Reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S21 triple-lens camera tech for photo and video capture, including zoom smarts and testing those new features. After a week of playing with Samsung's 2021 flagship phone, which shares its camera hardware with the Galaxy S21 Plus, the improvements are clear. And this is one of the best smartphones around for shooting movies, hands down.
While the new Ultra model boasts the most premium optics, this vanilla version is still great for shooting everyday pics and video. I found that the Samsung S21 coped well with tricky lighting, and at night performed particularly well on auto mode. Sure, the telephoto lens only offers a 3x hybrid zoom, less powerful even than the S20 Fan Edition. But it's still fine for simple family or nature shots where you don't want to intrude on the scene.
But it's the video capture where the Galaxy S21's camera really impresses. You can shoot up to 8K res footage or 4K and 60 frames per second. Drop to 30 frames per second to swap between all three of those lenses. And Samsung's many video modes including a Pro mode, and the new Director's effort, offer impressive flexibility.
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