Updated: Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos) camera review

Remark:

In September 2019, we updated the DXOMARK Mobile test protocol to cover

performance and renamed it the protocol

DXOMARK Camera

. We've also expanded our low-light tests and created the new subscore

Night

, which incorporates the previous Flash score. We have retested this device using the new Wide and Night test protocols and updated this review. Updated items and scores are at the very top; you can still find the original review further down the page. For more information, please see the articles on our new test protocols

Wide

and

Night

The Galaxy S10 5G is the ultra-premium version of Samsung's flagship S10 smartphone family, and in addition to 5G connectivity, it comes with 8GB of RAM and a 6.7-inch HDR10+ certified AMOLED display . The main camera system combines a 12Mp main camera and a variable aperture lens

with a 16Mp ultra-wide-angle module and a 12Mp 2x telephoto module. Compared to the standard S10 model, the 5G model also adds a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor to help with

bokeh

when shooting video as well as with augmented reality applications.

Summary of the update

116

camera

124

photo

100

video

Thanks to the excellent results of our new wide-angle and low-light tests, the Galaxy S10 5G maintains its position very close to the top of the DXOMARK camera ranking. The Samsung offers one of the widest fields of view of any device on the market, and despite the optical challenges that come with it, it still manages to maintain decent image quality at all wide-angle focal lengths. Detail levels are low compared to the competition, and there's strong softness in the corners, but outdoor images show good exposure, nice colors, and a fairly wide

dynamic range

The noise

is visible in all lighting conditions, especially in low light, but compared to most competitors it's pretty well managed.

The S10 5G is also one of the best in the new Night category, with generally good results at all flash settings. It is only when shooting with the flash off in very low light conditions that images may be underexposed. (The firmware version we used for our tests doesn't offer Night mode, so the S10 5G couldn't earn bonus points for this feature.)

The Galaxy S10 5G is also still one of the best devices in our database in most other areas. It can't keep up with the impressive zoom performance of the Huawei P30 Pro, but delivers excellent stills results in almost every other aspect and is outstanding for video too. Video footage still shows the same excellent target exposure and color as on the S10+, and 4K resolution

to the default settings improves the

texture

, noise and artifact scores. Overall, the S10 5G remains a great option for mobile photographers and videographers.

Large

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)

When switching to its wide-angle camera, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G offers a very wide equivalent focal length of 12mm and is able to maintain good image quality at all wide focal lengths in both indoor and outdoor conditions, deserving one of the best current wide scores. In the comparison below you can see that at the widest zoom setting the Samsung offers a considerably wider field of view

than the Huawei P30 Pro and the Xiaomi Mi 9. p>

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G,

minimum focal length

Huawei P30 Pro, minimum focal length

Xiaomi Mi 9, minimum focal length

Exposure is generally accurate in outdoor conditions, with only slight jitter at wider settings.

Color rendering

is generally stable and pleasant, although some outdoor images may show a slight blue cast. Dynamic range is good, allowing for decent shadow and highlight detail in high contrast scenes, but we also saw haloing along high contrast edges in these conditions. While some noise is noticeable in all lighting conditions, especially indoors and in low light, it tends to be fairly well controlled compared to the competition.

On the other hand, the level of detail of the S10 5G Wide-angle camera captures is lower than most direct competitors, even in bright light. In the comparison images below, you can see that the S10 5G doesn't render as fine details and textures as the Huawei P30 Pro at wide-angle settings.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, detail rendering

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, crop

Huawei P30 Pro, detail rendering

Huawei P30 Pro, crop

Various

< The p>artifacts

also reduce Samsung's Wide score, but become less intrusive as you switch from the widest available focal lengths to less extreme settings. A lack of

sharpness

in the corners and

distortion

are very noticeable at the widest settings, but given that the Samsung offers a wider viewing angle than most competitors, image quality is still acceptable.

Our testers also found

anamorphosis

(distortion of faces close to the edges of the

frame

), the halo and

the colored fringes

in the sample images of the S10 5G, and p>

a ring

is often visible when shooting under indoor lighting. Despite these imperfections, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is currently one of the best performers for wide-angle shooting overall. However, there is still a lot to be done and we can expect future generations of cameras to significantly increase wide-angle image quality.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, color fringes and softness

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, cropping, colored fringes and softness

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, loud ringing inside

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, cropping, loud ringing inside

Night

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G achieves one of the highest Night subscores yet, but like almost any other smartphone, there's still plenty of room for improvement when shooting in darker conditions. low light conditions.

At its default setting, Samsung's autoflash performance is excellent. The flash always fires when it detects a face in the frame, and the resulting images show good target exposure, fairly accurate white balance

and good levels of detail. The flash also fires occasionally when capturing a landscape or cityscape scene, which isn't particularly ideal, but image quality is generally still decent even on these occasions.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, auto flash

Google

pixel

3, automatic flash

Xiaomi Mi 9, auto flash

With the flash off, target exposure in cityscapes and dynamic range are quite good, making for quite pleasing night shots overall. When viewing full-size images, it becomes apparent that detail levels are quite low compared to the competition, but image noise is kept under control quite well.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, flash off

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, crop

Huawei P30 Pro, flash off

Huawei P30 Pro, crop

Images are severely underexposed in very low light. In the comparison below, you can see that the Huawei P30 Pro manages to get a noticeably brighter exposure than the S10 5G in this extremely dark test scene. That said, the Xiaomi's image is even darker than the Samsung's.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, flash off

Huawei P30 Pro, flash off

Xiaomi Mi 9, flash off

When shooting under typical street sodium vapor lighting, the white balance system tends to produce a fairly noticeable yellow cast, but within acceptable limits.

With forced flash, the Galaxy S10 5G improves on the already excellent performance of the S10+. Like the S10+, flash photography with the S10 5G delivers precise exposures, neutral white balance and good detail preservation. Samsung has reduced light loss compared to the S10+, delivering more pleasing images both when using flash only and when combining flash with ambient light. However, red-eye artifacts may be visible.

Note: With its latest firmware version, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G comes with a dedicated night mode. However, we ran the night tests for this updated review using the same firmware version as the original test, which did not include a night mode.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G Camera Review (Originally posted April 16, 2019)

The Galaxy S10 5G is the new ultra-premium version of Samsung's flagship S10 family of smartphones. It comes with 8GB of RAM, along with a 6.7-inch, 3040×1440 pixel HDR10+ certified AMOLED display. It's loaded with either 256GB or 512GB of memory, which is useful, as there's no microSD slot. The main camera system combines a 12Mp main camera and variable aperture lens with a 16Mp ultra-wide-angle module and a 12Mp 2x telephoto module. Compared to the standard S10 model, the 5G model also adds a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor to assist with bokeh when shooting video as well as with augmented reality applications. Read our review to find out how the Korean manufacturer's new high-end version of its flagship S10 phone performed in our DxOMark Mobile tests.

Key camera specs:

Quad-camera setup, including a dedicated TOF sensor

Main: 12Mp sensor with 1.4µm pixels and 26mm equivalent, f/1.5–2.4 aperture lens, Dual Pixel AF,

OIS

Ultra-wide: 16Mp sensor 1.0µm pixels and 13mm equivalent, f/2.2 aperture lens

Telephoto: 12Mp sensor with 1.0µm pixels and 52mm equivalent, f/2.4 aperture lens,

PDF

, OIS

2160p/60fps, records 4K video at 30fps by default

Please note:

The camera firmware used for DxOMark testing is not yet available to consumers. Samsung will make it available as an over-the-air update before the end of the month.

About the DxOMark Mobile tests

: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone camera tests, DxOMark engineers capture and evaluate over 1500 test images and over 2 hours of video both in controlled lab environments and in scenes indoor and outdoor natural images, using default camera settings. This article is designed to highlight the most important results of our testing. For more information on the DxOMark Mobile test protocol,

Click here.

More details on how we rate smartphone cameras are available

here

Summary of the test

Its overall DxOMark Mobile score of 112 ties the Samsung S10 5G to the Huawei P30 Pro for our best score yet. The Samsung lags the Huawei by 2 points in its photo score, mainly due to the P30 Pro's impressive zoom performance with its 5x telephoto lens; however, the S10 5G makes up for that with a video score of 100 points.

Video of the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G in full light

What's particularly surprising is that the S10 5G achieves this new high video score using the same cameras as in the S10+, which scored 97 points for video in our test. The biggest change is that Samsung changed the default video recording mode to 4K resolution, which helps improve the phone's texture, noise, and artifact scores. Additionally, video from the S10 5G features the same excellent target exposure and color as the S10+, and it strikes a great balance between preserving detail and

noise reduction

, even when shooting handheld in low light conditions.

(Note that because the added TOF sensor is only used to calculate bokeh in video, it has no effect on our scores, as we are only testing bokeh when shooting video. At this point we also need to remind everyone that while 100 is a milestone, it's not the highest possible score, but rather a relative measure.)

The Galaxy S10 5G camera delivers excellent color and exposure outdoors in bright light.

The S10 5G's photo score is also improved, largely because Samsung moved the primary lens it uses for portraits with improved bokeh. -angle versus telephoto (you can always use wide angle if you prefer, though). This helps reduce distortion caused by shooting short-throw portraits. Besides the improved scores thanks to the higher default resolution for video and the lens change for bokeh, the test results and subscores for the 5G version are very similar to those of the S10+, since the specs of the Main camera hardware in both models are identical. However, there are also less visible but important improvements regarding features such as flash, for example.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, bokeh mode using telephoto

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, bokeh mode using the main wide-angle lens

Explanation of photo scores

Exposure and contrast

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G replicates the S10+'s impressive exposure and contrast results. The underscore is fueled by precise target exposures that drop only slightly in very low light and exceptional dynamic range. The S10 5G faces stiff competition in this category though, as you can see from the following graph, which shows that the Huawei P30 Pro has even better exposure accuracy and the iPhone XS Max is better, except in low light conditions: p>

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, target exposure analysis

The S10 5G handles high-contrast scenes very well, like the one below. Target exposure is very good and the camera retains highlight and shadow detail well. As with the S10+, some highlights

clipping

occur in scenes with extreme lighting contrasts. But also like the S10+, the S10 5G does very well with backlit scenes.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, high contrast scene

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, crop

Indoors in low light, the S10 5G does a good job of reducing motion artifacts. It also handles backlighting a bit better than the iPhone XS Max, but not as well as the P30 Pro, which offers the best subject exposure:

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, backlit portrait

Huawei P30 Pro, backlit portrait

Apple iPhone XS Max, backlit portrait

Color

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)

Color rendering is one area where the S10 5G beats the Huawei P30 Pro. In this outdoor scene, for example, you can see that it renders neutral and accurate colors, while the P30 Pro image has a slight cyan tint towards the sky, some green in the building and less vibrant flowers. .

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, exterior color

Updated: Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos) camera review

@SamsungMobileUS #tmobiletuesday #contest As a member of the US Air Force I'm lucky enough to travel the world and… https://t.co/XnaNdx4yuz
— Vera Tue Feb 26 22:50:25 +0000 2019

Huawei P30 Pro, exterior color

Xiaomi Mi 9, exterior color

Inside, the S10 5G delivers rich and pleasing color rendition, as seen in this photo of the office interior below:

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, interior color

Huawei P30 Pro, interior color

Apple iPhone XS Max, interior color

auto-focus

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G scores very well in the autofocus category, thanks to consistently accurate results in all lighting conditions. Below are the results of our 20 lux long and short delay tests. Although the S10 5G has no negative lag

shutter

like Huawei and Apple flagships, it's very fast and very consistent:

Autofocus performance comparison

Texture

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)

Noise

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)

Like the S10+, the S10 5G does a great job of controlling noise in all lighting conditions, but the noise reduction can lead to a loss of textured detail indoors and in low light, especially compared to the P30 Pro. , as a close examination of the strips of fabric in our lab test scene shows.

Samsung S10 5G, portable at 5 lux

Samsung S10 5G, crop

Huawei P30 Pro, wearable at 5 lux

Huawei P30 Pro, crop

You can also see this in the results of our texture lab tests, shot handheld in a range of lighting conditions:

Texture

acuity

comparison

A difference in texture rendering is also visible in the bright light t shot below, where the Huawei P30 Pro is able to extract slightly more detail from the scene than the Samsung. On the plus side, the S10 5G controls noise well in most conditions, although some noise from

luminance

is almost noticeable in this sample.

Samsung S10 5G. texture in bright light

Samsung S10 5G, crop

Huawei P30 Pro, texture in bright light

Huawei P30 Pro, crop

In the graph below, you can see that 5G reduces noise more than the iPhone XS Max, but lags behind the P30 Pro on almost all light levels.

Noise comparison

Artifacts

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)

While the S10 5G avoids most artifact issues, it does suffer from a couple worth noting. In particular, the ringtone is visible in the detailed areas of the images. There is also a problem caused by the lens, where the corners of images can be blurry, even though the center is sharp. You can see both of these artifacts in this outdoor example, with ringing visible in building detail and blurring in the grass around the edges of the image:

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G ringing and soft corners

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, crop

Flash

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)

The Galaxy S10 5G improves on the already excellent flash performance of the S10+. Like the S10+, flash photography with the S10 5G delivers precise exposures, neutral white balance and good detail preservation. Samsung has reduced light loss compared to the S10+, delivering more pleasing images both using flash only and combining flash with ambient light. However, red-eye artifacts may be visible.

Zoom

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)

The S10 5G performs very well like its S10+ sibling when capturing telephoto images in the default mode, although there are fewer focus errors with the S10 5G. And while the S10+ sometimes changes the camera it uses from frame to frame, the S10 5G consistently uses the same camera in a series of images taken at a constant zoom level, which improves overall resolution results.

Compared to the S10 5G, the Xiaomi Mi 9 sometimes produces better resolution telephoto images, but does not do such a good job of noise reduction and artifact prevention. The S10 5G actually beats the impressive zoom capability of the Huawei P30 Pro at low zoom levels, but it can't quite keep up with the 5x bent optics at higher zoom levels. You can see it for yourself in these comparison images:

Samsung S10 5G, 10x zoom

Samsung S10 5G, crop

Huawei P30 Pro, 10x zoom

Huawei P30 Pro, crop

Xiaomi Mi 9, 10x zoom

Xiaomi Mi 9, crop

bokeh

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G (Exynos)

The S10 5G camera is capable of capturing very beautiful images in Portrait mode, simulating the bokeh created by shallow depth

depth of field

of a reflex + lens fast enough to earn one of the best scores in this category. In addition to smoothly blending the effect of

vague

when moving from near to far in a scene, it improved the quality of the S10+ by rendering the spotlights quite naturally. p>

One of the downsides of the S10+ when we tested it is that it uses its 26mm prime lens as the main lens when capturing Portrait mode images, which can cause unflattering perspective distortion of the subject. of the portrait. Samsung addressed this issue quickly in the S10 5G, allowing users to switch to longer telephoto in Portrait mode. You can see the more natural proportions of the subject in the S10 5G version of the comparison images below, compared to the S10+.

Samsung S10 5G, bokeh image

Samsung S10+, bokeh picture

iPhone XS Max, bokeh picture

Video Scores Explained

At 100 points, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G achieves our highest score for video, making it a great option for mobile videographers. The overall video score is derived from a number of subscores in the same way as the Photo score: Exposure (86), Color (90), Autofocus (96), Texture (70), Noise (79), Artifacts (86) and Stabilization (93).

Overall, video from the S10 5G exhibits the same excellent target exposure and color as the S10+, and it strikes an excellent balance between preserving detail and reducing noise, even when shooting at raised hand in low light conditions. The biggest improvement in its video quality over the S10+ is the increase in detail thanks to shooting in 4K resolution by default. When you look at the sample clips below at full size, you can see that the S10 5G is capable of recording very high levels of detail in bright light, capturing even slightly better detail than the Xiaomi Mi 9, which also records 4K footage by default. Compared to the Huawei P30 Pro, which records 1080p footage by default, the difference is even more noticeable.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, panning video in bright light

Huawei P30 Pro, panning video in bright light

Xiaomi Mi 9, panoramic video in bright light

When shooting in low light and typical indoor conditions, the noise reduction is quite strong, which, however, leads to a loss of detail. That said, compared to the Xiaomi Mi 9, the S10 5G strikes a better balance between preserving detail and reducing noise when shooting handheld. Even though both devices run at 4K, you can see more detail with less noise in the S10 5G version than in the Mi 9 version of our low-light test videos below. The noise is especially noticeable on the moving parts of the Xiaomi Mi 9 video.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, handheld video at 5 lux

Huawei P30 Pro, handheld video at 5 lux

Xiaomi Mi 9, handheld video at 5 lux

The roles are reversed when mounting the devices on a tripod and shooting in low light, however, and the Samsung doesn't perform as well as some rivals, as you can see in the table below. In good light, the S10 5G and S10+ do a great job of preserving texture compared to the Mi 9 and P30 Pro. However, as light levels decrease, the Xiaomi and Huawei capture better video detail.

Texture comparison for tripod shooting through light levels.

You can see the impact of this low-light issue by looking at these crops from an image taken from videos shot with the S10 5G and the Xiaomi Mi 9:

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, low light video on tripod (crop)

Xiaomi Mi 9, low light video on tripod (crop)

Dynamic range is excellent for a traditional sensor and video recording system, but not as good as the Apple iPhone XS Max or other devices equipped with

HDR sensor technology

The Galaxy S10 5G offers excellent video exposure, even at fairly low light levels.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G also records video with accurate white balance and generally pleasing colors in most conditions. Autofocus is also excellent, and the S10 5G has very good video stabilization for handheld videos.

Conclusion: First smartphone camera to score 100 for video

Overall, the Galaxy S10 5G performs slightly better than the excellent S10+ in our tests. Samsung's move to the default 4K resolution for video and a beneficial switch to using telephoto for bokeh effects in portrait mode, give the 5G version a 3-point score to put it at the top of all our devices. mobiles tested. The S10 5G also claims the title of the first smartphone to score 100 points for video. Buyers of the 5G version of the S10 may be primarily interested in its next-gen connectivity, but will get photo and video enhancements as an added benefit.

As with other devices with a similar camera setup, the S10 5G's ultra-wide-angle camera didn't impact its DxOMark score. Still, an ultra-wide lens is a very useful tool for many, especially landscape photographers and anyone hoping to capture images of large groups of people. Similarly, the TOF sensor added in the 5G version of the S10 does not affect its score, but allows for better bokeh effects when desired in videos, and should improve performance in depth-aware augmented reality applications ( for example). It will also be interesting to see if Samsung is able to deliver the improved bokeh quality to S10+ owners via the firmware update, as both models use cameras with the same specs listed.

photography pros

Accurate white balance and pleasing color rendition in most conditions.

Accurate target exposure and good dynamic range.

Fast, accurate and repeatable autofocus.

Pleasant bokeh effect with good blur gradient and nice shape.p>

well controlled noise levels.

flash images with accurate target exposure, neutral white balance, and good detail retention.

Video Pros

Excellent details in outdoor and indoor conditions.

Accurate white balance and pleasing color rendition.

Accurate outdoor exposure and indoor conditions.p>

fast and precise autofocus.

effective stabilization in handheld videos.

4K recording default settings.p>

against photop>

Some visible artifacts including ringing, loss of sharpness at image edges, moiré and p>

ghostingp>

Fine loss and low contrast detail under most conditions tested.

Some subject isolation artifacts in Bokeh Mode.

Loss of detail when zooming, especially at long distances.

Disadvantages of video

Select clipping in high contrast scenes.

some slight exposure instabilities, especially indoors in low light.

Loss of detail in low light.

instability caused byp>

lens breathingp>

during autofocus convergence.

In the press

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is the biggest, heaviest and...

May 16, 2019

Samsung Galaxy S10 review: An Android champ to get excited...

March 6, 2019

Summary of the update

Large

Night

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G Camera Review

Summary of the test

Photo scores explained

Exposure and contrast

Color

auto-focus

Texture

Noise

Artifacts

Flash

Zoom

bokeh

Video scores explained

Conclusion