X

See the Galaxy S23 Ultra's Camera in Action

Samsung's new camera has a higher resolution, better dynamic range and improved low-light performance.

Lisa Eadicicco
Lisa Eadicicco is a senior editor for CNET covering mobile devices. She has been writing about technology for almost a decade. Prior to joining CNET, Lisa served as a senior tech correspondent at Insider covering Apple and the broader consumer tech industry. She was also previously a tech columnist for Time Magazine and got her start as a staff writer for Laptop Mag and Tom's Guide.
Lisa Eadicicco
A photo of trees at a park and the side of a building taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra
1 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Outdoor daylight shot

Compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the S23 Ultra has a 200-megapixel camera and other improvements that enhance color, dynamic range, autofocus and low-light performance. 

Unless otherwise specified, the photos in this article were taken at the default 12-megapixel resolution because the 200-megapixel files are too large to display here. But you can still see the other aforementioned improvements, even at this lower resolution.

This photo taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra is crisp and has great detail and shadowing. The color is punchy, but it looks a bit brighter then it did in real life. 

A photo of a pink flower taken on the Galaxy S23 Ultra
2 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Outdoor daylight shot

This photo of a pink flower has plenty of color.

A photo of baked goods in a bakery display window taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
3 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Indoor lighting

This photo of baked goods in a bakery display case is another good example of how the Galaxy S23 Ultra emphasizes color.

A photo of my husband Dan sitting on a bench in a bakery taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
4 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Indoor lighting

My husband (pictured) liked this photo compared to a similar one I took on the Galaxy S22 Ultra because his beard and eyes look more colorful. But overall, he preferred the iPhone 14 Pro's image because of its natural and accurate colors. You can check out that comparison in my review

A photo of a man sitting in a coffee shop in front of a window taken on the Galaxy S23 Ultra
5 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Indoor and natural lighting

This photo gets the job done, but the subject's face looks washed out. The Galaxy S23 Ultra struggled a bit to get a good portrait in front of a large window -- an environment that's known to be challenging for photography.

A photo of CNET's Claire Reilly taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra
6 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Indoor and natural lighting

This photo of my colleague Claire Reilly taken in CNET's office is flattering and sharp, although she said it didn't look natural. 

A photo of a man taken on the Galaxy S23 Ultra in Portrait Mode
7 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Portrait mode, outdoors

The Galaxy S23 Ultra did a good job of making the subject look crisp against the backdrop on this very chilly day in New York. But he also looks washed out.

A photo of my cat Buddy taken on the Galaxy S23 Ultra in a very dark room.
8 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Indoor, very low light

One area where the Galaxy S23 Ultra's camera excels is in low-light photography. This photo of my cat, Buddy, was taken in a very dark room with very little to no light, but the S23 Ultra still captured a good amount of detail. 

A photo of flowers in a vase in a dim restaurant taken on the Galaxy S23 Ultra
9 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Indoor, dim lighting

Here's another example of the Galaxy S23 Ultra's low-light photography skills. This photo isn't super sharp, but it's impressively colorful considering how dark it was in the restaurant. Similar shots taken on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro looked more noisy in comparison. 

A zoomed-in photo of the Chrysler Building in New York City taken on the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
10 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Outdoor, low light, zoom

This photo of the Chrysler Building in New York City is pretty impressive considering it was taken zoomed in at night. 

A photo of the Chrysler Building in New York City taken on the Galaxy S23 Ultra at night
11 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Outdoor, low light, zoom

Another shot of the Chrysler Building, this time from farther away. It's a good example of how the Galaxy S23 Ultra captures color in low-light images. 

A photo taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra's ultra wide camera
12 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Outdoors, ultrawide

This photo taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra's ultrawide camera is more colorful than those taken with the Pixel 7 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro. 

A photo taken at 10x optical zoom on the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
13 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Indoor, 10x optical zoom

This photo of a preserved flower bouquet was taken using a 10x optical zoom on the Galaxy S23 Ultra. It's a little grainy, but still acceptable. 

A selfie taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra
14 of 14 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Galaxy S23 Ultra - Outdoors, selfie

The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 12-megapixel selfie camera, which Samsung says should be better at separating the subject from its background and sharpening fine details.

This photo certainly has plenty of color and detail, but in my testing I found the iPhone 14 Pro's selfies provided the best balance of boldness, sharpness and natural color.

Check out our full review of the Galaxy S23 Ultra for more details. 

More Galleries

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
A houseplant

My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera

20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
magic-v2-2024-foldable-1383

Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra

10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
Samsung Galaxy S24

The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum

23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
The Galaxy S24 Ultra in multiple colors

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design

23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
img-0368.jpg

I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites

34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
Invitation for the Apple September iPhone 15 event

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?
img-1599-2.jpg

AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?

17 Photos