The biggest differences are the camera modules of the Galaxy S20 series. While the S20 and S20 + are very similar, the S20 Ultra is in a different league. The first thing that strikes you is that Samsung now uses a fixed 1.8 aperture for the wide-angle lens. In addition, the telephoto lenses were inflated with in-house sensors, which deliver 64 MP for the S20 (Plus) and provide a powerful hybrid zoom. The Galaxy S20 can enlarge motifs up to 12 times, the Galaxy S20 + up to 30 times and the Galaxy S20 Ultra with the space zoom up to 100 times. Samsung does not disclose the optical magnification performance of the telelenses.
The zoom was implemented perfectly in the camera app of the Galaxy smartphones. At higher zoom levels, an additional display is shown that shows the entire motif and which area is currently shown enlarged (see screenshot). However, if you want to work with the long zooms, you definitely need a tripod, since every little wobble is acknowledged directly.
The new 108 MP sensor Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX is reserved for the Galaxy S20 Ultra and combines not only four pixels into one super pixel, but nine, so that the output image again has only 12 MP. This should enable even better shots, especially in the dark, whether this is enough to knock Huawei off the throne in this area will only be shown by the test. Especially during the tests of the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 and Note 10 Pro smartphones, which use the same sensor, it quickly became apparent that the built-in lenses also play a major role here. It is also possible to use the full resolution. With the “Single Take” mode, all cameras trigger simultaneously and provide up to 14 pictures, from which the best can be selected.
The two larger models also have additional optics for collecting depth information. However, this is not a ToF sensor, but only a 3D VGA camera.
In addition, there is now the possibility to record videos in 8k (7,680 x 4,320 pixels). The videos with the front camera are capable of Ultra HD with up to 60 FPS, and all models also have an auto focus on the front, only the Ultra model can use a larger sensor here.
We liked the first few shots with the Galaxy S20 smartphones, but it is certainly far too early for a final evaluation and only the final devices will show what the new models can do.
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