Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 review

Same dual camera on the back

The Galaxy Z Flip5 brings no real improvements to its camera hardware. But to say that the 5 is the same cameraphone as the 4 wouldn't be entirely fair either. Because, just look at them.

Galaxy Z Flip4 (left) next to Galaxy Z Flip5

The cover display on the new model does make a meaningful difference in how the phone behaves for taking pictures, and if you're at all into selfies, it can be labeled a gamechanger. The interface offers a few toggles, most important of which is shutter actuation - you get to choose whether tapping anywhere works, or you'd rather use an onscreen button (which you can move around).

Going with the second option lets you have the double tap gesture available for other things, and you'd assume they kept the old model's practice of switching between the two cameras - that would have been handy, only it doesn't work here. You do get pinch to zoom to switch between the two cameras, and if you're on the utlrawide, a double tap will switch you to 1x. But going from 1x to 0.5x requires pinching, and that means using both hands. We'd say that's the only downgrade in terms of operation.

Camera UI: Cover screen

On the inside, the interface is essentially the same as on any other Galaxy when it comes to basic operation. Vertical swipes in either direction will switch between front and rear cameras. Swiping left and right will switch between all available modes, and there's an option to re-arrange or remove some of the modes from the viewfinder.

There's a Pro mode for both cameras, too, and it lets you tweak exposure (ISO, shutter speed, compensation), set white balance, or focus manually.

Camera UI: Main screen

The settings icon is located in the far left corner of the screen and gives you control over some bits you set once and forget about (grid lines, geotagging, file formats). You can also turn on and off the Scene Optimizer.

In the far right corner is the toggle that enables the cover screen preview for those instances when you want your subjects to be able to see themselves as you take their picture.

The Flip's Flex mode engages when you fold the handset halfway. Particularly useful is the option to move the viewfinder in the near half of the screen, and use the half-folded phone for waist-level or overhead shooting.

As for the camera hardware, things are unchanged from the Flip4. The primary camera uses a Samsung S5K2LD 12MP sensor, behind a 24mm f/1.8 lens. This sensor dates back to the main camera of the Galaxy S20, so it's hardly cutting edge. It does still have large 1.8µm pixels, and its 1/1.76" optical format means it's not tiny, per se. The lens is stabilized, which has to help, too.

The ultrawide relies on the Sony IMX258 sensor, a Type 1/3.06" unit with 1.12µm pixels, but the phone still outputs 12MP photos. The fixed-focus lens has a reported 13mm equivalent focal length and an f/2.2 aperture.

The inner selfie camera is based on the 10MP Samsung S5K3J1 sensor, which is also taken from the Galaxy S20 series and has a 1/3" optical format with 1.22µm pixels. It's only here that the more observant among you might spot a difference between the Flip5 and the Flip4 - the lens on the new phone has a 23mm equivalent focal length and an f/2.2 aperture, whereas the Flip4's specsheet reads 25mm, f/2.4.

Daylight photo quality

Daylight photos out of the Z Flip5's main camera are great. Detail is excellent, and even random textures are rendered in a relatively natural way, while noise is kept to a minimum. The recognizable Samsung take on colors means you'll be getting vivid output with consistently accurate white balance. Dynamic range is great as well, and you get well-developed tonal extremes, but also nicely high contrast overall.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

For practical purposes, the Z Flip5's main camera photos in daylight are identical to those you'd get from the Galaxy S23. We'd also say there's an improvement over the previous Flip - a minor one, and not one that would make you run to upgrade.

Daylight comparison, main camera (1x): Galaxy Z Flip5 • Galaxy S23

Zooming it to 2x, the Z Flip5 does a good job, but things can look... unusual at times. Straight lines are rendered very well, but random detail tends to get a particular cross-hatch rendition that can be a bit distracting with certain subjects. Still, these are some of the best 'digital' zoom shots we've seen from a conventional 12MP sensor - Quad Bayers have been known to handle 2x well, but regular RGB Bayers not so much.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x zoom)

The Galaxy S23's dedicated zoom camera does bring you closer to the action, and it renders fine detail better than the Z Flip 5's digital zoom. The non-bendy small Galaxy then remains a better option if you zoom in a lot, but the Z Flip5 isn't too far behind.

Daylight comparison, zoom: Galaxy Z Flip5 (main camera, 2x) • Galaxy S23 (telephoto camera, 3x)

That said, if you're particularly trigger-happy with your Flip, you may end up with differently processed 2x images. Apparently, when the phone's ISP doesn't get enough time to do its magic, it does a more basic crop-and-upscale routine - check out the samples below.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x zoom)

It's a bit more of the same positive experience on the ultrawide camera. We're looking at consistently solid images with great color and dynamic range. Noise is competently removed, while detail is very good in the center, not quite as sharp towards the corners. The fixed focus also means you can't shoot close-up subjects - or, rather, you can, but they'll be blurry.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

The S23's slightly fancier larger-sensor ultrawide doesn't give it any meaningful advantage, and the Flip's shots are essentially the same. We're also seeing an improvement over the Z Flip4's results, particularly in terms of sharpness.

Daylight comparison, ultrawide camera: Galaxy Z Flip5 • Galaxy S23

You can also have a look at our gallery of samples that we shot on the Galaxy Z Flip5 while still on location in Seoul.

Low-light photo quality

In low-light, things look pretty great as well. The auto Night mode is dependable and produces well-exposed shots with good dynamic range. Colors have plenty of pop too. Detail is abundant, and there are no signs of excessive processing (the watercolor effect of some night modes we've observed in the past).

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

The dedicated Night mode does produce slightly different results, and you can count on it to better preserve highlights in contrasty scenes. Shadow development doesn't change quite as much, though there is consistently a nudge in the dark, small as it may be. Detail remains excellent.

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

The comparison against the Galaxy S23 reveals that the bar phone can be that tiny bit sharper, be it in Photo mode or in Night mode, and we'd say the darkest of shadows are marginally better developed. Again, though, it's an exercise in splitting hairs.

Low-light comparison, main camera (1x): Z Flip5, Photo • S23, Photo • Z Flip5, Night • S23, Night

The 2x zoom mode tends to make the differences between Photo mode and Night mode on the Z Flip5 more obvious - you get to see the blown highlights from up close. Don't take this the wrong way, though - the results are still more than acceptable in Photo mode; it's just that Night mode does more towards highlight recovery.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x zoom)

Low-light samples, main camera (2x zoom), Night mode

The zoom comparison does give the Galaxy S23 the edge over the Z Flip5, particularly in terms of detail, but also in highlight preservation.

Low-light comparison, zoom camera: Flip5, 2x, Photo • S23, 3x, Photo • Z Flip5, 2x, Night • S23, 3x, Night

The ultrawide on the Z Flip5 performs rather well in the dark too - almost surprisingly so. It extracts a good deal of detail, significantly better than the Z Flip4, and the noise that may be mixed up in there isn't really an issue. Dynamic range and colors are okay, though not outstanding.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Night mode improves significantly on the last two areas and restores color saturation while also bringing down the highlights and lifting the shadows. Textured detail may get smoothed out, and some tiny bits may fall victim to the noise reduction, but ultimately it's worth it, we reckon.

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

The Galaxy S23's ultrawide does have the advantage of a larger sensor, and it shows in the dark where it takes sharper shots, with a wider dynamic range. Overall, it's a solid showing from the Flip, but not as good as the S.

Low-light comparison, ultrawide camera: Z Flip5, Photo • S23, Photo • Z Flip5, Night • S23, Night

Once you're done with the real-world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 stacks up against the competition.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 against the Galaxy S23 and the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra in our Photo compare tool

Portraits

The Z Flip5 captures some very good photos in its Portrait mode. Its subject detection is particularly great, and it does well with colors too, skin tones included. The default level of background blur that it applies can feel a bit much on occasion, though.

Portrait mode samples

Selfies

The Galaxy Z Flip5 is one capable selfie-capturing tool thanks to its large cover display (pardon, Flex Window). With the ability to frame photos on the now-large display, the internal camera only really has video calls to justify its existence, and it's the 'rear', outer cameras that can take on the label 'selfie camera'.

With that in mind, you can expect some great selfies from the Z Flip5. Excellent detail, great color and dynamic range, and some natural background blur - the Z Flip5 delivers.

Selfie samples, main camera

Some additional background blur can be had if you opt for Portrait mode, which works on the cover screen as well. As we talked about in the previous section, the results are superb in terms of subject separation, though you may wish to dial down the blur level from the default state.

Selfie samples, main camera, Portrait mode

The ultrawide camera offers a dramatic perspective for selfies, though the lack of AF does limit its usability for particularly whacky framing. There's also the matter of simply having too much arm in your photo, especially so when you're shooting with the phone closed (as the samples below were captured).

Shooting with the Flip open and the live preview on the cover screen does place the cameras a bit further away which helps.

Selfie samples, ultrawide camera

The internal camera captures okay images too, though it's trailing in detail and doesn't always nail the skin tones. It's good enough for a 'secondary' selfie camera, but the main one on the outside is easily better.

Selfie samples, internal camera

Video recording

The Z Flip5 can record video up to 4K60 with its primary camera and the internal selfie one, while the ultrawide is capped at 4K30. Stabilization is available up to 4K30 (the 4K60 mode isn't stabilized) and can be turned off in settings.

The default codec on the Z Flip5 is h.265, and within the settings, you can choose whether you want to prioritize quality or saving space - both while using that codec. If you want to switch to h.264, you turn off the 'High efficiency videos' toggle. It's a fairly new approach to handling the codecs that we're now seeing retrofitted on older Galaxies like the S23 bunch.

The bit rate in 'quality-priority' mode is around 41Mbps for 4K30 and 62Mbps for 4K60. The 'space-priority' mode, on the other hand, works at 27Mbps for 4K30, while the h.264 alternative uses 48Mbps. Audio always gets 256kbps and is recorded in stereo.

4K30 footage from the main camera (h.265, quality priority - as Samsung intended) is great. There's a ton of fine detail, and processing is mature - not too heavily sharpened, but still crispy. The auto white balance is dependable, and colors have a pleasing level of saturation - again, very well judged. Dynamic range is excellent as well.

It's also worth pointing out that there's virtually no difference between 30fps and 60fps capture in terms of quality - though if you are walking while recording, the unstabilized 60fps mode will obviously be a shake-fest.

The under-the-hood processing shenanigans that made for unusually good 2x photos don't work for video, so the 4K30 clips at 2x zoom look upscaled if examined at 1:1. Still, we'd label them very much usable if you refrain from pixel peeping.

The ultrawide doesn't ruin the positive impression and captures likable footage. It's not the sharpest, particularly off-center, but the lens does cover a relatively extreme field of view, so it can be forgiven. Color reproduction is well matched to the main camera's output, as are other global properties like contrast and dynamic range.

The main camera does a fair job at night and exposes well, prioritizing exposure over noise performance - that's even without the auto fps feature that drops frame rate down to 24fps to capture more light per frame. Colors remain lively, with little to no visible desaturation. As mentioned, noise is present, and shadows can be a little soft, but the detail is overall good given the circumstances.

The ultrawide doesn't enjoy darkness quite as much, though it too aims for proper exposure over noise. So yes, things are looking pretty soft and noisy here, but brightly exposed and with good color, so not all is lost.

Stabilization is properly nice on the Z Flip5. Walking shake is barely detectable, pans are smooth, and pointing the phone in one direction makes the footage look like it's been captured from a tripod.

Selfie videos also turn out well on the Galaxy Z Flip5. The cover screen offers a large enough viewfinder for you to be able to frame precisely, skin tones look nice, and the natural background blur brings a welcome level of subject separation.

The coverage you get at arm's length with the stabilization crop is also adequate, so you don't have to resort to selfie sticks (though one can't hurt if you're serious about selfie videos for vlogging or whatever people do these days).

The ultrawide camera does widen the field of view considerably, which can be welcome compositionally, but the fixed focus and generally lower quality make that selfie stick look like a better option for getting more than just your mug in the frame.

And finally, the internal selfie camera is not too shabby either. It offers a middle ground between the two rear cameras when it comes to coverage and tends to expose a little darker, but it does capture good videos - your video calls are in good hands.

Here's a glimpse of how the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 compares to rivals in our Video compare tool. Head over there for the complete picture.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 against the Galaxy S23 and the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra in our Video compare tool