The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (“Fan Edition”) 5G (Snapdragon) offers many of the features, including the Snapdragon 888 chipset, of the standard S21 5G model, at a slightly cheaper price. FE users can compose images on a large 6.4-inch dynamic AMOLED display with FHD + resolution, and power is provided by a 4,500mAh battery.
With the 12MP primary and ultra-wide cameras, the camera setup on the back of the device is quite similar to the standard S21, but the camera only offers an 8MP sensor instead of the S21’s 64MP variant. Let’s take a closer look at the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) in SBMARK camera tests and comparison with its rivals.
Key Camera Specifications:
- Main: 12MP sensor, f / 1.8 aperture lens
- Ultra Wide: 12MP sensor, f / 2.2 aperture lens
- Telephoto: 8MP sensor, f / 2.0 aperture lens
- Flashing LED
- Video: 2160p at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60 fps (1080p / 30fps tested)
About SBMARK Camera Tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone camera reviews, SBMARK engineers capture and evaluate over 3000 test images and more than 2.5 hours of video in both controlled laboratory environments and indoor and outdoor natural scenes, using the default camera settings. This article aims to highlight the most important results of our tests. For more information on SBMARK Camera Test Protocol, please click here. More details on how we rate smartphone cameras can be found here.
Test summary
Pros
- Good exposure and contrast
- Nice color in interior and exterior images
- Good texture in bright light
- Fairly accurate subject isolation in bokeh mode
- Accurate exposure, white balance and focus preview while zooming
- Good exposure in low contrast video
- Accurate white balance and color in bright light and indoor video
- Autofocus generally good for videos
- Good video stabilization for static scenes
The camera of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) does a respectable job, earning a SBMARK Camera score of 120 which places it centrally in the Premium segment. The score is one point higher than the S21 5G (Snapdragon), making the FE model a great alternative to the standard model for photocentric users. That said, with the S21 5G available at retailers for several months, its street price has dropped to a level very close to the FE. Overall, the camera performs very similarly to Samsung’s other S21 series models.
In this shot and the graph below, we can see that the texture performance of the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE has been improved over the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G. Textures are slightly more refined in all lighting conditions.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), low light texture
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), crop: slight loss of texture
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon), low light texture
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon), more texture loss, louder noise
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), internal structure
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), crop: slight loss of texture
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon), internal structure
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (Snapdragon), more texture loss, more highlight clipping
Texture comparison: The S21 FE Snapdragon is slightly improved over the S21 5G in all light levels. The difference is most noticeable in low light conditions.
The preview image in bokeh mode is very close to the final capture.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), preview image
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), crop: preview only slightly different from the final capture
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), final capture in bokeh mode
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), crop: bokeh effect similar to image preview
In bokeh mode, images can sometimes be slightly underexposed, but the simulated bokeh effect provides a mostly accurate depth estimate, with only a few depth artifacts visible.
Bokeh mode: good depth estimate
When using tele zoom, exposure is generally accurate and stable, but dynamic range is limited, which can result in highlight clipping in high-contrast scenes. Our testers also observed a loss of detail in most telephoto and ultra wide-angle zoom settings, as well as some autofocus errors.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), long range zoom
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), crop: good exposure but loss of detail
In video mode, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon) records movies with good exposure in low-contrast scenes. However, in more difficult high contrast conditions, video clips tend to be underexposed. The comparison devices below are faring better in this regard.
Our testers also observed some color and white balance instabilities, but overall white balance and color rendition are generally accurate when recording in bright light or typical indoor conditions. In low light, an orange cast is more intrusive than the comparison phones. The noise is quite visible in all conditions, it is particularly loud in low light conditions. We also noticed frame shift and ringing artifacts in all conditions. Video stabilization does a good job in static scenes and is on a similar level to its competitors.
In this example clip, we can see that the subject is slightly underexposed at the beginning of the video. Strong color and exposure instabilities are visible between 00:19 and 00:25. We can also see frame shifts and an exposure adaptation problem towards the end of the clip as the model spins.
Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G (Snapdragon), subject slight underexposure, strong color and exposure instability, slight frame shift
Google Pixel 6, slight underexposure, unstable white balance, slight loss of focus, exposure adaptation problems
Oppo Reno 6 Pro 5G, slight underexposure, focus instability, frame shift, noticeable exposure adaptation
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