and video, and its target exposure was perfect both indoors and outdoors. The ultra-wide is very wide indeed, and the preview zooming in and out was fairly smooth in all conditions tested. As for the downsides, fine detail is often lost in images taken by the main camera. In low-light and indoor situations, autofocus failures and

the noise

are problems.

Artifacts

as

, color quantization,

tint

shift, loss of

acuity

in the field, and

ringtones

sometimes become visible.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 hit the mark with target exposure and produced vivid colors under most conditions tested.

While the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 produced accurate target exposure and reproduced bright, eye-catching colors well, our engineers noted that some fine detail is lost in the

texture

p>

. Autofocus sometimes did not lock properly, especially in indoor and low-light conditions. Noise was also an issue in low light conditions.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 inside.

The noise is visible in low light conditions and indoors.

The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra inside.

The Note20 produces considerably less noise under the same conditions.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra inside.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra skillfully handles indoor shooting conditions.

In the artifacts attribute, the Galaxy Z Fold2 produced images that sometimes showed color fringing, color quantization, hue shift, loss of field acuity, and ringing. p>

Shooting at night with the flash on, the camera was pretty accurate in exposing the target on the human face, but the background

was very underexposed, and some of the skin tones had a yellow-green cast. Without the flash, the Z Fold2 sometimes missed the mark with autofocus and produced a lot of noise.

When using the telephoto lens on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, there is a visible loss of texture, especially at longer distances.

When taking photos at night, the Galaxy Z Fold2 produced quite a bit of noise.

The fairly low zoom score of 63 reflects some issues with ultra-wide and telephoto cameras. With its 52mm-equivalent lens, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2's telephoto lens produced images with visible loss of texture at medium to long range. Samsung describes the ultra-wide as a 12mm equivalent, but our engineers measured it to be closer to 14mm, which is still quite wide. By using this lens, the fine texture is lost and the lens does not handle

anamorphosis

— visible

distortion

perspective — particularly well, leaving faces distorted.

The Galaxy Z Fold2 estimates depth fairly well, but sometimes isn't quite up to the job of isolating the subject cleanly.

The Fold2's 12mm equivalent ultra-wide lens encompasses a wide image field, but there's a loss of texture and some (expected) distortion.

When it's about

bokeh

, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 handles the

depth of field

overall, but there are some visible depth estimation artifacts at times, with rendering of the subject and background slightly off.

Preview on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 is fairly close to exposures in both indoor and outdoor situations, but not as effective in low light, nor does it display bokeh very accurately. Pinch-and-pinch zooming is pretty smooth, though, which earns a few bonus points.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2's video score of 102 is respectable, but well below high-end flagships. Our engineers tested the video mode in 4K at 30 fps and noted that although 60 fps is possible, the recording quality is better at 30 fps for this device.

The white balance

is accurate in both indoor and outdoor conditions. The Z Fold2 renders colors well and generally reproduces accurate skin tones. Target exposure is generally accurate and the camera captures a fairly wide

dynamic range

, although the highlights are sometimes clipped. Stabilization works quite well on static scenes when handheld. Noise is well controlled outdoors, although it does become noticeable indoors and in low light conditions. As with the camera results, the Z Fold2 often loses fine texture in many tested conditions.

The Galaxy Z Fold2 lost a few points for visible issues with refocusing, overfocus, and limited tracking capabilities. Texture loss is evident in most conditions and ringing artifacts are often visible.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, low light video

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 probably isn't the smartphone to buy if your primary focus is a great camera setup. It performs reasonably well in a range of general circumstances, but has many small issues that would be problematic for photo perfectionists. Color and exposure are good in most circumstances tested, but texture loss shows up as an issue in a variety of our tests, especially in low-light and indoor situations.

Noise and a variety of artifacts also lowered the device's score. The ultra-wide brings a huge

field of view

, but again a loss of texture too. The same texture problem arises with the telephoto module. In video, it's a similar story: functional in general, but not in detail. Accurate white balance, good

color rendering

and exposure are offset by autofocus issues, limited tracking capabilities and, again, loss of texture.

Advantages

Accurate target exposure

Bright colors

The ultra-wide captures a very wide field of view.

Good video white balance in most situations

Effective stabilization on static handheld videos

Zooming in and out is smooth in the preview.

Disadvantages

Obvious loss of texture in photos and videos

Issues with autofocus in low light and indoor situations

Number of artifacts more than usual

Limited tracking and autofocus issues in video

In the press

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 review: A truly amazing foldable...

May 4, 2021

May 4, 2021

Summary of the test

Conclusion