Sleek design, more cameras
Samsung’s latest Galaxy S10+ has great photo quality and better capability, writes Izwan Ismail
ONE of the highlights of the new Samsung Galaxy S10 series phone is the camera capability. I am convinced of the proposition that the Korean tech maker put forward about its five-camera phone, the S10+, the one I reviewed.
The phone comes with three back cameras, which include a primary 12-megapixel shooter with apertures of f/1.5 and f/2.4, an ultra wide angle 16-megapixel camera and a telephoto 12-megapixel one for zooming.
REASON FOR THREE CAMERAS
Professional photographers work with lenses that are wide angle, telephoto and prime. They make a perfect combo for almost all photography genres.
Imagine having to carry all three lenses (if you’re using a dSLR or even mirrorless) compared to one that you can just slip into your pocket.
For selfies, the three S10 series phones have a 10-megapixel lens with a f/1.9 aperture, but the S10+ has an extra lens, an eight-megapixel RGB depth lens with a f/2.2 aperture.
This gives depth to selfies.
QUALITY
I primarily used the cameras to shoot landscape and nature. The wide angle lens gives a 12mm equivalent angle in a 35mm format. That’s wide enough for a good landscape. Although some reports say that the lens has some distortion, it’s common among wide-angle lenses.
If you’re using it for outdoors and landscape, it works fine.
The 12-megapixel lens that features an aperture of f/1.5 and f/2.4 gives a wonderful bokeh quality and works well in low-light situation. The zoom lens allows you to get closer to the subjects easily without sacrificing picture quality.
Overall, I’m happy with the photo quality — it is vivid and shows contrast.
The phone has AI capability built into its Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which gives better shots without having to manually select advanced camera settings.
Its Scene Optimiser can now recognise and more accurately process additional scenes because of the NPU. With Shot Suggestion, Galaxy S10 offers automatic composition recommendations so you can frame your photo better than ever.
Video-wise, the Galaxy S10 offers Super Steady recording with digital stabilisation technology.
This feature will comes in handy especially when you are taking videos while on the move.
Both the front and rear cameras shoot in UHD quality, and in an industry first, the rear camera offers the flexibility to record in HDR10+.
SCREEN
The Galaxy S10+ comes with Samsung’s best screen yet, which is the world’s first Dynamic Amoled display. As the first HDR10+-certified smartphone, the display delivers vivid digital content, and with dynamic tone mapping, you’ll see a wider range of colour.
The screen boasts a 1440 x 3040 QHD+ resolution across a 19:9 aspect ratio and provides pin-sharp 526ppi pixel density which provides detailed images.
The phone also offers better contrast ratio for even deeper blacks and brighter whites.
POWER SHARE
One of the new features of the S10 series is the Wireless PowerShare, making it possible to easily charge Qi-certified smartphones and compatible wearable devices.
The phone is also capable of charging itself and a second device simultaneously via Wireless PowerShare while connected to a regular charger.
Galaxy S10+ is available in Prism White and Prism Black. The phone is priced at RM3,699. For those looking for a bigger capacity, the 512GB version retails at RM4,599.
Verdict: 4.5/5