Samsung Galaxy S5 Phone Camera
Last December I upgraded my Samsung Galaxy S3 mobile phone to the new Galaxy S5. I have been an advocate of mobile phone cameras and have noticed how casual photographers have been shunning traditional compact cameras and other offerings at the low end of the camera market because the quality of the images from phone cameras have improved so much over the past few years.
I have done some blogs on this subject (Galaxy S3 HERE and Apple iPhone 4S HERE) and today I decided to try out the camera on the S5 during a walk on Tyninghame beach this afternoon. I took along the Fujifilm X100 as a quality comparison.
The camera on the S5 produces an image that is 5212 x 2988 pixels (16mp) in 16:9 format or 3984 x 2988 (12mp) in the more traditional 4:3 format. This compares to the 16mp Fujifilm X-T1, with its much larger APS-C sensor, file size of 4896 x 3264 and the 12mp X100s (also APS-C sensor) 4288 x 2848.
The Galaxy S5 has plenty of functions for the user to choose from - HDR, flash, face detection, panorama mode, full HD video including slow motion - though you do have to dive into the menus to make changes.
The large 5.1" / 129mm LCD screen makes composing the image very easy but there was no bright sunshine today to see if reflections would cause issues in this department. That can be a test for another day.
So how is the quality of the output? The image below was taken on the S5 and I took a shot on the X100 as a comparison.
There is more 'punch' to the X100 shot but I am pleased with the S5 shot and when you think the X100 is a £1000 pro level compact camera, this makes the S5's image even more impressive. The S5 only takes images in JPEG, while the X100 takes RAW and JPEG images, but for what you would use the S5 for (ie snapshots) this isn't really an issue.
Below is another example image taken on the S5 but this time the digital zoom has been used to make Bass Rock larger in the frame as the sun broke through the clouds to illuminate the lighthouse.
A zoom function is one of the few advantages that the S5 has over the X100, which is fitted with a fixed 23mm f2 lens - ie it has no zoom function! Now this might seem like a disadvantage to most casual photographers but the Fujinon 23mm f2 is one of the highest quality lenses in the world and this is the reason I have the X100 in my camera bag.
The final test was to use the S5 in panoramic mode. Like the X100 it has a 'sweep' function where you start from the left and more to the right and the camera records the image. While the X100 has two sizes (120 degrees and 180 degrees) the S5 allows you to stop the sweep at any point. I haven't yet tried a 360 degree panoramic image with the S5 but it should be possible.
Conclusion
The camera on the Samsung Galaxy S5 is very capable of producing great images and I can see why the floor has fallen out of the bottom of compact camera sales. Why would you buy a low end camera when you have a phone with a phone camera that does what a compact camera does, but much better, for free? And it is always with you!
However I don't think I will be selling all my pro spec camera gear just yet. But it is nice to know that the camera on my phone is quite capable of getting a good quality shot should nothing else be to hand.
I have done some blogs on this subject (Galaxy S3 HERE and Apple iPhone 4S HERE) and today I decided to try out the camera on the S5 during a walk on Tyninghame beach this afternoon. I took along the Fujifilm X100 as a quality comparison.
The camera on the S5 produces an image that is 5212 x 2988 pixels (16mp) in 16:9 format or 3984 x 2988 (12mp) in the more traditional 4:3 format. This compares to the 16mp Fujifilm X-T1, with its much larger APS-C sensor, file size of 4896 x 3264 and the 12mp X100s (also APS-C sensor) 4288 x 2848.
The Galaxy S5 has plenty of functions for the user to choose from - HDR, flash, face detection, panorama mode, full HD video including slow motion - though you do have to dive into the menus to make changes.
The large 5.1" / 129mm LCD screen makes composing the image very easy but there was no bright sunshine today to see if reflections would cause issues in this department. That can be a test for another day.
So how is the quality of the output? The image below was taken on the S5 and I took a shot on the X100 as a comparison.
 |
| Reflections in the beach - Galaxy S5 (16:9 format) |
 |
| Reflections in the beach - Fujifilm X100 |
Below is another example image taken on the S5 but this time the digital zoom has been used to make Bass Rock larger in the frame as the sun broke through the clouds to illuminate the lighthouse.
A zoom function is one of the few advantages that the S5 has over the X100, which is fitted with a fixed 23mm f2 lens - ie it has no zoom function! Now this might seem like a disadvantage to most casual photographers but the Fujinon 23mm f2 is one of the highest quality lenses in the world and this is the reason I have the X100 in my camera bag.
 |
| Getting closer to Bass Rock - zoom function on the Galaxy S5 (16:9 format) |
 |
| No zoom function on the Fujifilm X100 but the quality of the 23mm f2 lens is second to none! |
 |
| Samsung Galaxy S5 in Panorama Mode |
The camera on the Samsung Galaxy S5 is very capable of producing great images and I can see why the floor has fallen out of the bottom of compact camera sales. Why would you buy a low end camera when you have a phone with a phone camera that does what a compact camera does, but much better, for free? And it is always with you!
However I don't think I will be selling all my pro spec camera gear just yet. But it is nice to know that the camera on my phone is quite capable of getting a good quality shot should nothing else be to hand.
 |
| Samsung Galaxy S5 |
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If you like what you see on this blog please visit our Facebook page and click 'like'
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