Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 review

Same cameras as the Z Fold4 across the board

The Galaxy Z Fold5 features the same cameras as the Z Fold4. There are three cameras on the back - a 50MP wide unit with OIS, a 10MP 3x telephoto camera with OIS, and a 12MP ultrawide shooter.

There is a 10MP selfie camera inside the perforation on the cover screen and an almost invisible 4MP under-display camera sits behind the foldable OLED.

The primary camera on the back is based on the 50MP Samsung GN3 sensor - it is a 1/1.56" imager with 1.0µm pixels, and a Tetrapixel filter array (Quad Bayer in Sony speak). The lens here is a 23mm f/1.8, stabilized (OIS), and the focus is Dual Pixel AF.

The ultrawide camera uses the 12MP Sony IMX 258 - a fairly ancient imager with a 1/3.06" optical format and 1.12µm pixels. Its native resolution is 13MP, but Samsung lists it at 12MP, and that's the size of images it outputs. This sensor sits behind a 13mm f/2.2 lens. While the module has AF in some implementatinos, the Fold5 doesn't support it.

The telephoto camera relies on a Samsung S5K3K1 sensor (1/3.94", 10MP, 1.0µm) with a 66mm f/2.4 stabilized (OIS) lens.

On the selfie side of things, we have a traditional 10MP punch-hole unit on the cover screen. That one has been the same since the Fold2 - a Sony IMX 374 (1/3", 1.22µm) paired with a fixed-focus lens with an equivalent focal length (as per EXIF data) of 25mm and an f/2.2 aperture.

Finally, there's the under-display camera that hides behind the folding screen. A chessboard array of display pixels and transparent patches let just enough light for the 16MP sensor underneath (IMX 471, 1/3", 1.0µm) to output 4MP still images and 1080p video. The lens reports the same 25mm equivalent focal length and an f/1.8 aperture.

Camera app

If you keep the Z Fold5 folded, its camera app UI is essentially the same as on any other Samsung, with only the unusual aspect ratio making things appear slightly different. 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. Vertical swipes in either direction will switch between the rear cameras and the cover selfie camera.

Camera UI

The settings icon is located in the upper left corner of the screen, and you don't get separate setting screens for photos and videos since the options aren't that many in total. Grid lines, location data, Screen optimizer, etc. - the usual stuff can be found there. The full resolution mode on the primary camera is triggered from the aspect options, which is a rather unintuitive bit, but that's how Samsung does it.

Camera UI

There's a Pro mode, too, where you get granular exposure controls (ISO and shutter speed, plus exposure compensation), manual focus with peaking, and live histogram. The Pro mode works on all but the under-display camera.

Selfie with rear cameras

The one thing that sets the UI apart from other Samsungs is the 'Selfie' icon in the top left corner above the settings cogwheel - that enables the rear-camera selfie mode. It asks you to unfold the phone, after which it transfers the UI and viewfinder on the cover screen for easy operation while mostly disabling the now-unfolded main display - which now faces away from you.

Holding the phone in this mode with one hand and tapping on the UI isn't super convenient, but you can just about work your way to pressing the shutter release with the right index finger or left thumb - more complex operations are best done with both hands. Naturally, 'palm shutter' is available, and, if you're serious about this whole thing, an additional Bluetooth remote release is always an option.

Then there's the viewfinder on the large screen. Taking pictures this way does transport you into that frowned-upon territory of tablet photography, but it does enable the other useful aspect of the form factor - letting your subjects preview the picture as it is taken. Enabling the cover screen is a tap away, and in that mode, there are no actionable controls on it - just a live feed from the sensor. That is to say, there's only one button - for going into the rear selfie mode, with controls on the cover screen.

Daylight photo quality

The main camera on the Z Fold5 saves very Samsungy photos. The default 12MP ones are easily likable - they offer plenty of detail, mature processing and low noise. We particularly appreciate the natural looking foliage and the lack of excessive over-sharpening here.

The colors are popping and a bit over-saturated, but not too extreme do make us dislike the color presentation.

Finally, the dynamic range is pretty wide across the photos, but not too much, hence the still contrasty photos. Overall, one solid processing across the board, and a typical popping look.

Main camera, 12MP

You can lose the extra saturation if you shoot in 50MP. The high-res photos still have low noise, and incredibly nice random detail rendering. The colors are true to life, and the dynamic range is wide.

Main camera, 50MP

The telephoto camera offers 3x optical zoom over the main one, and even if it uses a 10MP sensor, it saves 12MP pictures. This means the phone upscales the photos to match the primary camera resolution - something that has become common among the manufacturers for some reason.

Anyway, the zoomed photos are plenty good - they are detailed, noise-free, and with accurate colors. The fine detail remains well rendered in most scenes and we cannot tell that those have been upscaled from a bit lower resolution.

The dynamic range across the zoomed photos is wide, wider than we would have liked it though, and the contrast has suffered from this. These photos can benefit from higher contrast and better judgment on the tonal extremes.

Telephoto 3x zoom, 12MP

The 12MP shots from the ultrawide-angle camera are alright. The offer the same popping colors as the main camera, the contrast here is high and the dynamic range is enough, but not over the top like on the telephoto camera.

The resolved detail is somewhat lower than the other two camera, which could be an issue with the Auto HDR and the multi-stacking processing. Still, even as is, the detail is adequate.

Ultrawide camera, 12MP

We tried shooting selfies with the rear cameras and those are quite nice and of high quality (detail, colors, contrast, overall processing). Bear in mind that the primary camera sometimes has a hard time focusing on you and chooses to focus on the background instead. Better tap on your mug just to be safe.

Selfie with main cam • Selfie with main cam • Selfie with UW cam • Selfie with UW cam

The 10MP selfies from the camera inside the cover screen are solid with mature processing - their detail is superb, and so are the contrast, colors, and dynamic range. The subject is always well exposed and the noise is minimal, at least when sufficient lighting is present.

Selfies, 10MP

The under-display selfie camera is not intended for selfies, but rather for video calls. You can, of course, snap photos and capture videos, but they have a hazy look to them.

Under-display selfies, 4MP

You can also have a look at our gallery of samples that we shot on the Galaxy Z Fold5 while still on location in Seoul.