Samsung Galaxy A51 5G review

Two and a half cameras

The Galaxy A51 5G hasn't gotten a camera makeover in the process of getting 5G and comes with what is the same setup that the A51 has. That includes a run-of-the-mill 48MP f/2.0 primary cam, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide and a pair of 5MP shooters, one for close-ups and another for depth detection only.

The front-facing camera has remained the same as well - a 32MP Tetracell sensor with an f/2.2 lens in front, no autofocus.

Camera configurations may vary between Samsungs, but the camera app really doesn't, though functionally, it's mostly identical to any other camera app on the market. Swiping left and right will switch between all available modes and there's also an option to re-arrange or remove some of the modes from the viewfinder. Vertical swipes in either direction will switch between front and rear cameras.

The settings icon is located in the upper left corner of the screen and gives you fine control over the cameras. The usual stuff, like video resolution, grid lines, location data, etc., can be found within the menus. You can also turn on and off the Scene optimizer and set the HDR to auto or off (but no forced on position). Meanwhile, right in the viewfinder, you get an aspect ratio selector, which is how you can engage the 48MP mode - now labeled 48MP as opposed to the confusing 4:3H we saw on the A51.

Another improvement is the Pro mode. Typically, Samsung midrangers get a very basic set of photographic control with just ISO, exposure compensation, and white balance, and that was the case on the A51. The A51 5G, on the other hand, gets the full-fledged Pro mode that flagships have.

You can select ISO (50-3200), push shutter speed around (1/6000s-10s), focus manually (with peaking), and select the white balance (by light temperature, with icons next to the number corresponding to a common light source). Metering mode and AF area options are available too, as well as a set of picture controls for contrast, saturation, and whatnot. As usual, there's no live histogram.

Camera UI

A select few people will appreciate it, but it's worth mentioning that a double press on the power button launches the camera app and another double press will switch between front and rear too. Couple that with the option to use the volume keys for shutter release and you have a camera app that you can start and operate almost entirely without touch input.

Image quality

The Galaxy A51 5G captures really good looking images with its main cam in daylight. Noise is very well contained and a lot of fine detail is being recorded, though there's a fair bit of the characteristic Samsung sharpening that renders grass and foliage in a particularly artificial manner. Dynamic range is as wide as you may need, though our harshly lit mid-day scenes do leave some deep shadows. Color reproduction has what can best be described as the 'modern-day Samsung look' - pleasingly vivid, not so far as to be excessive.

Camera samples, main camera, Scene optimizer off

The Scene optimizer can bump the saturation up one notch, but it's a subtle difference with barely deeper blues and ever so slightly warmer greens in these scenes of ours.

Camera samples, main camera, Scene optimizer on

The 48MP mode lets you extract some more fine detail in well-lit scenes. You'd need to be willing to live with the lower contrast and loss of saturation plus noise gets more prominent. But yes, there's some finer detail in the 48MP shots.

Camera samples, main camera, 48MP

The ultra-wide cam continues the good impression. It captures good detail (despite the softish corners) with no noise to speak of. The ultra-wide shots also maintain a wide dynamic range. Colors rendition is a good match for the main cam's lively output as well.

Camera samples, ultra wide angle camera

The A51 5G marks an improvement in low-light photos compared to what we saw on the 4G version. We're now getting better detail out of the main cam, and despite the inevitable noise, these shots do look okay at 1:1. Color saturation is well preserved, too, once again a superior performance compared to the older phone. Dynamic range is decent though deep shadows and point light sources will get clipped - as expected.

Low-light samples, main camera, Photo mode

That's Night mode's cue. It reigns in the highlights and lifts up the shadows but does so conservatively so while noticeable the differences aren't huge. Noise does get lower in this mode, and there's no real detail penalty. An increase in saturation can be observed too.

Low-light samples, main camera, Night mode

The ultra-wide cam's output is a step up from the A51's too. While not spectacular, the images do contain some detail, particularly in well-lit areas of the frame, though they are predictably noisy. Colors rendition is good - there's no substantial desaturation, and dynamic range is decent for an ultra-wide in the dark.

Low-light samples, ultra wide angle camera, Photo mode

Night mode builds on that and delivers better developed tonal extremes, sharper straight lines, and a bump in saturation. It's another significant improvement over the 4G A51's results.

Low-light samples, ultra wide angle camera, Night mode

Once you're done with the real world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the Galaxy A51 5G stacks up against the competition.

Galaxy A51 5G against the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G and the Motorola Edge in our Photo compare tool

Portraits

Portraits shot in the A51 5G's Live focus mode have very competent subject detection in most cases, though throwing distractions in front of your subject will confuse the algorithms. The bokeh looks just right at the default 5/7 setting. HDR is available for challenging light conditions.

Portrait samples

Close-ups

The macro cam does a fair job of producing close-up shots of tiny objects. The 5MP resolution we appreciate, but the fixed focus means you need to nail the distance just right and it's not always that easy.

Close-up samples

Selfie camera

As we experienced on the A51, the A51 5G's selfies come out at 12MP, as opposed to the logical 8MP that the 32MP nominal resolution would have you believe. That's in the wider mode, which should be using the entire sensor - the default cropped in view does get you 8MP shots but even then the 4-to-1 binning math doesn't add up.

Anyway, whatever Samsung's doing under the hood, the selfies do turn out alright. The detail is good with hardly any difference in the per-pixel detail between the 12MP full-width and the 8MP cropped-in shots. Dynamic range is excellent for a selfie cam, and colors are likeable, if a bit muted.

Selfie samples, 12MP

Selfie samples, zoomed in view, 8MP

A 32MP mode is available too, but we're struggling to find a use case for 32MP selfies.

Selfie samples, 32MP

Selfie portraits have very proficient subject detection with no clipped ears and well-defined edges around clothes. Messy hairstyles will still make for unnatural transitions between sharp and blurry, there's no escaping that. Portraits do end up softer than regular selfies.

Selfie portrait samples

Video

As was the case on the Galaxy A51, the A51 5G doesn't record 60fps video. It does capture 4K and 1080p at 30fps with both of its rear cams as well as the selfie shooter.

The h.265 codec is an option if you want to save space. If you go for the default h.264, 2160p videos get a bit rate of about 48Mbps, while 1080p makes do with 17Mbps, both fairly standard figures and the same for both cams. Audio is recorded in stereo at 256kbps.

4K footage from the main cam is heavily sharpened but does contain a lot of detail and is mostly noise-free. Dynamic range and colors are excellent too. 1080p looks somewhat more restrained in its processing and is one of the better examples of FullHD capture we've seen altogether.

Footage from the ultra-wide cam does have a very overprocessed look if you're to examine it from up close though it is quite detailed nonetheless. Dynamic range is once again excellent, while colors are a bit more saturated than what you'd get from the main cam.

On the Galaxy A51 5G, video stabilization is available in all modes, an upgrade from the A51's 1080p-only EIS. Much like on the older model, we did find the A51 5G's main cam to hunt for focus when shooting while walking, which does ruin the perception of stability. Keeping it pointed at a subject will result in nicely stable videos. The ultra wide, being fixed focus, doesn't suffer from that and you can easily walk and shoot with it.

There's a Super steady mode on the A51 5G and it uses the ultra-wide cam only with a tighter crop to accommodate more substantial shake. Super steady only records in 1080p at 30fps and does maintain the 30fps, which wasn't the case on the A51. It's a little weird in use as the viewfinder lags behind when panning, but that doesn't affect the result negatively.

Here's a glimpse of how the Galaxy A51 5G compares to rivals in our Video compare tool. Head over there for the complete picture.

Galaxy A51 5G against the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro 5G and the Motorola Edge in our Video compare tool