Galaxy Z Flip4 vs. Find N2 Flip: Our long-term Flip review

Nighttime samples

At night, the Flip4's main camera has Auto Night Mode applied by default when the phone feels like it's needed, but even so, manual Night Mode will generally (at least 80% of the time) add an extra second or two to the exposure. So our Auto shots are with Auto Night Mode on, keep in mind.

These images come out with good noise reduction, good dynamic range, great exposure and color saturation, and an overly bright rendition that isn't very accurate - obviously, at night. But some may still prefer this look, which used to be all the rage back when Night Modes first became a thing. Nowadays a lot of devices are going a different route, with a less 'in your face' Night Mode, but Samsung either hasn't received the memo or thinks people will like this better. You'll be the judge of course.

Flip4: nighttime samples from the main camera

With manual Night Mode things improve a little bit further in highlights and shadows, but the delta isn't huge. So as a general rule, going with Auto mode with Auto Night Mode on for the main camera seems to be the best compromise between quality (and 'brightness') and shooting speed.

Flip4: Night Mode samples from the main camera

The N2 Flip has Auto Night mode too, and here as well the differences between shooting in Auto mode with Auto Night mode and manual Night Mode are minute. Shots come out with good dynamic range, good shadow development, and nicely contained highlights, while colors are saturated - but, for most people, not over-the-top - and white balance seems on point. Detail levels are good too.

N2 Flip: nighttime samples from the main camera

With manual Night Mode, it's pretty much exactly the same story, just with everything taken up a notch. Nighttime shots from the main cameras are close enough in quality to be a matter of personal preference, so we're calling this a tie.

N2 Flip: Night Mode samples from the main camera

The Flip4's ultrawide at night puts out images with good dynamic range, pleasant color saturation, and a reasonably bright rendition, but it struggles with resolved detail and noise reduction. The corners are soft too, and oftentimes there are visible artifacts present.

Flip4: nighttime samples from the ultrawide

Detail levels and color saturation are pumped when going the manual Night Mode route, but not by a huge amount. Otherwise, the photos are very comparable, so again, if you can't spare the extra time for the manual Night Mode, just go with Auto mode with Auto Night Mode and you'll be 95% of the way but get there a few seconds earlier.

Flip4: Night Mode samples from the ultrawide

The N2 Flip's ultrawide produces images with pleasant color saturation at night, but the shadow areas often come out soft and underexposed, and highlights aren't always kept in check as they should be. Additionally, the colors sometimes shift significantly towards green compared to the main camera.

N2 Flip: nighttime samples from the ultrawide

There isn't a lot of difference when applying manual Night Mode, so again, maybe skip it. The Flip4's ultrawide is very far from a world class performer at night, but it still does better than the N2 Flip's, so the Flip4 wins this one.

N2 Flip: Night Mode samples from the ultrawide

Zoomed shots at night aren't great on either device, but the N2 Flip wins this one. Both in the daytime and the nighttime the extra resolution and size of its sensor do make a difference, even though it's not quite night and day (excuse the pun). The Flip4's shots do struggle to match the 1x ones (which are, after all, coming from the same sensor). Colors are pretty much retained, however.

Flip4: nighttime zoom samples

With Night Mode things improve a little bit, but not enough to make these shots usable for anything other than a quick share. They are certainly far from winning any quality awards, and are best kept on a phone's screen.

Flip4: Night Mode zoom samples

As we've already mentioned, the N2 Flip's 2x zoom images at night are better than the Flip4's. That said, there's a general tendency to oversharpen everything, which in some shots makes for a pretty jarring look. Colors are mostly okay, but we've seen some weird shifts too in some shots, compared to the main camera.

N2 Flip: nighttime zoom samples

As usual Night Mode does improve things, but only ever so slightly. If you have a very keen eye you'll notice what it does on top of the Auto Night Mode, but most people may not, and so in that case it's better to stick with Auto mode yet again.

N2 Flip: Night Mode zoom samples

We won't have an outright winner for the entire camera category, since, as you may have noticed, both phones have their strengths and weaknesses, their good and bad parts, and we don't know what your particular priorities are. With all that being said, one thing is clear: neither of these handsets delivers a camera experience that, outside of the main shooters in daytime, is comparable to anything that a slab-style flagship is able to produce. So you are sacrificing a lot of camera-related perks when you go from there (mainstream flagships) to here (flip-style foldables).

Nighttime photography: Tie for main cameras; Better ultrawide on the Flip4; Better 2x zoom on the N2 Flip.