There is lot to like in the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+, two phones that Samsung announced on Wednesday night. In fact, saying that these are fine phones is an understatement. India Today Tech will take a better look at the device in reviews when they launch in India, but even from whatever Samsung has told so far it is easy to see that these phones are at top of their game. But amidst all the goodness that the Galaxy S8 seem to pack in its sleek metal and glass body, there is one part that seems to have got the raw deal, and that is the rear camera.
The rear camera in the Galaxy S8 didn't get much stage time when Samsung released these two phones. For that the reason could be as innocuous as the fact that Samsung didn't have enough time to talk about everything sweet and nice in these phones. But a more likely possibility is that Samsung didn't have much to talk about the Galaxy S8 cameras because the hardware is very similar to what the company use d last year in the Galaxy S7.
Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S8 & S8+ have a weird fingerprint scanner but that's okay
Overall, the only new bits in the rear camera of the Galaxy S8 come in the form of software improvements. Samsung says that it now makes it easier for users to access various modes in the phone's camera app as well as uses multi-photo method to improve photo quality. On the front, the Galaxy S8 comes with an improved selfie camera that clicks 8-megapixel images unlike the 5-megapixel camera in the Galaxy S7.
Where is the dual camera?
It's not that the Galaxy S8 camera is going to be shabby. The Galaxy S7 camera is utterly fantastic in most circumstances and the Galaxy S8 is going to be similar. Reports says the Galaxy S8 does have a newer image sensor in the form of Sony-made IMX333. Although this too will click 12-megapixel images, just like the IMX260 inside the Galaxy S7, it is possible that there is some fine-tuning in the sensor that may help Galaxy S8 manage better photos. Then the same F1.7 lens, which does duty in the Galaxy S7, is there inside the Galaxy S8. In other words, in most cases you will be probably click the same sort of fantastic photos with the Galaxy S8 that you can capture with the Galaxy S7. And that might be the problem.
The Galaxy S7 is already a pretty good shooter. And that poses a problem for Samsung. How do you improve a camera that is already so good? In future we will get better answers
The Galaxy S7 is already a pretty good shooter. And that poses a problem for Samsung. How do you improve a camera that is already so good? In future we will get better answers. But for now, there is some hint coming from Apple and Google, two companies that sell premium phones like the iPhone and the Pixel.
Apple too faces the dilemma similar to what Samsung does. It too already has phones that can click some amazing photos. So how does it make something that is already good even better? Last year, Apple answered that question with the dual-camera setup in the iPhone 7 Plus. The image sensor size (and pixel quality) in the iPhone 7 Plus was more or less similar to what was there in the iPhone 6 Plus. But by adding a different lens with longer focal length (56mm) to the camera, Apple suddenly changed the game. The extra lens not only allows iPhone 7 Plus users to click more candid photos with a closer and different perspective, but also use modes like Portrait that help shoot better people photos. And more significantly dual camera in the iPhone 7 Plus makes it a more fun to use camera because of the "zoom" that second lens provides.
Google, meanwhile, hasn't jumped on the dual camera bandwagon. But it is pursuing a different path in search of a great camera phone. It is putting an extremely large image sensor in its phones -- Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P were first, followed by the Pixel and the Pixel XL. The quality of image sensor inside the Pixel phones is really good. And that is why the Pixel phones, when combined with Google's fantastic HDR+ mode, use photos that have lots of details and rich colours. The large pixel size of the IMX378, which is the sensor inside the Pixel phones, also helps these Google phones click fabulous low light pictures.
Missed chance for Samsung?
But the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus neither go the large-sensor route and nor for the dual camera feature. And that I think is a missed opportunity. I have no doubt that the Galaxy S8 will click amazing photos. It will be one of the best phones to click photo. But compared to the best in the business, which is Pixel and the iPhone 7 Plus, it seemingly looks a little behind the curve. Technically, and that does make the photos clicked with Pixel stand out, the Galaxy S8 camera may not match the wonder that is Google's phone, especially when used to shoot photos in low light. And on the fun part, it may not match what the iPhone 7 Plus offers, or what Apple's upcoming iPhone 8 Plus, which is bound to have dual camera, may offer.Also Read: Galaxy S8+ and Galaxy S8: 10 features that make these Samsung phones unique
In fact, the absence of dual camera on the Galaxy S8 is really surprising. Nowadays, almost all the high-end phones are coming with one. LG G6 has dual cameras, although I suspect LG's camera may not be as fun to use as the one in the iPhone 7 Plus. The LG G6 camera has wide angle lens as an extra and the using that for different perspective is more difficult compared to using a telephoto lens. Then there are phones from Huawei, which are using dual lens cameras to great effect, particularly to shoot low light scenes.
The Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus neither go the large-sensor route and nor for the dual camera feature. And that is probably a missed opportunity
Also Read: How Samsung beat Apple in the race for innovation with Galaxy S8, S8+
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