My first day with the Galaxy S23 Ultra

This story is part Samsung EventCNET’s collection of news, tips and advice on Samsung’s most popular products.

Samsung’s $1,200 Galaxy S23 Ultra is all about cameras. The tech giant spent much of its keynote at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco on Wednesday showcasing how its new cameras can capture more colorful cinematic photos and video. Director Ridley Scott even made an appearance in Samsung’s promotional clip.

I’ve only had a day with the Galaxy S23 Ultra so far, but some of the camera upgrades are already noticeable. Portraits taken in low light, for example, look more vibrant and flattering.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of three new phones announced by Samsung, alongside the $800 Galaxy S23 and $1,000 Galaxy S23 Plus. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is Samsung’s first with a 200-megapixel primary camera, but the company has also made some significant changes under the hood that should improve dynamic range and video capture.

Here’s a look at what stood out the most in my first 24 hours with Samsung’s new phone.

Galaxy S23 Ultra: Stunning low-light portraits

The Galaxy S23 Ultra has four cameras, just like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, but the main sensor has an improved resolution of 200 megapixels instead of 108 megapixels. There’s also a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and two 10-megapixel telephoto cameras, one with 3x optical zoom and the other with 10x.

The behind-the-scenes dynamic range upgrades should also result in greater precision when capturing bright and dark areas in video recordings. But it seems that these improvements are also noticeable in photography.

My biggest takeaway so far is how the S23 Ultra takes flattering portraits in low light. The photo below of my colleague Claire Reilly was taken in a very dark podcast studio at the CNET offices in San Francisco. It was her favorite of the bunch compared to similar photos I took of her with the Pixel 7 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra.

She said the lighting and color in the S23 Ultra’s photo made her face “radiant” and comparable to her appearance in CNET videos she shot on a Sony ZV-1 camera with a professional lighting setup. . The Pixel 7 Pro’s photo, by comparison, made her complexion muddier. The streak on his sweater also looks more colorful in the S23 Ultra photo than in the photos taken with the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Pixel 7 Pro. (Note: Galaxy S23 Ultra photos below are not displayed at their full 200 megapixel resolution due to large file sizes.)

The Galaxy S23 Ultra also excelled in mixed lighting and captured vibrant photos, as seen in the image below taken from CNET’s kitchen. But whether the photo is better than the photos taken on the Pixel 7 Pro or the Galaxy S22 Ultra depends on your preference. For example, Claire said the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s brighter colors made the photo look less natural than the Pixel 7 Pro’s, although the Pixel’s image had harsher contrast and harsher shadow lines on the face. .

When it comes to selfies, Samsung says the phone should have better dynamic range and object segmentation. This means the camera has to be smarter to separate the subject from the background, as well as to distinguish other fine elements like wisps of hair. You can also access manual front camera controls in pro mode or take selfies with the Expert Raw app. Raw capture saves full, unretouched versions of images and should provide more flexibility when editing.

So far, I haven’t noticed a huge difference in selfie quality. In fact, I prefer the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s selfie to the S23 Ultra’s in the images below. That said, the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s selfie is much brighter than the Pixel 7 Pro’s photo. I also intentionally took this photo in difficult lighting conditions to see how it handles a mix of dim indoor lighting and natural light.

Keep in mind that these are just a few prime examples of cameras. Our full review will have more photos and videos.

Galaxy S23 Ultra design: just as big and just as beautiful

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is almost identical to the Galaxy S22 Ultra. It has the same square shape, which makes it stand out from the regular Galaxy S23 and other Android phones. The only major aesthetic difference is its color; the Galaxy S23 line comes in cream, green, lavender, and black, while its predecessor was available in burgundy, green, white, and black in addition to a few Samsung-exclusive colors. I’ve used the cream version so far, which looks sleek and eye-catching.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 6.8-inch screen that looks just as bright and vibrant as its predecessor, although it’s a bit large for my tastes. It’s too early to tell how long the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s battery will last on a single charge, but my review unit dropped to around 90% around lunchtime after starting the day at 100%.

Overall, the Galaxy S23 Ultra looks promising, especially for photographers and videographers, but I need to put it through more testing to be sure. I’ll have more details on the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera, battery life, and performance in our full review.