The S26 Ultra features Samsung’s top cameras and is its most capable phone for photography and videography.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)
It has a 200MP f/1.4 main camera, a 50MP f/1.9 ultrawide camera, a 50MP f/2.9 telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom, and finally a secondary 10MP f/2.4 telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. This is mostly the same configuration as the S25 Ultra, though Samsung says it made the lenses brighter. For example, the main camera’s f/1.4 aperture lets in 47% more light than the S25 Ultra’s f/1.6 lens. Similarly, the 50MP telephoto camera is 38% brighter than its predecessor.
Ultrawide camera, 0.6x (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Main camera, 1x (Credit: Eric Zeman)
The S26 and S26+ each have a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 10MP telephoto camera, and all three S26 phones use the same front-facing camera, which is a 12MP shooter with an f/2.2 aperture. All three phones capture video at up to 8K30.
Main, 2x (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Ultrawide, 0.6x (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Most of the new features this year center on video tools and after-the-fact editing. For example, your Nightography videos should be clearer, thanks to AI scrubbing out the noise after the fact. The phone also has improved Action Video powers. It’s using the entire 8K sensor to oversample when recording video, which gives each frame more room to move and stay within bounds. The result is steadier video, so much so that you might not need a gimbal. The Horizon Lock tool is astounding. With the horizon locked in place, you can spin the phone around 360 degrees and keep the horizon perfectly level. It’s an impressive feature.
How do the photos and videos stack up?
Ultrawide, 0.6x (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Ultrawide, 0.6x (Credit: Eric Zeman)
No matter which of the four rear cameras you use, you’ll be happy with the results. Nighttime shots do look cleaner, but they are not entirely free of grain. I shot photos throughout the focal range, from 0.6x through 100x. Everything up to 10x has sharp focus, accurate white balance, and colors that are mostly on point. I didn’t see much oversaturation in the color layer, which Samsung is known to do. I was particularly pleased with the overall clarity of the photos. Everything you shoot at 10x zoom or higher tends to soften and lose detail. Once you’re out between 30x and 100x, it starts to look like a watercolor painting.
Telephoto, 10x (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Telephoto, 30x (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Telephoto, 100x (Credit: Eric Zeman)
There are tons of shooting modes and tools to use to get the shot you want. In addition to dedicated Portrait and Video modes, you can dial in zoom, control the flash, set a timer, manage the aspect ratio, choose the resolution (12MP, 50MP, 100MP), set brightness, add motion, apply filters, and even edit how your face looks by adjusting the skin tone, jawline, eyes, and smoothness.
Front, selfie (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Front, portrait (Credit: Eric Zeman)
I am not 100% impressed by the selfie camera. It shoots in two modes, a closer crop and a wider crop. Shots I took in the latter were often distorted and soft, with spots that were out of focus (like my face). I noticed the same behavior whether I was shooting a regular selfie or a portrait. That said, the photos generally match the tone and quality of those from the main cameras.
Main, 2x (Credit: Eric Zeman)
Video tools include the ability to shoot in Log, use the Advanced Professional Video codec, toggle HDR and/or high bit-rate capture, select the video format, and, of course, control frame rates and resolutions. Like the iPhone Pro, you can even save your footage directly to an external hard drive.
The video footage I shot looks great. The Action Mode is great fun if you have friends who want video clips of them performing stunts.
The S26 Ultra is an incredibly powerful platform for shooting photos and videos—and one of the best available from a mobile phone.
