Galaxy A52 camera can trade shots with Galaxy S21 Samsung just released
Galaxy A52 camera can trade shots with Galaxy S21Samsung has just released the Galaxy A524G and Galaxy A52 5Gen as successors to the Galaxy A51, the best-selling Android phone...
07/10/2021
Galaxy A52 camera can trade shots with Galaxy S21
Samsung just released the
Galaxy A52
4G and
Galaxy A52 5G
as successors to the Galaxy A51, the company's best-selling Android phone of 2020. Both devices cost around $400-$500, depending on region, but they come surprisingly close in performance and functionality to typical flagship smartphones. They both have large screens with high refresh rates (90Hz on the 4G model, 120Hz on the 5G), fast Snapdragon 700-series chipsets, and capable cameras.
We're still working on a full Galaxy A52 5G review, but in the meantime we thought a camera showdown with Samsung's entry-level flagship might be interesting. Turns out the Galaxy A52 5G's camera is impressive for a budget phone, and can even trade shots with the flagship
Galaxy S21
.
Camera Hardware
For starters, the 4G and 5G versions of the Galaxy A52 have an identical camera setup. The main rear camera is a 64MP f/1.8 lens, but it combines pixels for an effective resolution of 16MP. There's also a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lens, a 5MP f/2.4 macro camera and a 5MP depth sensor which helps the other lenses.
Meanwhile, the entry-level Galaxy S21 has a 12MP f/1.8 main camera and 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lens. Instead of the low resolution macro camera of the Galaxy A52, the Galaxy S21 has an additional 64MP f/2.0 camera dedicated to zoom photos. Even though some prefer taking close-up shots over improved zoom performance, the Galaxy A52's 5MP macro resolution generally gives poor results.
It should be noted that the Galaxy S21+ has the same camera array, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra replaces the main camera with a 108MP sensor and adds a second telephoto lens. We're just comparing the base Galaxy S21 to the Galaxy A52 here.
Photos
I was surprised by the Galaxy A52's camera capability, although other phones at this price (like the Pixel 4a/4a 5G) can also capture excellent photos.
In standard outdoor shots, the Galaxy A52 leans slightly more on contrast and color saturation than the Galaxy S21, but the difference is almost indistinguishable.
Galaxy S21
Galaxy A52
The slight differences shouldn't be too surprising, given that the camera hardware and photo processing software are nearly identical. Still, it's a $400-500 phone, so it's worth the money with a $700-800 phone.
Galaxy S21
Galaxy A52
Galaxy S21
Galaxy A52
Photos taken indoors are more or less the same, with the image quality of the two phones being more or less related. The Galaxy A52 sometimes created slightly darker images, but the results are always close.
Galaxy S21
Galaxy A52
Galaxy S21
Galaxy A52
However, the Galaxy S21 clearly comes out on top whenever you need to zoom in, with its extra dedicated 64MP camera. It's not a true telephoto lens, but it produces better results than the Galaxy A52's zoom performance. The photo below was captured at 10x zoom on both phones, and the Galaxy S21 is the winner by a mile.
Galaxy S21
Galaxy A52
Conclusion: The Galaxy A52 can compete with the Galaxy S21
The last few years have seen a growing trend of budget phones getting better and better, and the Galaxy A52's camera quality is another example. Zoom performance aside, the Galaxy A52's photo quality is close to what you can get from
Galaxy S21
, which itself is comparable to most flagship Android phones. The gap between budget and flagship phones in terms of features seems to be closing with each generation.
Samsung Galaxy S21
The Samsung Galaxy S21 is the starting point for the new 2021 flagship series, in a flagship SoC, with a decent display and camera setup.
Buy from Samsung
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
The Galaxy A52 5G is Samsung's latest ranger, bringing features like a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, Snapdragon 750G SoC, 64MP quad camera setup, Waterproof and dustproof to IP67, and more, in an easy-to-handle polycarbonate body.
Buy from Samsung
Keep an eye out for our full Galaxy A52 5G review, coming soon. The A52 isn't just about the camera.