S23 Ultra vs. Galaxy S22 Ultra: Camera Performance

Samsung started off the year with a huge bang in the form of the Galaxy S23 series, the latest lineup in its flagship S Series. If you haven’t heard already, the Galaxy S23 Ultra sports the brand’s best and largest camera sensors yet at 200MP!

In comparison, Galaxy S22 Ultra in the previous generation sounds a little milder with its 108MP camera, even though it’s been lauded as one of the best smartphones in 2022. But then again, like we always say, numbers don’t always tell the entire story; image processing and processors also play a very important role in making a good camera smartphone good.

If you're interested, check this out: our video team shot a whole video in 8K on the Galaxy S23 Ultra:

We wrote about the camera upgrades on the Galaxy S23 Ultra previously based just on the paper specs. Now, we’ve gotten our hands on the actual flagship phone, so even before we start on a full review, we’re down to answer the real question on everyone’s minds: is the Galaxy S23 Ultra really that much better than the Galaxy S22 Ultra?

200MP vs 108MP

To the uninitiated, MP means megapixels, and megapixels are basically tiny little pieces that are sensitive to light. If you’ve ever zoomed in really closely at a picture, you’ll find that your perfectly clear photos are actually made up of blurry squares, like a mosaic. More pixels mean the camera takes in more light, which means better resolution, which means more details…

By default, all Samsung phones shoot in pixel-binned 12MP, which is basically a technology that combines multiple individual pixels into one big pixel to produce a photo that won’t take up as much space. You can choose to shoot in the maximum pixels by selecting the options at the top of the camera app.

So, is 200MP a gimmick, or does it actually take insanely good photos like Samsung and many others are claiming?

See for yourself:

Captured #withGalaxy S23 Ultra on 200MP:

Captured #withGalaxy S22 Ultra on 108MP:

At first glance, you probably won’t be able to tell the difference (unless you’re a super pro photographer with eagle eyes). As aforementioned, more pixels mean clearer details and sharper images, and the Galaxy S23 Ultra certainly does so when shooting in the full 200MP mode.

Even in the pixel-binning 12MP resolution, the Galaxy S23 Ultra yielded more details, sharper edges, and brighter colours in its photos.

Nightography

The Galaxy S22 Ultra was famed for its superior Nightography, so naturally, you’d be expecting better night photography from the Galaxy S23 Ultra. And truthfully, it doesn’t disappoint.

*Left: Galaxy S22 Ultra; Right: Galaxy S23 Ultra*

On the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the lights and darks are a little more contrasted, resulting in a slightly more dramatic photo. This was taken in our office toilet, so there’s only so much drama you can get, but imagine taking actual nightscapes with the Galaxy S23 Ultra — like this:

Zoom

Both the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Galaxy S23 Ultra are capable of 100x zoom. We even wrote about moonwatching with the Galaxy S22 Ultra before, with impressive results. How would a 200MP camera change things? There’s only one way to find out.

These two photos were shot from about 500m away and 18 storeys up. The sign was barely visible to the bare eye, but on both phones, they were clear and readable.

Left: 100x Zoom on the Galaxy S22 Ultra; Right: 100x Zoom on the Galaxy S23 Ultra:

The Galaxy S23 Ultra’s was obviously clearer and with sharper details. The colours were still bright, though a little more artificial compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, but it was still impressive.

Selfie Camera

Now, to be honest, there’s not that much of a difference between the selfies in the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the S23 Ultra — that, in and of itself, is the difference. 12MP vs 40MP doesn’t seem like much of a competition until you remember that image processing plays a pretty important part in producing amazing photos as well. Case in point:

The Galaxy S22 Ultra had a 40MP front-facing camera, while the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a “downgraded” 12-MP shooter. “Downgraded” just based on megapixels alone, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra, along with the rest of the new lineup, sports Samsung’s first-ever Super HDR selfie camera and faster autofocus.

Basically, what this means is that the selfie camera can shoot several frames and combine them to produce a clear and detailed photo.

Design-wise, the Galaxy S23 Ultra looks identical to its predecessor, but on the inside, it sports some of the brand’s most advanced camera technology. And this is only a quick review of the camera — stay tuned for our full review of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra to find out what other surprises the new 2023 flagship holds!

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