
I captured 4000 images with the Galaxy S25 Ultra; here’s an overview of its advantages and disadvantages.
The competition for Ultra phones has intensified this year, with every brand striving to release a model that can rival the camera capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Samsung's newest camera powerhouse boasts four cameras: a 200MP primary sensor, a 50MP ultrawide lens, and two telephoto lenses. One telephoto lens includes a 10MP sensor with 3x optical zoom, while the other features a 50MP sensor equipped with 5x optical zoom.
Since its debut in January, I have captured thousands of images with the Galaxy S25 Ultra across various countries. Although devices like the Oppo Find X8 Ultra and Xiaomi 15 Ultra outshine it in certain situations, the Galaxy S25 Ultra still produces outstanding photographs.
Here are some of my favorite shots and the reasons behind them.
The top phone for portrait mode variety
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
I have always appreciated Samsung’s portrait mode for many reasons, with the most significant being the variety of options available. While other manufacturers offer different portrait modes, Samsung phones uniquely include my favorite feature: color point.
Color Point is designed to create artistic and distinctive portrait photos by separating the subject from the background, keeping the foreground in color while rendering the background in grayscale. The outcome can be visually stunning; I have been using this feature for my social media avatars for years.
Beyond Color Point, Samsung’s portrait mode provides other enjoyable features. A standard blur option softens the background, while three additional modes emulate various lighting effects: Studio, High-key Mono, and Low-key Mono. There's also a backdrop mode that allows users to create a colored background behind the subject.
Notably, you can adjust both the effect and its intensity both before and after capturing the photo, and all the same features are compatible with the front-facing camera. In terms of versatility, no other phone offers the extensive range of portrait mode features that the Galaxy S25 Ultra does.
High quality and vibrant colors in many pictures
Oppo Find X8 Ultra (left) vs Galaxy S25 Ultra (right)
The post-processing on images taken with Samsung devices typically results in a consistent look, creating instantly recognizable visuals. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is no exception; while Samsung has dialed down some of the color saturation for a more natural appearance, the camera still produces high-quality, vibrant images.
This phone excels at capturing high-saturation ultra-wide photos. Some devices, like the Pixel 9 Pro, focus on natural colors at the cost of vibrancy, leading users to apply filters before sharing on social media.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra generates excellent, Instagram-ready photos that often require minimal editing. Many users will find these images more visually appealing than those from competitors, despite being less accurate or natural. Pictures that are visually striking tend to receive a better reception on social media, which is how most individuals share their experiences.
What about the telephoto cameras?
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
One of the primary reasons to invest in the Galaxy S25 Ultra is its dual telephoto cameras. Samsung has been enhancing its telephoto capabilities for years, enabling the Galaxy S25 Ultra to capture stunning images at various focal lengths.
While the Galaxy S25 Ultra may no longer dominate as it once did—particularly with rivals like the Oppo Find X8 Ultra and OnePlus 13 demonstrating better zoom capabilities—it can still produce remarkable photos.
Within the viewfinder, there are several options corresponding to different focal lengths. The 2x zoom is a crop of the main 200MP sensor, while the 3x and 5x options utilize dedicated telephoto lenses. There are also 10x and greater zoom options that combine AI and data from the various sensors for hybrid zoom capabilities.
Nonetheless, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra excels at lower focal lengths, Samsung's Space Zoom feature has not held up as well over time. Previously, Space Zoom was revolutionary and outperformed the competition, but now rivals have caught up and even surpassed the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
For instance, the OnePlus 13, which has only one telephoto lens, is more proficient at 30x and even its maximum 120x zoom compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
In addition, the Oppo Find X8 Ultra, which features two telephoto lenses, similarly shows that even the Oppo Find X, which has just one telephoto lens like the OnePlus 13, can capture better 30x images than Samsung’s flagship.
However, despite some competitors excelling in certain areas, the Galaxy S25 Ultra still offers an impressive zoom camera that will satisfy most users.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra camera is adaptable yet has its limitations
Nirave Gondhia / Digital Trends
For many years, the Galaxy S25 Ultra was considered the gold standard for photography, especially when excluding devices from Huawei.
Even as its stature fades amid strong competition, it remains one of the most versatile cameras available. The only drawback is that it has transitioned from being the











































Other articles






I captured 4000 images with the Galaxy S25 Ultra; here’s an overview of its advantages and disadvantages.
Having taken over 4,000 pictures with the Galaxy S25 Ultra in the last four months, here are the strengths and weaknesses of Samsung's camera powerhouse.