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Galaxy S25 Ultra: 5x zoom
The biggest change to the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera is its 50-megapixel telephoto camera with a 5x optical zoom, which replaces the 10-megapixel, 10x telephoto lens on the S24 Ultra.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: Main camera
Otherwise, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera specifications are largely the same as the S24 Ultra’s. There’s a 200-megapixel main camera, another telephoto camera with a 10-megapixel sensor and 3x optical zoom and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera.
I’ve mostly been using the default 12-megapixel resolution since it provides plenty of detail for viewing on a phone-sized screen.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: Main camera, low light
The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s sensor also has larger pixels compared to last year’s S24 Ultra, meaning it can preserve a good amount of detail in low lighting.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: 5x zoom
This photo was taken at 4x zoom.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: 5x zoom, cropped in
Overall, the Galaxy S25 Ultra was able to preserve more detail than the Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro Max when zooming at 5x, although its photo wasn’t the brightest of the bunch.
But you can really only see the difference when cropping in really closely, as I’ve done in this image.
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Galaxy S24 Ultra: 5x zoom, cropped in
And here’s that same photo taken on last year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra. Notice there isn’t quite as much detail in the leaves.
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iPhone 15 Pro Max: 5x zoom, cropped in
And here’s the iPhone 15 Pro’s version.
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Pixel 8 Pro: 5x zoom, cropped in
And finally, the Pixel 8 Pro’s version, which I thought was the most detailed of the bunch.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: Portrait mode
The Galaxy S25 Ultra takes crisp and colorful photos in portrait mode.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: Main camera
Here’s an example of the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s camera at work in relatively bright indoor lighting.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: 2x zoom, night
Here’s a photo taken at a 2x zoom in the evening. The street light has a bit of a halo around it, but the cathedral otherwise looks clear.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: 5x zoom, night
And here’s that same photo taken at a 5x zoom. Other than the glare coming from the street light, it looks pretty sharp.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: 3x zoom
Here’s an example of a shot taken at 3x.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: Main camera
Another example of the Galaxy S25 Ultra taking a clear photo in low to medium indoor lighting. Mason the pup is too deep into his nap to even know this photo was being taken.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: 10x zoom
Even though the 5x zoom quality has improved on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung’s high-end phone offers a wide range of zoom options. This one was taken at 10x.
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: 30x
And here’s the same photo shot at a 30x digital zoom.
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: 100x
And finally, here’s the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 100x digital zoom. It gets a bit difficult to focus when zooming in this closely.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: Ultrawide
This photo was taken on the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 12-megapixel ultrawide camera.
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Main camera
The Galaxy S25 Ultra made the green in this shrubbery really pop on a gloomy day in New York’s Washington Square Park.
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Galaxy S25 Ultra: Main
I did my best to snap this quick photo of a latte at La Colombe Coffee without holding up the line. You can see the subtle bubbles in the top of the foam if you look closely.
Check out my full review for more details about the Galaxy S25 Ultra.