Samsung Galaxy A52 review

Familiar quad camera setup, now complete with OIS

"Familiar" might just be a bit of an exaggeration here since, despite our best snooping, the Galaxy A52 refused to give up any usable hardware identifiers for its actual camera modules. Even so, its quad-camera setup is still familiar in the sense that most every modern mid-ranger that's worth its salt is rocking a main+ultrawide+macro+depth camera arrangement these days.

Credit where credit is due, though, Samsung opted for a higher-res 64MP Quad Bayer main cam instead of a 48MP unit. One that has a fairly bright aperture of f/1.8 and a sensor size somewhere in the 1/1.7X" neighborhood. The ultrawide unit is also a higher-res option at 12MP, f/2.2, instead of an 8MP one. Same goes for the dedicated macro and depth sensors, which are 5MP, f/2.4, instead of the popular 2MP units.

Like we said, we aren't quite sure of the exact hardware modules in use here. However, the Galaxy A52's camera setup does look suspiciously similar to that of the popular Galaxy M51. If that is indeed where Samsung borrowed the sensors from, we are looking at a Sony IMX 682 for the main cam and Samsung S5K3L6 for the ultrawide. The 32MP Quad Bayer selfie cam on the A52 is also likely the same Sony IMX 616 as on the Galaxy M51.

There is one notable upgrade on the A52, though - the addition of OIS to the main camera. It's not an insignificant one either, offering a tangible reduction in blurry photos due to shaky hands. Alongside the resolution increase on the sensor itself, the main camera on the A52 constitutes a nice upgrade over the 48MP unit on last year's Galaxy A51. Though, the ultra-wide and two 5MP extra cams and the 32MP selfie cam appear to be carried forward.

Camera UI

If there is one aspect of the Galaxy A52's camera that is truly familiar, it is definitely the Samsung camera UI. Aside from some incremental polish and an extra feature here and there, it has remained consistent for quite some time. Shutter and a mode carousel on the right, along with toggles for cameras and zoom levels (in the case of the A52 - 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x and 10x), as well as a Scene optimizer indicator/toggle in the corner. The A52 can distinguish between 30 scenes automatically. On the opposite side - resolution and aspect, timer, flash controls and some color filters.

Samsung main camera UI

Samsung did not skimp on the available modes either. In no particular order, users get to enjoy things like AR DOODLE, FOOD mode, as well as SINGLE TAKE. The latter instantly captures a few different shots and even short clips with a single press of the shutter key and is a perfect example of a feature that originally debuted a while back on flagship Galaxy devices and has successfully made its way to the mid-range.

Samsung SINGLE TAKE

Speaking of added-value features, FUN MODE is a new addition to the mix, prominently featured in PR materials for the Galaxy A52 and A72. It is basically a collaboration with Snapchat that puts some of that app's fun AR filters in the native Samsung camera app. It's just a bit of extra trendy "flare" to have around.

Samsung FUN MODE

FUN MODE works for both photos and videos (captured by long-pressing the shutter key). The filter selection consists of 7 "basic" lenses, one of which gets changed-out daily, as well as an additional menu of 9 more effects that also get "changed regularly".

Additional FUN MODE filters

FUN MODE requires an active network connection to work, which makes sense, considering all the "swapping" that's going on. Seeing how the filter selection is constantly subject to change, you can't exactly pick your favorites and use them regularly. Hence, the whole feature is more of a promotional one than anything else, meant to ultimately grab your attention and direct you to the Snapchat app for the full experience. We don't particularly might that, even if the lack of a static filter selection is a bit annoying.

Circling back to the main part of the camera app and its settings, in particular, we find some nifty additional options, like HEIF for images and HEVC for videos. Also, a floating shutter and extensive voice commands and a palm shot shortcut. Nothing out of the ordinary, though. It is worth noting that the options change depending on whether you enter settings from a photo or video come. The latter is where you will find a toggle for the always-on by default video stabilization, in case you want to do some tripod shooting.

Camera settings

There is naturally a Pro mode included, as well. It is fairly in-depth, offering ISO from 50 to 4000, shutter speed from 1/6000 to 10 seconds, white balance from 2300K to 1000K, as well as exposure compensation and the ability to set different spot metering for the expose and autofocus.

Pro photo mode

One interesting and not-so-common addition to the Pro model is the separate Levels menu, which offers control over contrast, highlights, shadows, saturation and tint. These are parameters you typically find and tend to adjust in editors, but it's kind of nifty to have them separated into this way as you are capturing the shots.

Pro mode levels

Video capture mode is just slightly different from the main photo one, with most controls in their familiar places. The zoom level and camera selection on the Galaxy A52 stays the same with video capture. The ultrawide can even do 4K recording itself. But, more on that in the video section.

Pro video mode

There is also a Pro video mode with pretty-much the same adjustments available as the Pro Photo one. Not too shabby.

Daylight image quality

Daylight photos from the main camera on the Galaxy A52 are quite decent, even if mostly unremarkable. Dynamic range is wide for what we're used to in the midrange, though a higher-end phone will still get you better developed tonal extremes.

Colors are lively without going overboard. Detail is plenty. The only real issue we see here is the slightly-higher levels of noise and noise-suppression artefacts left in the shots. This is not something we typically associate with Samsung processing.

Samsung Galaxy A52 16MP main camera samples

Samsung's Scene optimizer doesn't really make a huge difference in most shots, but when it does, it can still come through and save the occasional still. While at times a bit sluggish, its detection never actually tripped up and ruined a shot for us, so there is no benefit in turning it off. The same goes for the Auto HDR mode.

While the main 64MP camera on the Galaxy A52 is meant to shoot in a binned 16MP mode by default, there is a 64MP option in the camera UI. We were honestly rather impressed with how much extra detail it brought into shots. Even the HDR seems to look a bit better at 64MP than at 16MP for some od reason. The A52 does struggle a bit and is kind of slow to capture these stills, but we would say the wait is well worth it.

Samsung Galaxy A52 64MP main camera samples

The Galaxy A52 lacks a proper telephoto camera - that one is reserved for the A72. Still, we have seen 64MP Quad Bayer shooters do a pretty good job of cropping and demosaicing for some strong 2x results. Though we can't say for sure whether the A52 is going that route or upscaling 16MP shots and then cropping instead, we are willing to give the 2x photos a soft pass. Pun intended since the extra softness is instantly visible. At least the algorithm didn't go overboard with sharpening in an attempt of overcompensating.

Samsung Galaxy A52 16MP samples: 1x • 2x • 4x • 10x • 1x • 2x • 4x • 10x

The Galaxy A52 has toggles in the UI for 4x and 10x zoom, as well. Of course, you can get any zoom level in between by pinching. Still, if Samsung deemed these to be "official" zoom levels, we felt kind of compelled to try them. While not so bad as to call them "throwaway", both 4x and 10x shots are unimpressive, with plenty of softness and even more sharpening artefacts.

Samsung Galaxy A52 16MP samples: 1x • 2x • 4x • 10x • 1x • 2x • 4x • 10x

The ultrawide camera on the Galaxy A52 captures respectable 12MP stills as well. Sure, there is extra softness, especially around the edges of the frame, and Samsung didn't manage to get the color science quite right and consistent with the main snapper. Colors seem less saturated and lively, and the overall pallette is a bit colder.

Samsung Galaxy A52 12MP ultrawide samples

Even so, none of these is a dealbreaker, and the ultrawide delivers solid performance for its class.

As with all recent Samsungs, there's software distortion correction enabled on the Galaxy A52. It's only marginally detrimental to image quality in the corners, while the geometric benefits are huge, and we'd keep it on unless the barrel distortion look is what you're after in particular.

Samsung Galaxy A52 12MP ultrawide distortion correction: On • Off • On • Off

Low-light image quality

Low-light photos from the Galaxy A52 are what we would consider a bit above average for a mid-ranger. There is a good amount of detail preserved, though noise, as expected from the slightly noisier daylight shots, is an even bigger issue with low-light images. A hint of desaturation can be spotted, but colors are generally not bad, and the dynamic range is wider than most.

Samsung Galaxy A52 16MP main camera, low-light sample

Night mode brightens up the scene, as expected, but doesn’t handle highlights or the darkest parts of the frame particularly well. Some detail can get salvaged in both, but more often than not, highlights get blown-out. The algorithm sometimes leaves behind blue spots in highlights too. The night sky often ends up looking cloudy. All, in essence, computational errors. Shadows tend to fair a bit better in Night mode. Night mode on the main cam produces 12MP stills, instead of 16MP.

Samsung Galaxy A52 12MP main camera Night mode samples

As you can imagine, zooming at night without a dedicated telephoto is not the best idea. We would call 2x usable, but not much else.

Samsung Galaxy A52 low-light samples: 1x • 2x • 4x • 10x • 1x • 2x • 4x • 10x

At least you can use Night mode on any one of the zoom levels. With varying results, of course.

Samsung Galaxy A52 Night mode samples: 1x • 2x • 4x • 10x • 1x • 2x • 4x • 10x

Low-light photos from the ultra-wide aren't as good, and with such a wide frame, there's inevitably going to be a lot of super dark areas unless you pick your scenes carefully. If presented with evenly lit scenes, the A52's ultra-wide will create usable images with decent detail, saturated colors, and a wide dynamic range.

Samsung Galaxy A52 12MP ultrawide, low-light samples

Night mode on the ultrawide camera tends to really explode highlights, often resulting in cartoonishly overexaggerated lighting. Shadows can still get a decent boost, tough.

Samsung Galaxy A52 12MP ultrawide, Night mode samples

Rounding the main camera section off, we have the Galaxy A52 at both its default 16MP and 64MP in our extensive Photo compare database. You can pixel-peep to your heart's content.

Samsung Galaxy A52 against the Samsung Galaxy A71 and the Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G in our Photo compare tool

64MP: Samsung Galaxy A52 against the Samsung Galaxy A71 and the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Lite in our Photo compare tool

Portrait mode

Portrait mode, also sometimes referred to as Live focus in Samsung "slang" on the Galaxy A52 is good, but not overly impressive. The bokeh effect itself is natural and convincing. The intensity slider is gradual and never really goes overboard.

Samsung Galaxy A52 portrait mode samples

Subject detection and separation, however, left is wanting from time to time. Of course, usually with more complex backgrounds or messy hair. While not dramatic and experience-ruining in any way, we still expected a bit more out of a phone with a dedicated 5MP depth sensor.

Macro shots

Speaking of dedicated 5MP snappers, the macro one on the Galaxy A52 is quite impressive. It has a forgivingly-wide focus plane, and you don't have to get all that physically close to the subject.

Samsung Galaxy A52 5MP macro samples

Shots come out nice and detailed. Generally, a lot better than what you get from the alternative 2MP macro snappers floating around in the mid-ranger space.

Selfies

The Galaxy A52 has a 32MP selfies camera, which, just like the main cam is a Quad Bayer module. Hence, it is meant to natively produce 8MP stills. And, indeed, in its default mode, it shoots at 3264 x 2448 pixels, or right around 8MP.

Samsung Galaxy A52 8MP selfie samples

However, in typical Samsung fashion, the selfie cam has a narrow and wide mode. We wish this would become a thing of the past already. Anyway, in wide mode, selfies come out in 4000 x 3000 pixels or exactly 12MP. Presumably, there's some interpolation going on because a 32MP Quad Bayer camera should output 8MP photos. That being said, we can't notice any noteworthy difference in quality and detail between the two modes.

Samsung Galaxy A52 12MP selfie samples

Overall selfie quality is solid, with plenty of detail in decent noise performance. Skin tones can be a bit inconsistent from time to time. Thankfully, there is both Auto HDR and Scene optimizer available on the selfie.

That is unless you decide to shoot in 32MP on the selfie cam for some reason. In that case, you lose both Auto HDR and Scene optimizer and have to be extra mindful of the lighting conditions.

Samsung Galaxy A52 32MP selfie samples

Selfie portrait mode is a thing as well. The results are surprisingly pleasing. The bokeh effect is nice, and so is subject separation.

Samsung Galaxy A52 Portrait selfie samples

FUN mode is available on the selfie cam as well with the same selection of Snapchat AR filters. Beyond that, you get some more-traditional color filters.

Samsung Galaxy A52 selfie color filters

Samsung also gives you the ability to create filters based on your own photos. The way it works is that the phone analyzes the overall color palette of the shot and then tries to skew other photos in the same manner. It is a nifty idea, but can produce some funky results, as well.

Selfie camera and filters

Naturally, there are Beauty filters to play around with, as well. Fairly in-depth ones at that, including sliders for smoothness, skin tone, jawline, and eye enlargement.

Beauty filters

Finally, here are some selfies from the Galaxy A52 with lower-light conditions for your consideration.

Samsung Galaxy A52 low-light selfie samples

Night mode tries its best to fix things up here, as well. Not too shabby.

Samsung Galaxy A52 Night mode selfie samples

Galaxy A52 vs. Galaxy A32 camera comparison

It is tempting to compare the A52 to the A32 in the camera department and conclude that sans OIS, the two share the same setup, with the latter costing you less. In reality, this is not the case. The main 64MP camera on the Galaxy A32 is different and has smaller individual pixels, among other things. Then there is also the unavoidable difference in processing when going from a Qualcomm to a MediaTek chipset and respective DSP. We happened to have the Galaxy A53 at the same time, so we did a quick comparison. We're seeing better sharpness in the A52's shots, hand in hand with more noise than on the A32. The A52 has overall more vibrant colors and warmer yellows and greens.

Comparison, main cam (1x): Galaxy A32 • Galaxy A52

Zooming in, the differences remain the same - not a surprise since these are crops from the same cameras.

Comparison, main cam (2x): Galaxy A32 • Galaxy A52

In full-res mode, a more significant gap opens up in exposure handling and dynamic range or at least its allocation. The Galaxy A52 exposes darker so it salvages a lot more of the highlights, lost in the A32's images. At the same time, we wouldn't say its shadows are too dark.

Comparison, main cam, 64MP: Galaxy A32 • Galaxy A52

Comparing the ultrawides, the A32 loses hands-down. The A52 has the advantage in resolution and detail, plus the software distortion correction.

Comparison, ultrawide cam: Galaxy A32 • Galaxy A52

Video recording

The Galaxy M52 is a surprisingly competent video recorder. It has 4K@30fps capture on all of its "real" cameras. That is to say, the main cam, the ultrawide, as well as the selfie. The ultrawide lacks 60fps capture, which is to be expected, and that's about the only limitation we spotted.

Both the main cam and the ultrawide manage to maintain a solid bitrate of around 48Mb/s for their 4K footage - AVC + 48kHz stereo audio, inside an h.264 MP4 container. Naturally, you can choose to do HEVC instead and save some space.

Starting with the main cam, detail is excellent, and the processing is fairly natural. Noise is non-existent too. Dynamic range is reasonably wide. Colors are spot-on too. In fact, if you ask us, it's the natural color reproduction that really stands out in these videos.

Doubly so after looking at the ultrawide footage and its respectable color consistency with the main camera. Definitely better than what is available for photos. The detail is good for videos by an ultra-wide cam, no complaints here, but noise is prominent, and the shadows have somewhat distracting pulsating noise patterns. Not half bad overall, however.

Stepping down to 1080p on the primary camera introduces a surprising amount of extra noise. We aren't quite sure why that is the case, but we would try to stick to 4K.

The ultrawide is also noisy at 1080p, but since its 4K feed is a bit noisy, to begin with, it's not that big of a deal.

You can capture videos at up to 4K at each and every zoom level on the main camera. The 2x footage even looks rather decent. The detail is there, noise is well kept at bay, colors are solid and the dynamic range is wide.

Anything beyond that, however (4x and 10x) is more akin to a painting than actual video footage. You can see the sharpening algorithm sweating and doing its best, but there's only so much data left there to work with. We would avoid going beyond 2x.

Video stabilization is available for both the main and the ultrawide cameras on the Galaxy A52, but only at FullHD resolution. Actually, stabilization comes in two "stages", for lack of a better term. There is a toggle in the general camera settings menu, which is enabled by default. That would be the basic stabilization, which, indeed, works on the ultrawide and main camera at every zoom level. It does a very decent job at smoothing-out jitters and handles pans well. Here is a sample showcasing the primary camera with and without the basic stabilization.

Then there is Super steady. It gets its video feed from the ultrawide camera and also only works at FullHD. The extra smoothness is there, but the step-up from the regular stabilization to Super steady isn't all that major. You just have to decide whether it is worth the extra crop of the field of view. Here is the ultrawide with just basic stabilization against Super steady.

Here is a quick playlist showcasing how the Galaxy A52 handles itself in low-light conditions. It includes videos from the ultrawide, as well as the main camera at 1x and 2x, all at 4K resolution.

Finally, you can check out the Galaxy A52 in our video comparison tool.

Samsung Galaxy A52 against the Samsung Galaxy A71 and the ZTE nubia Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G in our Video compare tool