Test the Samsung Galaxy S8
Introduction, biometrics and Bixby issues Design and screenNew TouchWiz and Galaxy S8 specsBatteryCamera and samplesVerdict and other phones to consider BEST...
27/10/2021
Introduction, biometric issues and Bixby
Design and screen
New TouchWiz and Galaxy S8 specs
Battery
Camera and samples
Verdict and other phones to consider
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Camera specs not updated
Pictures are always great
Some shots a little overexposed
< p>The Samsung Galaxy S8's camera is, once again, one of the best on the market. Its main strength is being able to simply capture the image you want, taking into account sharpness, light and color to make something appear exactly as you saw it.The 12MP camera on the back and the (improved) 8MP sensor on the front are also brilliant in low light - often taking better shots than we've seen in real life.
Read more: Poptel P60 rugged smartphone
There is a small amount of noise, but while very little else has been upgraded in spec from the Galaxy S7 to the S8, the ability to handle low light well is better than before.
Samsung Galaxy S8 (64GB Black) at Walmart for $198
Overall, though, what we love about the camera is that Samsung has thought through the interface. We had to bet not to stick a dual-lens sensor on the back of the S8, which is the new trend in smartphone cameras, and instead made it easier to take a picture.
You can double-tap the power button to instantly access the Camera app (or swipe from the lock screen) and you're less than a second away from triggering the shutter. It might take a few tries to learn the beat, but once you get it there's very little lag between taking your phone out of your pocket and recording the shot.
The camera interface is very swipe-friendly, which will appeal to those who want to use the phone with one hand. Swipe in from the left to reveal the modes you can use (and luckily you're not overloaded with too many); swipe from the right, you have filters that you can customize.
Swipe down to access the selfie camera, hold and swipe the shutter button to zoom in on your subject. The Galaxy S8 isn't brilliant at full zoom - we've seen sharper - but if you just want to get a little closer to your subject and don't want to lose framing, zoom will do just fine.
There are also cute little augmented reality stickers and masks that you can place on yourself (in the front camera) or on your friends (when the S8 recognizes them in the rear camera photos).It's clearly a game by Samsung to stop people heading to Snapchat to do the same thing, but considering Snapchat isn't really a direct rival to the South Korean brand, it's interesting to see this feature to be granted such a strong place in life. in the camera interface.
However, it's something that will delight children and is fun to play, so it's hard to criticize its presence too much.
He
is
easy to criticize Bixby Vision's presence here - it's just unnecessary in general. While it would be cool if the phone recognized and stored everything, Bixby currently shows up as a bunch of annoying green dots that poison your camera viewfinder until you turn the feature off (which you can easily do). .
But when you're in the gallery, you always get a green dot in the middle of the photo you're trying to look at, because Samsung is trying to trick you into recognizing the image via Bixby and Pinterest, or give you information about a point of mark.
It's definitely not something people want to do, and until Bixby starts doing something useful, it's a hindrance.
Back to the camera itself, and it bears repeating that you will very rarely be dissatisfied with the images you take, however quickly. Color reproduction seems a bit smoother and more natural than in the past, but not by much, and the sharpness on offer is excellent.
The only real criticism is that the quality of the shots is better. the phone than on a computer screen. Our main issue is with exposure: check out the sample cameras at the bottom of this page and you'll see that in bright light the Galaxy S8 tends to overexpose images slightly.
It seems Samsung has been so busy trying to get great low-light shots (which it's done admirably) that some of the day-to-day shots suffer terribly from light leaking through.
Overall, the quality is good, but you'll get an odd image that will make you wince at the amount of light coming in, especially with bright scenes.
One feature we really like is the camera's Pro mode, where you can manually adjust the focal length of the image and the S8 will create green highlights to help confirm something is in focus.
It's not a big thing, but it's a perfect example of how Samsung makes sure its camera app is as intuitive as possible.< /p>
From the launch speed to the clearly thought-out gestures to move you through key parts of the snapper, there's very little to dislike about the S8 camera, and it's certainly enough to keep us going until that we have the redesign, Samsung will clearly have to bring the Galaxy S9.
Camera samples
Image 1 of 18
The colors on the outside come out well, with great clarity
Image 2 of 18
However, the brighter flowers lose a touch of detail
Image 3 of 18
This was taken using manual focus, with excellent on-screen guides making this image sharp
Image 4 of 18
This is our favorite shot of the mix - great sharpness across a range of focal lengths
Image 5 of 18
Interior shots are good, but reflections on the cushion in the background are blown out
Image 6 of 18
< p>A clear shot, but the colors are slightly mutedImage 7 of 18
A small amount of light really blows this scene away
Image 8 of 18 p>
This cat playing in a box came out blurry and overexposed despite being well placed
Image 9 of 18
This is a standard shot in a bright scene, with dark shadows at the top...
Image 10 of 18
...but place the camera in those dark scenes, and the light levels are extremely impressive
< p>Image 11 of 18In complete darkness but by candlelight, tapping on the flame brings up a great image
Image 12 of 18
Let the automatic mode take over, and the scene is impressive
Image 13 of 18
The focus on the frame and it's very clear
Image 14 of 18
Vivid colors and clarity are hallmarks of the Galaxy S8
Image 15 of 18
Colors are vibrant and complemented by good sharpness
Image 16 of 18
The flash is powerful and bright (especially for a single LED), although a bit slow to fire
Image 17 of 18
Selective focus always delivers impressive results
Image 18 of 18
A sharp image on a sunny day is bread and butter for this camera.
We also played more with the zoom and manual modes, trying out some of the low-light capabilities here to see the full range of power.
Image 1 of 8< /p>
standard focal length
Image 2 of 8
2x zoom with very little loss of detail
Image 3 of 8
Taken using 'Food' mode on the S8
Image 4 of 8
Taken using manual focus
Image 5 of 8
Shutter speed 1/350, ISO80
Image 6 of 8
Shutter speed 1/350, ISO50
Image 7 of 8
Shutter speed 1/1000 ISO50
Image 8 of 8
As dimly lit as possible: 1/24000 shutter speed, ISO50
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Gareth Beavis
Global Editor
Gareth was in charge of phones, tablets and wearables at TechRadar for almost a decade and now leads the entire editorial team. He can instantly recommend the best phone for you, or can be found running in the nearest park with the latest fitness tech strapped to his wrist, head, or other applicable body part.
