Test du Samsung Galaxy S8 Active

12MP camera

The Galaxy S8 Active's camera is nothing new. In fact, it's the exact same camera we saw on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. As the Note8 came out with Samsung's first dual camera on a flagship smartphone, perhaps we can expect a dual camera setup on Samsung's next flagship, the Galaxy S9.

We will leave speculation about Samsung's next flagship. for another day. But for now, let's talk about the camera optics. Samsung hasn't made major improvements between the Galaxy S7's camera and the Galaxy S8's. In fact, the Galaxy S8's camera (the same as the S8 Active) is an incremental improvement over the Galaxy S7 - mostly the software algorithms have been changed, as this camera maintains identical specs on paper . You get the same f/1.7 aperture, 26mm equivalent lens, phase detection autofocus, OIS and a single LED flash.

These software enhancements are incorporated into what Samsung calls 'enhanced image processing' and 'low-frequency enhancement'. light performance". That's thanks to a new image stacking algorithm, one that Samsung officially calls "Multi-frame image processing". Google Pixel's HDR+ algorithm. Instead of a single shot, the phone takes multiple images and blends them together, trying to preserve as much detail as possible by comparing pixels to isolate noise and produce clear images. this is done transparently and in the background.

Although we're on the topic of shutter releases, Samsung's camera interface is pretty straightforward to use. It's familiar, but with a few more commands and a few different interface changes.

Camera interface

There's one gripe we've had with Samsung's camera over the past few years, and that's the lack of a dedicated video recording viewfinder. Without one, it's hard to frame before hitting the record button, because as soon as you do, the frame pops up. Well, Samsung has solved that problem by providing a way to peek in the video viewfinder before you start recording.

If you press and hold the video record button, the viewfinder will change to show you how the video camera would be cropped. This implementation is great because it simplifies things for basic users, but adds the viewfinder preview for those who want to compose the shot.

Press the Rec button to see the cropped viewfinder

Something that Samsung has done is it has introduced new filters in the main camera interface. Swipe left to access it. Here, there are two pages of filters, one page of stamps, and another page of Snapchat-style cartoon overlays. Needless to say, they're fine for the occasional laugh or silly selfies for those who'd rather not create a Snapchat account.

Camera filters

photo labels

Not bad, but not as good as Snapchat

To switch from the rear camera to the front, Samsung has opted for a swipe gesture. Swipe up or down on the viewfinder to toggle. This probably reduced the number of buttons that appear on the viewfinder.

For the selfie taker, there are plenty of real-time settings available in the S8 Active's camera UI. This is what the head icon will do. There's "Shape Correction", "Big Eyes", "Slim Face", "Spotlight" and "Skin Tone". Spotlight will play with the exposures on your face to change the look of the lighting while the rest of the enhancements are pretty self-explanatory.

Selfie camera real-time effects

The S8 Active includes additional camera modes, some of which are pretty self-explanatory. Selective focus captures a few shots and lets you readjust the focus after the shot is taken. There's also a "virtual shot" method, which is cool: it's kind of like taking a panorama, but instead it's done around a subject like a person or an object. It wasn't totally impressive, and sharing them involves exporting them as video files.

Camera modes: Main camera • Front camera

On the other hand, the Pro mode puts various camera controls at your disposal and is truly impressive. It offers control over ISO, white balance, shutter speed, exposure compensation and even metering options and there's even focus peaking for manual focus.

Pro mode with focus peaking

Pro mode also gives you the option to save RAW photos for the best possible image quality to edit in Photoshop or similar. There are also quick-launch and voice command options, like saying "cheese" to take a photo or extending your palm to trigger the shutter. There's also a 'floating camera button', which you can drag and drop to any part of the screen, great for those weird one-handed angles.

Camera Settings: 1 • 2 • Video Resolutions

The Galaxy S8 Active captures images at a resolution of 4032x3024 pixels with its 12MP sensor. However, you have the option to change the aspect ratio of the image from the native 4:3 sensor. The thing is, we don't recommend it because it pulls the pixels away from the sensor, leaving you with a smaller field of view. If you still want, you can crop the frame to 16:9 or 18.5:9 so that the image fits perfectly in the whole area of ​​the phone.

Cropping options for still images

Image quality

In most scenarios, the Galaxy S8's camera performs just as well as the previous generation of Samsung Galaxy flagships. In fact, we have a hard time telling which photos were taken by which device. Thing is, everything short with great detail and the dynamic range was excellent.

Colors are pleasingly vibrant, though they might be too vivid for those who like to color correct their own photos. In typical Samsung fashion, the sharpness is enough for everyone, which makes the effect more pleasing to many users.

Camera samples

Pixel2 Comparison Pictures

We've added some photos taken with the Pixel 2 so you can see the difference. Some of these sample shots were taken near dusk, so you'll notice how the Galaxy S8 Active produced slightly less exposed shots than the Galaxy S8. In the camera bag photo, you'll notice the Galaxy S8 Active image is slightly sharper, showing more detail.

Low-light photos are very good with the Galaxy S8 Active. However, the Pixel 2 was still better in low-light performance. It was able to retain more detail with the same amount of light thanks to Google's very good HDR+ algorithm. You can see that, especially in the pizza photo when you look at the bread.

Low light samples

Low-light comparison photos of the Pixel2

You'll notice that a few shots look warmer on the Galaxy S8 Active than on the Pixel 2. This wasn't an inconsistency on either device's part. On the contrary, each device balances the colors differently. The Google Pixel 2 color balance might be more inclined to balance the lighting for true colors while the Samsung S8 Active probably colored the scene more accurately (i.e. a warm sunset tone ).

We'd say the S8 Active accurately portrayed what twilight time looked like, although we preferred the Pixel 2's detail reproduction. This is particularly noticeable in the image of the palm trees against the sky.

As we mentioned, the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active is an excellent low-light camera. We really like the Google Pixel2's ability to retain detail in low light and think its low light images look better overall.

HDR can be set to Off, Auto, or On. In many scenes, you may not be able to tell the difference between HDR Auto and HDR On unless you actually compare the two shots. We advise you to leave it in Auto mode, because it determines very well where it should be used.

HDR:Off• Auto • On

We could even predict that Samsung would completely hide the option in the next generation of Galaxy flagships, just like Google did on the Pixel (by inserting it into the camera settings) with the intention that the users leave it on all the time.

8MP selfie sensor

Samsung has updated the Galaxy S8 Active's front camera with a higher resolution 8MP sensor. This new configuration also has an f/1.7 aperture with autofocus and Auto HDR. The front camera also has its own mode dial, which offers "wide selfie" (a kind of panorama mode for taking selfies with multiple people), selective focus and even virtual shot can be selected with the front camera.

Indoor Selfie with Skin Tone: Off • 4 • 8

Outdoor samples showed plenty of detail, dynamic range isn't amazing, although that's typical of front-facing cameras.

Outdoor Selfie with Skin Tone: Off • 4

The selfie camera also uses a 4:3 aspect ratio sensor while video recording up to 1440p is supported. The samples were pretty good both outside and inside. You can check out the camera section of the Galaxy S8+ review, where we further explain the selfie camera and its special effects.

Video

The Galaxy S8 Active can record at up to 4K resolution at 30 fps. Video is recorded in MPEG-4 AVC format at bit rates just over 48 Kbps with 48 KHz stereo sound. There is also support for 1080p video at 60 fps, which outputs at a bit rate of 28 Mbps. It's worth nothing that just like the S8, the Galaxy S8 Active has a 10 minute time limit for video clips taken in 4K@30fps or 1080p@60fps video mode. We don't know why, but Samsung had no such limitations on the Galaxy S7.

Since the video footage is not able to take advantage of Samsung's multi-frame image processing, the video is going to look like images taken on the Galaxy S7. However, EIS is now available in all resolution modes, including 4K. This means the Galaxy S8 Active is better at stabilizing camera shake when shooting video while walking, for example.

As you can see, 4K had a wonky effect, which cannot be seen in 1080p video. Full HD is therefore better in shaky camera situations.

4K videos are detailed enough that you can extract frames from 4K footage and you might be able to pass it off as an 8MP image. Despite Samsung's focus on crisp, vibrant stills after processing, video rendering looks more natural and toned. Again, this comes down to personal preference, but there is a noticeable difference between stills and videos.

1080p video retains what we consider flagship quality, although there is a noticeable increase in noise compared to footage shot at 4K resolution. We are happy to report that we are no longer seeing focus hunting at 60 fps, an issue that was apparent on the Galaxy S7 edge.

You can, of course, download intact video samples as they came out of the Galaxy S8. We have uploaded to our server a

4K @ 30fps (19s, 117MB)

, has

1080p@60fps (18s, 61MB)

, and a single

1080p @ 30fps (15s, 32MB)

so that you can examine it in detail. (You can right click or long press and choose "save target as" to save it to your device)