Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Review: A Dominant Android Phone

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Camera Performance And Image Quality

For starters, the Isocell HP2 provides two distinct pixel-binning modes. It can either merge sixteen (4x4) 0.6-micron pixels into a single, massive 2.4-micron pixel, to produce 12.5MP images, or combine four (2x2) 0.6-micron pixels into one large 1.2-micron pixel for 50MP shots. Since bigger pixels handle low light better, you can pick how much detail you want in your pictures based on the amount of available light.

Those 200MP can also improve digital zoom. When zooming in to 2x, you’re basically using 50MP at the center of the sensor. Bin those pixels 4-to-1, and you end up with higher quality 12.5MP photos in low light. Even at 4x magnification, the available native resolution after cropping is 12.5MP, meaning you don't lose any data. But obviously, with 0.6-micron pixels, you’ll definitely need more light when shooting at 4x.

Overall, The S23 Ultra packs the same imaging features as the S22 Ultra, with a few added software enhancements. Both night and portrait modes now benefit from additional cutting-edge AI tech. As a result, low light pictures are more refined and portraits look a lot more natural, particularly in night mode. For example, portrait mode is now able to blur the background around eyeglasses properly.

One new feature is Astrolapse, a setting within the hyperlapse mode that makes it easier to capture the movement of the stars, for that awesome star trail effect. The Color Tone setting is now easier to access when taking selfies with a new “warm” option replacing “bright”. Besides the existing audio zoom, 360 audio recording allows you to capture binaural audio when paired with Samsung’s Galaxy Buds2 Pro.

Samsung’s Expert RAW, which is similar to Apple's ProRAW, still lives in a separate app, but is now integrated as a mode within the main camera app. Beyond astrophotography and multiple exposure, it now supports 50MP shots. In addition, the new Camera Assistant app lets you fine tune camera settings. Auto Framing is able to detect and track up to 10 people while recording video, and automatically zoom to keep them within the frame.

Single Take, which was introduced a few years ago, captures a series of videos and photos using different styles, angles, and formats for up to 10 seconds while you move the phone around. The S23 Ultra records stabilized video with stereo audio at up to 8k 30fps (main shooter only), 4K 60 fps, and 1080p 60fps. Rounding things up, video pro enables 1080p 120fps video capture with either the main camera or the ultrawide.

Other capture modes include high-res (200MP or 50MP), portrait video (up to 4k 30fps), pro, pro video (up to 8k 30fps / 4k 60fps / 1080p 120fps), motion photo, panorama, food, slow motion (1080p 240fps), super slow motion (720p 960fps), HDR10+ video, super steady (up to 2k 60fps), and hyperlapse (up to 4k 30fps).

The S23 Ultra takes beautiful photos, with accurate colors and exposure. The main shooter in particular, delivers a wide dynamic range and impressive low-light performance. While the default 12.5MP shots contain a lot of detail, switch to 50MP, and photos become super crisp. And honestly, that’s the sweet spot. Obviously, 200MP pictures contain even more detail, but the resulting files are huge (50MB+), and you need even more light.

Are these images better than those captured with last year’s S22 Ultra? Yes, slightly. Once again, the 10x telephoto is what really differentiates S23 Ultra from the competition. With the 3-5x telephoto shooters on most other flagships, 10x zoom is still perfectly acceptable, but 30x zoom is troublesome. With the S23 Ultra’s 10x telephoto, 30x zoom becomes completely usable, and things only start breaking down beyond that.

By default, the S23 Ultra captures selfies at 8.7 megapixels, but you can switch the front camera to “wide” to access the full 12MP resolution. The resulting photos are quite pleasant, and portraits in particular, stand out. We're especially fond of the Color Point filter, which turns the background black and white, while keeping the subject in color. Video performance is also excellent, almost matching the iPhone 14 in quality.

Finally, the S23 Ultra’s main camera benefits from twice the OIS range (3 degrees of correction vs. 1.5 degrees previously), resulting in much better stabilization when recording video, and longer shutter speeds when shooting photos in low light.