Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) review: Standing tall

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) camera department is built much like that of the excellent Galaxy S6.

It starts off with a downgrade - the sensor has 13MP resolution (and it's 4:3 instead of 16:9). Other than that, the camera boasts the same bright f/1.9 aperture and optical image stabilization. And like on the S6 you can just double tap the Home key to quickly launch the camera.

The A5 offers Pro mode, but it's nothing like the one on the S6. It only gives you White balance, ISO and Exposure compensation. Essentially, the settings most phones have, but in a more accessible arrangement.

Camera interface

HDR is split off into a separate mode instead of a toggle on the viewfinder like on the S6 (this means no HDR Auto mode).

A rare Anti-fog option corrects the reduced contrast you get in misty weather.

The 28mm field-of-view of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) camera isn't as wide as the Galaxy S6 camera, but it does give some extra vertical room.

The dynamic range is surprisingly good but processing differs from the S6 and detail in the shadows and in the highlights is harder to see. There's a bit more noise, but photos are rich in detail. At 100% magnification, you can see more detail in S6 photos than in the Galaxy A5 photos.

Shot-to-shot time is okay, but when taking multiple photos in quick succession the A5 feels a bit sluggish.

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) samples

Samsung Galaxy S6 samples

We tried the HDR mode in this particularly tricky scene where the angle of the sun completely blew out the sky. HDR helped a bit but not enough to produce a usable shot.

Galaxy A5: HDR off • HDR on

A 5MP camera with f/1.9 aperture rivals the S6 for selfies. The Galaxy A5 (2016) selfies have some noise, which reduced the resolved detail, but the quality is better (marginally) than what the S6 produced. Part of that is that the focus point is more appropriate for selfies - photos from the S6 camera were slightly soft at an arm-length distance for some unknown reason.

Selfies: Galaxy A5 • Galaxy S6

A wide selfie mode is available when your friends are with you. It's essentially a panorama for selfies.

There's a Panorama mode too, though it proved disappointing. The images came out with a vertical resolution of around 1,200px, while the Galaxy S6 goes up to 3,000px. The stitching looks good, but the Galaxy A5 (2016) panorama shots just don't have enough resolution.

Panorama: Galaxy A5 (2016) • Galaxy S6

While both phones have bright f/1.9 apertures, the bigger sensor handles the dark noticeably better. It's not a matter of resolution, really, and even the noise levels are quite similar. Still, by the time the noise reduction has done its job, the Galaxy A5 (2016) have lost much of their detail and sharpness, especially compared to the Galaxy S6.

Low-light samples: Galaxy A5 (2016) • Galaxy S6

This A5 vs. S6 fight continues over at our Photo quality comparison tool. You can also compare their low-light performance there.

Video camera

We're willing to swallow the resolution drop when going from the S6 to the Galaxy A5 (2016), even the S7 is rumored to go back to 12MP. It's the lack of 4K video that bugs us - even if you tend to use 1080p most of the time, the A5 is too pricey not to offer the best features. You don't even get 1080p @ 60fps.

In terms of resolved detail and sharpness, the Galaxy A5 (2016) is slightly behind the S6. The advantage in resolved detail only grows bigger when you flip to 4K mode.

Anyway, white balance of the A5 tends towards a warm yellow. Dynamic range is essentially equal.

Even for selfies, the A5 is behind on video resolution - the S6 camera can do QHD (1440p) while the A5 tops out at 1080p again.

Here's the Galaxy A5 (2016) compared against the Galaxy S6 in our Video quality comparison tool.