Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Camera Review

Forget Galaxy Notes! It’s time to move on . That seems to be what Samsung wanted to convey when it released the Galaxy S22 Ultra. And it turns out that a variety of Galaxy Note characteristics can indeed be found on the S22 Ultra, starting from the large screen, S Pen storage slot, and excellent photo results.

For this time, we will focus on reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra from the camera side. In terms of specifications, the S22 Ultra is quite promising, especially with the main camera which has the largest pixel size on the sensor for a current Samsung smartphone, which is 2.4 microns.

The following are the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra camera.

Then how about the results of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra camera photos when we tested it in the field? Check out our full review below.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra photo quality

In ideal light conditions such as outdoors during the day, the S22 Ultra’s main camera captures excellent photos. The color reproduction is quite neutral, not too ripe but with color saturation that is still pleasing to the eye. To get a more mature color, you just activate the Scene Optimizer option in the menu. This feature is useful when shooting skies that are less blue or slightly cloudy, as in the following photo example

The sharpness of the photos is also good, although there are some effects of sharpening, especially when shooting objects from a close enough distance. But these details will only be visible if the photo is opened on a large computer screen at 100% magnification. When viewed on the screen of the S22 Ultra, which is spacious and bright, the photos will look very good.

The S22 Ultra also has a Super HDR mode, which is a 12-bit HDR mode for a wider dynamic range. The cool thing is, the photos from the ultra wide and telephoto cameras are also very good and almost on par with the main camera, both in terms of sharpness and color reproduction.

The Optical Image Stabilization feature also makes the photos stable when we shoot with the main camera and the telephoto, as shown in the following photo.

Here’s a comparison of the camera zoom of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, ranging from ultra wide to 100x zoom.

For close-up photos, there is no macro mode. But there is a focus enhancer option that is active when the camera detects a close object. When the Focus Enhancer option is on, the focus distance will be closer and the details in the background will be clearer. So you have a choice between producing a photo with a smooth blur or bokeh effect and a sharp photo full of detail from up close.

No Focus Enhancer

With Focus Enhancer

Another alternative to take detailed photos of an object is to use 3x zoom mode or use the Expert RAW application to produce photos in RAW format that are more flexible to be processed again in the Adobe Lightroom application.

3x zoom

For ultra wide cameras, the results are still below the main camera. But still very feasible if only enjoyed on a relatively small mobile screen. Here are the photos with the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra ultra wide camera.

Turning to night, the photos from the main camera of the S22 Ultra are quite good. Night Mode is available which can take better night photos. The OIS feature comes into play here to capture brighter night photos.

The sharpness and color in photos when using Night Mode is also good, with photos on the main camera looking superior to ultra-wide and telephoto cameras. This is reasonable considering that the main camera of the S22 Ultra has a lens with a larger aperture that can capture more light than the other three cameras.

Interestingly, the camera will offer the option to switch to Night mode when it detects if the light conditions are too low. Here are the results of the S22 Ultra night photos without editing.

For those who like to photograph human subjects, there is a Portrait mode which gives a convincing bokeh or blur effect in the background.

The portrait mode of the S22 Ultra is equipped with AI Stereo Depth Map technology which can make the bokeh effect more neat and natural. The secret, AI in Portrait Mode will be able to smooth out small details that have the potential to damage the bokeh effect such as human hair or animal fur that is being photographed so that they don’t blend into the background.

Here are some examples of Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s Portrait Mode without editing.

Switching to selfies or selfies, the S22 Ultra’s 40 megapixel front camera is capable of producing sharp selfie photos with good details. Even the camera will immediately take selfies from a wider angle if it detects that there are several people in the frame. Useful for users whose hands are a bit short but like taking selfies in groups.

The results of portrait mode photos are also good in ideal light conditions, with a pretty neat bokeh effect.
Here are the selfie photos from the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra without editing.

Turning to videography, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has been prepared to create stunning video content. For example, there is an auto framerate feature to produce brighter and more detailed videos in low light conditions. Then there is the Cinematic Video feature that combines OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) with VDIS (Video Digital Image Stabilization).

Here’s an example of vlogging using the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

In terms of software, VDIS uses AI intelligence which is 4x faster in analyzing the movement of devices and users. Recording while walking or running is not a problem. The combination with more advanced OIS makes video recordings stable and clear, including at night.

From testing, the results of the video recorded while moving does look stable and smooth. There is a slight decrease in video quality compared to the regular video mode, but it won’t bother you even when uploading to YouTube. While it supports up to 8K video recording, we only tried 4K video recording on the S22 Ultra. This is considering there are not many 8K screens on the market.

The video quality is also good, in ideal light conditions. You can clearly see the sharpening effect on some detailed objects like trees, but it won’t be noticeable if you don’t look closely.
The built-in microphone picks up sound pretty well too, although we recommend using an external microphone or Samsung earbuds which can double as microphones.

The following is an example of a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra video in Full HD resolution without editing.

Conclusion

From our tests, the results of the photos and videos of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra have increased quite noticeably compared to the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

In good light conditions, all the cameras are reliable. But turning to night, only the main camera is able to produce okay photos. The ultra-wide and telephoto cameras are indeed capable of producing above-average night photos, but they are still lacking in sharpness and sacrifice detail to reduce noise. Another drawback lies in the body area near the lens which is quite hot when recording video or taking photos for a long time.

So for those of you who like mobile photography or vloggers or social media stars , the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra camera will be able to satisfy you. Likewise, mothers who want clear photos in all situations or those of you who like to take pictures at night.