Sections Page 1 Samsung Galaxy S9 Review Page 2 Performance and Software Review Page 3 System Review
SectionsPage 1Samsung Galaxy S9 ReviewPage 2Performance and Software ReviewPage 3Camera ReviewPage 4 Battery Life and Verdict ReviewSamsung Galaxy S9 - CameraThe most...
13/10/2021
Divisions
Page 1
Samsung Galaxy S9 Review
Page 2
Performance and software review
Page 3
Camera review
Page 4
Battery life and verdict review
Samsung Galaxy S9 - Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S9's biggest area of innovation is the camera. It's the one feature of the Galaxy S9 that feels really new and unique.
Instead of having a fixed aperture lens, as is the case with just about every other phone camera, the S9 can switch between f/2.4 and f/1.5, providing ideal optics for shooting. day and night photography. If it's bright outside, it'll shoot at f/2.4; when there is less light available, the lens widens and uses f/1.5 to let in more light.
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Pro mode gives you more control over the photos taken by the camera
If you stick with the default 'Auto' mode, you'll probably never notice the aperture change (except in the results, hopefully), but you'll have more granular control if you switch to 'Pro'. ". Here you can manually change between the two apertures, while also being able to alter exposure and white balance. If you look closely at the camera, you'll be able to see the lens closing and widening as you cycle through the available apertures - that's pretty cool.
Software-based variable apertures have been used on phones such as Huawei and Honor before, but these were essentially “bokeh” filters that make photos look artificial. It's important not to confuse them with what Samsung is doing here.
Besides the variable aperture, the camera has a single 12-megapixel sensor, additional memory and OIS. This extra memory allows the camera to capture multiple photos with each shot and it will combine the photos together without you even realizing it.
Low-light photos taken with the f/1.5 option are certainly bright, and it's possible to get great shots in situations where phone cameras would normally struggle. Photos I took in dimly lit restaurants and bars were much better than those taken with any other phone, but zoom in on the image and you'll notice lots of smooth edges. Portraits taken in low light appear very bright again, although skin looks cakey and detail degrades on closer inspection.
Most handsets, especially models at this price point, can take excellent photos in daylight - and the Samsung Galaxy S9 is no exception. The photos are detailed and colorful, much more exposed than the
Pixel 2
and
iPhone X
, with good contrast and dynamic range. Samsung seems to do a lot more post-processing on its images than others, and as a result colors can look a bit off at times. I guess that makes the photos easier on the eye - and they look great on Samsung's calibrated screen. Look at them elsewhere, however, and they lose some of that sparkle.
Sometimes photos look overexposed p>
But it handles colors very well.
Camera handles busy scenes well
(f/1.5) Low-light shots are good, but can sometimes feel too bright if there are multiple light sources
The details are excellent
In my opinion, the Google Pixel 2 takes better photos overall, as does the
Huawei P20 Pro
. They handle dynamic range better and manage to retain a lot of detail when you zoom in. Still, I doubt anyone would be unhappy with the images produced by the Galaxy S9.
Another big new camera feature is super slow motion recording - a feature you might remember from the Sony Xperia range. This allows you to shoot a 0.2 second burst of 960fps and stretch it to 6 seconds. When you find the perfect scene to shoot, the results are great, but not everything looks slowed down at this rate. Water and falling liquid is a real winner; shoot cars not so much. It's also important to have good lighting and to remember that the camera will only record at 720p, which will impact your footage.
A new AR Emoji feature appears to be Samsung's answer to Apple's Animoji. These AR faces look a bit more like Bitmoji with a human touch than typical emoji, but like Apple's feature, they map your face with the 8-megapixel selfie camera and mirror your movements onscreen. In my opinion, it is nothing but a gimmick, which produces some pretty scary results.
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AR Emoji
The only slight disappointment with the camera is that the Galaxy S9 Plus is the only one of the duo to receive the telephoto secondary first seen on the Note 8. This, along with live focus capabilities and modes portrait he brings, would also have been welcome on the smaller device. I can see Samsung's thinking here: Apple has limited its two sensors to Plus versions of the iPhone. However, that changed with the iPhone X, and the Galaxy S9 has to compete with that.
There is a software 'selective focus' mode for faux bokeh effects, but the results are poor. It's also possible to achieve this blurred depth of field effect by manually widening the aperture before taking a portrait. The difference is not as pronounced, but it works.
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