Samsung has just officially unveiled the Galaxy S10 and its powerful cameras at the Galaxy Unpacked in San Francisco. The Galaxy S10 and S10+ come with a triple-camera setup at the back. These two devices get a 12MP F1.5-F2.4 (Dual Aperture) primary sensor, a 12MP F2.4 telephoto lens, and a 16MP F2.2 ultra-wide lens with a 123-degree field of view. The Galaxy S10e, however, gets only two cameras at the back, the 12MP primary sensor and the 16MP ultra-wide sensor. The 5G Galaxy S10, meanwhile, also gets a 3D Depth Camera at the back.
On the front, the S10+ gets a 10MP sensor with Dual Pixel autofocus and 4K video recording, and an 8MP depth sensor. The S10 and S10e only get the former. However, it's not just about numbers. The Galaxy S10's cameras bring a host of new photography features to a mobile device. Here's a round up of all the Galaxy S10 camera features.
Galaxy S10 camera features
The Galaxy S10's next-generation Neural Processing Unit (NPU) makes its cameras even more powerful. The Scene Optimizer can now analyze more complex scenes, and can also recognize more scene types. The Galaxy S10's camera recognizes up to 30 different types of scenes (up from 20 with the Galaxy Note 9). The camera also provides the user with suggestions to improve the photo, such as taking a Bright Night Shot in low-light conditions or switching to the Ultra Wide lens when capturing a landscape.
Samsung has also introduced a new Shot Suggestion feature, which offers helpful tips to further improve your photo. The feature utilizes a database of over 100 million pictures to suggest you proper proportions, positioning and overall composition of a shot. The Galaxy S10 also gets an Instagram Mode, which places Instagram's Stories feature directly in the phone's camera app. You can share photos on Instagram with one tap.
The upgraded Live Focus mode allows you to customize your photos with artistic effects in the real time, even before you capture a shot. The Galaxy S10+ utilizes its dual front cameras to add new spin bokeh, zoom bokeh, and colorpoint effects. The regular S10 and the S10e utilize the NPU’s intelligence to support the feature.
The Galaxy S10 also makes recording videos much smoother. The Super Steady video-recording feature brings up to three times better video stabilization than existing smartphone camera technologies. And for the first time ever in a smartphone, you can record videos in stunning HDR10+.
AR Emoji also gets a revamped design and improved functionality. Along with your face movements, AR Emoji can now also track your eyes, tongue and body movements, including your arms and legs. The new Mask Mode lets you choose an emotion you want to express and create an emoji of it with your face. You can also create your own stickers with unique expressions and backgrounds.
And finally, the Galaxy S10 5G's 3D Depth Camera takes depth-capturing to the next level. It measures the time an infrared light signal takes to bounce off the photograph’s subject to better determine depth. This allows the Video Live focus feature to apply cinema-quality bokeh effects to recorded videos. There's also a Quick Measure feature which helps you to measure distance, area or volume.