Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review

Low-light photo quality

As we observed on the regular S24s, Galaxies tend to process their low-light photos differently between Photo mode and Night mode. A lot of competitors have switched to an approach where the full auto results match those from the dedicated Night mode, and we're somewhat inclined to favor that behavior - from a real-life practical standpoint but also as reviewers having to show you two sets of photos instead of just one. That said, the Galaxy could be making a strong case in the opposite direction with laid-back processing in Photo mode and a Night mode that's there for you when you insist or the situation absolutely calls for it.

Main camera

The main camera captures great photos in Photo mode, with balanced exposures and wide dynamic range - we wouldn't say the shadows need better development, nor do we consider the highlights blown. Colors are also rendered well, with good saturation and generally dependable white balance.

There's nicely fine detail too, and its drawn naturally with conservative sharpening. The noise that can be seen in the shadows is a perfectly acceptable trade-off.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

Night mode brings some changes, and it's almost like it's taking away more than it's bringing to the table. The tonal extremes barely get any better - only the most contrasty of scenes may benefit, but even then it's not a dramatic difference.

More significant if still not quite in-your-face is the change in noise and detail rendition - things generally get smoothed out a little, with both noise and detail being discarded. It's like we're paying a moderate price for a minimal improvement - doesn't sound like a great deal.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x), Night mode

We'd say that the new model does a little better with fine detail than the S23 Ultra - the more lax noise reduction is leaving a bit more grain, but finer textures too.

Low-light 1x comparison: Galaxy S24 Ultra • Galaxy S23 Ultra

The Night mode results are also a touch better on the S24 Ultra with less false color and slightly lower sharpening.

Low-light 1x comparison, Night mode: Galaxy S24 Ultra • Galaxy S23 Ultra

Comparing against the S24+, we'd say that the Ultra is consistently better, by a margin that's large enough to be explained by the superior hardware and to make an S24 Ultra user content for paying the extra money. On the flipside, the S24+'s results are perfectly good for its own context, we reckon.

Low-light 1x comparison: Galaxy S24 Ultra • Galaxy S24+

3x Telephoto camera

The 3x telephoto does admirably in the dark - notably better than the one on the S24+. The slightly larger sensor has to be at least partially reponsible.

Low-light 3x comparison: Galaxy S24 Ultra • Galaxy S24+

Compared to the S23 Ultra, the S24 Ultra is also a meaningful upgrade in image quality at 3x zoom thanks to less aggressive sharpening and more forgiving noise reduction.

Low-light 3x comparison: Galaxy S24 Ultra • Galaxy S23 Ultra

Overall, we'll admit that this relatively unassuming 3x camera surprised us by producing solid results. The detail is very good in scenes with at least moderate lighting, the dynamic range is nicely wide, and the auto white balance is doing fine with mixed lighting.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3x)

Night mode does change the balance in processing and rids you of noise and some of the fine detail in the process, while introducing some more noticeable sharpening. We'd normally refrain from using it, unless it's a particularly dark or contrasty scene. Take the last two samples below - in those cases Night mode does open up the shot and make for a more even exposure, even if the cathedral in the distance might have a bit of an artificially reconstructed quality to it.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3x), Night mode

5x Telephoto camera

The 5x telephoto continues to deliver, and there's not a whole lot of different things to say. Fine detail and fine grain go hand in hand in what is a restrained and likeable pixel-level rendition. Exposures are on point and dynamic range doesn't leave much room for a Night mode improvement in most circumstances.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (5x)

That said, it's the super dark or super contrasty scenes that could use a bit of tonal development and Night mode will very likely give you that. The 'very likely' bit goes to account for the second shot in the sequence below, where we didn't get Night mode action, even though we would have appreciated some brighter shadows.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (5x), Night mode

This particular comparison against the old model isn't going to produce a surprise winner, though it's still informative to know how much better the S24 Ultra is at 5x, if 5x is your preferred zoom level - 111-ish millimeter equivalent.

Low-light 5x comparison: Galaxy S24 Ultra • Galaxy S23 Ultra

At 10x in the dark, the S24 Ultra is at least a little better than the S23 Ultra, but every now and then it's a lot better - the dimmer the scene, the wider the gap in quality.

Low-light 10x comparison: Galaxy S24 Ultra • Galaxy S23 Ultra

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide does okay in the dark, perhaps a little better than we'd expect it to by looking at the specs. It's once again an improvement in image quality over the predecessor, particularly in Photo mode.

Low-light 0.6x comparison: Galaxy S24 Ultra • Galaxy S23 Ultra

We're looking at well exposed photos with wide dynamic range and good colors. Pixel-level examination reveals some noise or softness in the shadows, but we wouldn't call those dealbreaking offences.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Night mode does a bit more of what we talked about above - smoother textures, less noise and detail, a bit of a boost in the midtones in darker scenes.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x), Night mode

Video recording

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra records video up to 8K30 with its primary camera as well as the 5x telephoto. All 5 cameras, front-facing one included, can shoot 4K60 (and 4K30, of course), while the main camera on the back can also do 4K120 but from the slow-motion mode.

Further options are available in the Pro Video mode - 4K120 'regular' recording on the main camera, but also on the ultrawide, plus 24fps modes for 4K on all cameras and 24fps 8K on the main and 5x telephoto.

The pre-set video codec is h.265 (HEVC) and you can further choose between prioritizing for quality (the default setting) or smaller file sizes. Alternatively, you can opt for the older and less efficient h.264 codec.

Audio is recorded in stereo at 256kbps, while the bit rates for video are a nice round 40Mbps for 4K30, 60Mbps for 4K60, and 80Mbps for 8K30 (h.265, quality priority). There's a toggle for 'High bitrate videos' in the settings, which will raise the values to 96Mbps and 144Mbps for 4K30 and 4K60, respectively, but it's grayed out for 8K. HDR10+ video recording is also on the menu.

Video stabilization is available in all modes on all cameras, but you can disable it in settings if you have other means of ensuring stability.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra's video quality is generally great. In broad daylight all rear cameras deliver consistent color and can be used together in a more serious 'project'. Exposures are well judged and dynamic range and contrast are excellent, with only the ultrawide potentially raising an eyebrow for its less than perfect highlight rendition.

Detail is very good on all three rear modules at their native zoom levels. 10x zoom clips from the S24 Ultra aren't as detailed as those we're getting from the S23 Ultra, but they're not too bad either and we're inclined to consider the new generation's much better 5x clips to be a more important development. There's no detail penalty when shooting at 60fps - it's all the same between the two frame rates.

The selfie camera also delivers high quality clips and its field of view is wide enough that you can comfortably fit an entire head with some shoulders in landscape orientation at arm's length.

Stabilization is properly excellent on the S24 Ultra. Walking shake is nearly perfectly removed on both the main camera and the ultrawide on the back, as well as on the selfie camera. Panning is smooth on all cameras and you can count on nearly tripod-like stability when just pointing the camera in one direction.

In low light, you can expect good quality footage from the main camera. The exposure is on point, dynamic range is quite wide, and colors don't suffer from desaturation. Detail isn't too shabby either. The ultrawide's footage is softer and noisier, though still respectable. The telephotos aren't in their element at night and their videos are hard to like.

Video sample playlist

You can check out the playlist below, which includes multiple video samples.