From this test perspective – i.e. how it performs in low light conditions, the S20 FE wide angle with RAW format is making the camera as a real alternative or rather complement to APS-C or DSLR. Just a few years ago, 1” sensors had remarkably similar performances and nowadays, you got these performances in the tiny camera of your smartphone always with you (on 1/1.76″ sensor). This does make sense as the sensor is of the size of compact cameras 5 years ago with today’s sensor technology. Of course, the performances are not at the level of their bigger sensors’ counterparts, but the software and the fast lens of smartphone coupled with efficient stabilization try to limit them. For the Samsung S20 Fan Edition 5G, to my personal needs, I can use it up to 1600 ISO. Depending of the subjects and how it moves, this means down to EV8 (like portraits) to EV3 (still subjects) to . Not fantastic, but not so bad and it makes the smartphone a real alternative for many usages with “only” a difference of 2 EV to an APS-C camera and 3 EV to a full-frame. Of course, there are other limitations that I will explore later but again, the camera performances can be acceptable in low light conditions.
Previous post:
Introduction to these tests and test 1 – non demanding conditions
In the next posts:
Test 3: Panorama
Test 4: Portrait
Test 5: Ergonomics and Controls
Wrap-up, and Perspectives
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Pingback: Some tests about strengths and limits of modern smartphones cameras for an enthusiast photographer – Part 5: Controls and Ergonomics – Tristan Romain Renaud
Pingback: Some tests about strengths and limits of modern smartphones cameras for an enthusiast photographer – Part 1 – Tristan Romain Renaud