The Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos) is the Korean company’s high-end S-series junior model of 2022 and uses the same Exynos 2200 chipset as the flagship S22 Ultra. However, the S22 uses a smaller, lower resolution display and does not offer the S-Pen stylus of the larger device.

In the rear camera, the S22 uses the Ultra’s 10x long-range telephoto lens and laser AF. There are also smaller sensors in the 3x telephoto and main cameras. The latter also uses a 50MP sensor versus 108MP in the Ultra. The video specifications are identical, and the S22 can record 8K video at 24fps and 4K at up to 60fps.

Let’s take a closer look at the test results.

Key Camera Specifications:

  • Main: 50 MP 1 / 1.56 ″ sensor, 1.0μm pixel, 85 degree field of view, f / 1.8 aperture lens, OIS, Dual Pixel AF
  • Ultra-wide: 12MP 1 / 2.55 “sensor, 1.4μm pixel, 120 degree field of view, f / 2.2 aperture lens, Dual Pixel AF
  • Telephoto lens: 10MP 1 / 3.94 ″ sensor, 1.0μm pixel, 36 degree field of view, f / 2.4 aperture lens, 3x optical zoom
  • 8K up to 24fps, 4K up to 60fps, 1080p to 60fps (tested at 4K / 30fps)
  • HDR10 + video (available as an option off by default in advanced video recording settings, not tested)

About SBMARK Camera Tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone camera reviews, SBMARK engineers capture and evaluate over 3000 test images and over 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 wide dynamic range
  • Low noise levels in low light conditions
  • Good white balance
  • Good exposure and high detail in flash shots
  • Nice color in the telephoto zoom shots and good exposure on the ultra wide angle camera
  • Natural bokeh effect
  • Good exposure and wide dynamic range in indoor and outdoor videos
  • Nice color and skin tone in the video
  • Effective video stabilization when walking while recording

Cons

  • Luminance noise in bright light and indoor conditions
  • Slow autofocus
  • Loss of fine details and softness at the corners
  • Image artifacts, including ringing, ghosting, and pitch shifting
  • Lack of detail in short-range television footage
  • Noise in video clips
  • Lack of dynamic range and white balance in videos in low light conditions
  • Unstable video autofocus when recording indoors and in low light conditions
  • Strong ringing artifacts in the video

With a SBMARK Camera score of 126 the camera of the Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos) does a great job, earning it a top spot in the Premium segment. Compared to last year’s S21 +, the new device offers improvements in most areas, making it a great product in its price range. However, there are also some drawbacks to be aware of.

When shooting still images, the camera delivers very beautiful and vivid colors with accurate white balance. Exposures are generally accurate, and a wide dynamic range ensures good detail in both light and shadow areas. However, just like the flagship S22 Ultra, noise handling and detail rendering are not quite at the best level. Our testers also noticed some low-light autofocus issues in the lab, which negatively impacted our texture measurements as well.

Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos), outdoor portrait

Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos), crop: good facial exposure and wide dynamic range, decent detail

Samsung Galaxy S21 + (Exynos), outdoor portrait

Samsung Galaxy S21 + 5G (Exynos), good face exposure and wide dynamic range, better details

Apple iPhone 13, outdoor portrait

Apple iPhone 13, crop: good face exposure and wide dynamic range, better details

In the lab measurements below, the S22 records lower detail than the comparison devices at all light levels, both on the tripod and handheld.

This graph shows DMC detail retention versus light level (in lux) for manual and tripod-mounted shooting.
The DMC detail retention metric is an AI-powered plot analysis trained on three selected crops from our SBMARK chart. The closer the value is to 100, the more detail is preserved.

In night conditions, the Galaxy S22 produces images with good exposure and detail when the flash is activated. Photos taken in bokeh simulation mode have a natural-looking bokeh effect, with accurate isolation of the subject from the background and good color rendition.

Night shot: good exposure and detail

Bokeh mode: natural blur effect, beautiful colors

When shooting with the ultra wide-angle camera, the S22 performs exactly like the S22 Ultra, with good target exposure in most conditions. Given the identical specs of ultra-wide cameras, that’s not really a surprise.

Ultra-wide: large field of view, decent dynamic range and beautiful colors

When zooming into the distance, the camera performs well in terms of exposure and color at all ranges. Overall, it’s a slight improvement over last year’s S21 + in those areas. It is also slightly better than the S21 + in terms of detail and very close to the S22 Ultra at close and medium range. However, at long range, the Ultra’s lack of 10x zoom lens means a lower level of detail.

Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos), long range telephoto lens

Samsung Galaxy S22 (Exynos), crop: good exposure and nice colors, low level of detail

When measuring resolution in the lab, we can see that at close and medium range, the S22 is very close to the flagship S22 Ultra model. However, with the long-range telephoto lens, the latter can use a dedicated 10x camera, which allows it to capture significantly better details than the base model Galaxy S22.

Zoom Graph: Resolution is similar to that of the S22 Ultra at close and medium range.

When recording video, the S22 performs well in bright light and indoors. Its dynamic range is wide, and like the best-in-class iPhone 13 or the S22 Ultra, the S22 is capable of capturing good detail in highlights in difficult, high-contrast scenes. Performance is less impressive in low light, however, with frequent light and shadow clipping. Color is generally pleasing with accurate white balance unless recording in low light conditions. Noise is an area for improvement and is already quite intrusive in brightly lit videos. It becomes more problematic as the light fades.

In this example clip, we can see the Galaxy S22’s wide dynamic range, with good highlight retention in the bright window. The camera struggles a bit to focus on people on the sofa. There is some breathing room in focus, and overall, the S22’s video autofocus isn’t quite on par with the Ultra. Stabilization and frame shift artifacts can also be observed. The noise is quite intrusive around 40 seconds, especially when there is movement and on solid-colored areas, such as walls.

Wide dynamic range and nice colors but some noise during movement, focus breathing and stabilization artifacts

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Philip Owell

Professional blogger, here to bring you new and interesting content every time you visit our blog.