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Surface Duo 2 camera testing: See how Microsoft's new foldable phone takes photos

The Surface Duo 2's camera is a big improvement over the original, but other premium phones have more to offer when it comes to photography.

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
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1 of 12 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

The Surface Duo 2 comes with a triple-lens camera, unlike the first model which only had a single-lens camera. As a result, the Surface Duo 2 takes crisp and clear photos. But in my testing I've found that they're usually not as well-lit and colorful as photos taken on phones like the iPhone 13 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. 

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2 of 12 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

The triple-lens camera consists of a 12-megapixel wide lens, 12-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 16-megapixel ultra-wide lens. This photo was taken with the wide lens. 

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3 of 12 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Here's an image taken with the ultrawide-angle lens. It's clear and detailed, but the sky in the background is a bit dark. 

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4 of 12 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Here's a photo taken with the telephoto lens. You can clearly see the text on the bar sign, but the green color in the banner is a little washed-out compared to the same photo taken on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and iPhone 13 Pro. 

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5 of 12 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

The Surface Duo 2's 12-megapixel selfie camera gets the job done, but I noticed the color of my hair wasn't as vibrant in this photo as it was in the image I took on the iPhone 13 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.

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6 of 12 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Here's another example of the standard 12-megapixel wide camera in action. 

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7 of 12 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

The Surface Duo 2 managed to snap a colorful photo of this red bicycle in my neighborhood. 

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8 of 12 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Like many of today's phones, the Surface Duo 2 also has portrait mode. This photography setting blurs the background to make the subject appear sharp. 

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9 of 12 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Here's another photo taken with the Surface Duo 2's zoom lens. Keep scrolling to see a few more examples of photos taken on the standard wide lens.

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10 of 12 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET
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12 of 12 Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

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