Quick Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G offers not only a 3x telephoto lens, but also a 10x telephoto lens. As long as you don't use the additional digital zoom, then results can be very good. It has a great 12mp ultra-wide camera, and an excellent 12/108mp main wide-angle camera. Images can look a little over-saturated on the phone's screen, but look good when viewed on a computer, and have a slight lean towards warm (rather than cool) colour reproduction, which will be preferred by many. We were impressed by the results, and apart from the Night mode which can have some issues, we'd say that the S21 Ultra produces some of the best looking photos we've seen on a smartphone. The added 10x telephoto zoom is the added icing on the cake.
One thing to be aware of, is the price, which is definitely high, and you'll most likely need to buy the more expensive version with 256/512GB storage if you want to record 8K/4K video, as there is no MicroSD slot, so no cheap way to expand your memory when you end up filling up the phone. If you do use the smartphone for video, then the Director's view, as well as the ability to record 4K 60fps video with any of the cameras, makes the S21 Ultra a great choice.
+ Pros
|
- Cons
|
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G is currently Samsung's top of the range premium smartphone, and offers some of the highest specification cameras we've seen yet on a smartphone, with an ultra-wide camera, a 108mp wide-angle camera, a 3x telephoto, and a 10x telephoto camera, as well as 8K video recording and 40mp selfie camera! Is it worth the premium pricetag that goes with it? Find out in our review.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Features
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G is Samsung's flagship smartphone, in their range of premium S21 smartphones, with the S21 and S21+ also available. However, the S21 Ultra has the largest screen, the biggest battery, with more cameras, and higher specification cameras as well. It's also compatible with the S Pen from the Samsung Galaxy Note range.
Cameras included on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G:
- 108mp wide-angle, PDAF, OIS, f/1.8
- 12mp ultra-wide-angle, f/2.2
- 10mp telephoto (3x), f/2.4
- 10mp telephoto (10x), f/4.9
- 40mp selfie camera, with PDAF, f/2.2
*PDAF = Phase detection auto focus.
The main 108mp camera features a larger than normal 1/1.33inch sensor, with 0.8micron pixel size, however, the default is for the camera to shoot in 12mp mode, using 9 pixels combined, giving an effective 2.4micron pixel size.
Almost all of the cameras include optical image stabilisation (OIS), excluding the front selfie camera, and the ultra-wide-angle camera.
The new S21 Ultra features a 3x telephoto camera, as well as a 10x telephoto camera, so now, Samsung's offering of a 100x zoom, is using 10x digital.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra features a 4x optical zoom camera and Samsung used this to offer a 100x "Space Zoom" - this uses digital zoom, and as you can guess, the results were not particularly impressive. The new S21 Ultra features a 3x telephoto camera, as well as a 10x telephoto camera, so now, Samsung's offering of a 100x zoom, is using 10x digital, rather than the ridiculous 25x digital on the S20, so results should be improved. You also have the option of 30x zoom, and this is using 3x digital zoom on top of the 10x.
Camera and Photo Shooting Features
There are a number of intelligent shooting features built-in - Intelligent features
- Scene Optimizer
- Shot suggestions
- Scan QR codes
Scene optimizer is an automatic scene recognition feature, and has 30 different modes, such as Food, People, Sunset, Sunrise etc. This can easilly be turned on or off depending on whether you like the changes the camera makes.
There are a variety of shooting modes available including Single Take, Photo, Video, Pro, Panorama, Food, Night, Portrait, Portrait Video, Pro Video, Super Slow-mo, Slow motion, Hyperlapse, and Director's View. Of these Single Take is quickly worth mentioning, introduced with the S20 Ultra, it gives you a number of different results and effects from one photo.
There's also Blink and Blur detection, and the camera will also detect if you need to clean your lens, popping up an alert if that's the case. Raw shooting is supported, and the Pro mode gives you full manual controls.
Video recording features
The S21 Ultra offers up to 8K 24fps video recording, and from this you can select a frame to create a 33 megapixel image! For most people 8K video will be a nice to have, rather than a necessary feature, and instead you may want to record 4K video, which is available at speeds up to 60fps. There's also Portrait video, which adds bokeh effect to video recordings.
Super slow-mo records at up to 960fps at 720p resolution, and you can record slow motion video at 240fps and 1080p resolution. Video recording includes a "Super Steady" feature, that uses the ultra-wide-angle camera (check) and uses a crop to enable a high level of digital stabilisation. This is at 1080p and 60fps.
There's also Hyperlapse 4K video support. HDR10+ video recording uses the rear camera (and is currently in beta). Director's view is new, and lets you record from both the selfie camera, and the rear camera.
The mobile phone has all of the things you'd expect from a premium flagship smartphone including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, a large battery (5000mAh rating), in-screen fingerprint sensor, face recognition unlock, plus plenty of ram and storage, with 12GB of ram, with 128/256GB storage options or even more available with the 16GB ram and 512GB storage option. The S21 Ultra also supports the S-Pen from the Note series, although this is an optional extra.
There are two colour options for the S21 Ultra 5G including Phantom Black or Phantom Silver which is the colour we have, and as you'll see in the photos, the colour changes depending on the angle and light levels. There are an additional three colour options if you buy direct from Samsung.
Key Features
- Rear Cameras
- 108mp f/1.8 main wide-angle camera with OIS, 24mm equiv.
- 12mp f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera, 13mm equiv.
- 10mp 3x (72mm equivalent) f/2.4 telephoto camera, OIS
- 10mp 10x (240mm equivalent) f/4.9 telephoto camera, OIS
- Front camera: 40mp f/2.2 camera with PDAF, 26mm equivalent.
- 6.8inch, 3200x1440, Quad HD+, HDR10+, 120hz, AMOLED
- LED flash
- Pro video / photo modes
- 8K 24fps, 4K 60fps video recording
- ISO50 to ISO3200 available in Pro mode
- Auto HDR / Scene recognition, Panoramic shooting
- IP68 water resistance (1.5m freshwater upto 30min)
- In-screen fingerprint reader, face recognition
- 12/16GB RAM options, 128/256/512GB storage options
- Stereo speakers built-in
- 5000mAh battery rating
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Handling
The first thing you notice about the S21 Ultra 5G is the large camera block, which makes the phone seem much larger and thicker than other smartphones. The cameras are now much more prominant, and with a fresh design, the cameras actually look larger than the S20 Ultra, thanks to larger front elements. The camera feels good in the hand, with a stylish matt finish on the back that we're a fan of, and solid metal sides that feel solid and well made.
The screen is slightly smaller than the screen on the S20, and the smartphone is slightly shorter, but with a thicker body and camera unit, the S21 feels larger, and the S20 does a much better job of pretending to be a slim phone. There's not much in it really, and you'll soon get used to the size of the phone. A case is highly recommended, as smartphones are pretty good at breaking without one, and this could make the smartphone feel perhaps too big for some.
Buttons and ports are where you expect them to be with power/volume controls on the right and the USB-C port on the bottom alongside a speaker, and SIM tray. The phone doesn't feature a MicroSD card slot, so if you need more space you'll need to move content off the phone, or you could go for the larger storage options. There's also no headphone jack so you're going to need an adapter or wireless headphones.
The manual Pro mode gives you excellent control over the ultra-wide and wide-angle cameras, with options to set the ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation, focus, white balance, and you can also adjust the contrast, highlight, shadow, saturation and tint.
The Samsung S21 Ultra 5G has a clear camera system, making it easy to change between the different shooting modes, and the only real usability issue could be that the amount of options and shooting modes available could be a little overwhelming for the beginner. Once you get used to the different options and modes available, you'll be glad to have so many available, and the icons are clear and easy to understand. If you've used another Samsung smartphone, then it should be easy enough to pick up.
There's a big line-up of modes including Single Take, Photo, Video, Pro, Panorama, Food, Night, Portrait, Portrait Video, Pro Video, Super Slow-mo, Slow motion, Hyperlapse, and Director's View. Thee 'Single Take' mode is a bit like burst mode as it uses AI to capture content for up to 10 seconds which is then processed and saved in various formats.
The 6.8inch screen looks great, and with a refresh rate up to 120Hz will be great for gaming as well as scrolling. Due to the size of the screen it can be a little tricky to use the phone with one hand, although this will of-course depend on how big your hands are. For most people, it'll be best to use the phone with two hands, and when taking photos, this should help you get sharper blur free photos.
Geekbench 5 scores are 1088 (single core) and 3360 (multi-core), an improvement over the S20 Ultra.
Battery life - The phone has ample battery life, with a 5000mAh battery rating. The phone supports fast charging, however, no charger is included in the box, so to take advantage of fast charging you'll need to purchase a compatible fast charger. A 25W charger is available from Samsung from £17/25 depending on model. If you're going to be away from a power source, we'd recommend getting yourself a portable power bank just in case.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Sample Photos
Sample Photos - Colours can look overly saturated on the smartphones screen, but when viewed on the computer, they look great, with good levels of saturation, and a slight warm tone to the images. The results are consistant between the different cameras, as well as between different photos. Exposure is almost always spot on.
Dynamic range is good, with Auto HDR automatically expanding dynamic range captuerd - although it can look unflattering on selfie photos. It's easy enough to switch this on and off when needed in the settings. Scene optimiser will automatically recognise a scene to help you get a better shot, and this can quickly be switched on and off with an icon shown near the shutter release button.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Lens test images
Lens Performance - Results from the Ultra-wide-angle camera look good, although could be considered a tiny bit soft, although we prefer this look compared to them being overly sharpened. The camera can be used as a very effective close-up camera as well, with the lens letting you focus on subjects that are very close to the lens. The camera will also automatically switch to the ultra-wide camera when it detects that you're too close for the wide-angle camera to focus. You can choose whether photos taken with this camera are automatically corrected, and we'd recommend leaving this switched on as the distortion can look quite odd.
The wide-angle camera gives great results, with lots of detail, and great colour reproduction. With a 108mp sensor, you also have the option to take 108mp images, although we wouldn't recommend this, as you end up with a 24MB image compared to a 3MB image, and we couldn't actually spot any extra detail in the image compared to the 12mp version.
The 3x telephoto camera has a 10mp sensor, but the camera enlarges this to 12mp so that you end up with all of your photos being 12mp in size. Results look a little bit soft, but natural, and we prefer slightly soft results over the alternative (over sharpened photos).
The 10x telephoto camera also has a 10mp sensor. Results can look a little bit soft, but as long as light levels are good, then results are also good, and we're impressed by the added versatility this gives the smartphone.
As with most smartphones, care needs to be taken to avoid lens flare, as this can sometimes be seen. You'll also need to ensure the lens is clean, and free of smudges as this will degrade image quality.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - Noise is well controlled up to ISO800, where noise becomes more visible in darker areas. As the ISO speed increases, so too does noise, and finer detail drops off at ISO1600. Where possible we'd recommend using lower ISO speeds. For most shooting situations, the phone will try and use the lowest ISO speed, so noise isn't something you really need to worry about too much.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) performs well under all lighting conditions, with a lean towards giving warm results. You can use manual white balance in the Pro mode if you want, but there's no real need the majority of the time. Where we have used it, it has given similar results to AWB, except under fluorescent light, where our settings have brought out a colour cast.
Low-light performance - for this we used the camera's night mode:
| Samsung S21 Ultra | OnePlus 9 Pro |
|
|
|
| Samsung S20 Ultra | Huawei P30 Pro |
|
|
|
The low-light night mode shot taken by the S21 Ultra is a slight improvement over the S20 Ultra in some ways, with good detail in brighter areas, but it's also got horrible JPEG artefacts visible in the darker areas of the image around the trees (at the top of the image particularly), and both the OnePlus 9 Pro and Huawei P30 Pro do a better job of keeping detail in the trees, and in darker areas, with the stars visible, and quite clear. However, the Huawei P30 Pro gives the best result out of all of the phones here, with both clear detailed darker areas, as well as a clear detailed foreground, and the OnePlus 9 Pro struggles with the bright red car, and with some of the other detail, which has come out looking pixelated. In terms of colour, the S21 Ultra appears to have the edge, although your personal preference may differ.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Digital filters
Digital Filters - There are a variety of effects available in the camera app, and the effects of these can be seen before you take the photo. These include warm, cool, lolli, frosty, blossom, ivory, faded, soft, greyscale, classic, and black and white (to name a few). There are also filters available for selfies, including face smoothing, tone, jawline, and eyes with a sliding bar so that you can alter the strength of each effect. The panoramic mode will produce a high-resolution (42mp +) image, and results look good, although any movement in the scene can create an odd effect.
Video - The S21 Ultra 5G has the advantage of featuring a selfie camera that can record 4K video, as well as using phase-detection auto focus, so you can be in focus even when close up to the camera. Video stabilisation is available, and this crops into the frame. 4K video is recorded at 60fps, and you can record at this resolution and speed using any of the cameras. You can also switch between the cameras while recording.
Director's view lets you record from both the selfie camera, and rear camera at the same time, great for getting footage from two cameras at the same time.
Super Steady Video stabilisation switches the camera to FullHD resolution, but gives impressive levels of video stabilisation. Normal video stabilisation is available in a number of difference resolutions, including 8K, and the strength of stabilisation can vary (depending on resolution selected), so for better looking video a tripod could be a good idea. Video quality is very good, with a clear, crisp image produced.
You can view additional videos recorded with the S21 Ultra 5G on the ePHOTOzine YouTube Channel.
Value For Money
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G is available for £1149 (12GB/128GB), £1199 (12GB/256GB), or £1329 (16GB/512GB). This puts it firmly in the premium price range, with the same price as Apple's iPhone 12 Pro Max, but with more cameras, and 8K video recording. Alternatives to look at include the following:
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, Ultra-wide, Wide, Telephoto, 4K video
OnePlus 9 Pro, Ultra-wide, Wide, 3x telephoto, 8K video
Sony Xperia 1 II, Ultra-wide, Wide, Telephoto, 4K video
VIVO X51 5G, Ultra-wide, Wide, 50mm Portrait, 5x Telephoto, 4K video
Have a look at more smartphones in our Top 15 Best Smartphones for Photography or have a look at the Best Mid-range Smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G offers not only a 3x telephoto lens, but also a 10x telephoto lens. As long as you don't use the additional digital zoom, then results can be very good. It doesn't matter what Samsung call it, digital zoom is still digital zoom, and the results don't match what is possible from real telephoto zoom. The 30x zoom is definitely the maximum we'd ever want to use, although if you do just view the images on the smartphone, then I if we're being generous, results can look quite impressive up to 30x.
It has a great 12mp ultra-wide camera, and an excellent 12/108mp main wide-angle camera. Images can look a little over-saturated on the phone's screen, but look good when viewed on a computer, and have a slight lean towards warm (rather than cool) colour reproduction, which will be preferred by many. We were impressed by the results, and apart from the Night mode which can have some issues, we'd say that the S21 Ultra produces some of the best looking photos we've seen on a smartphone. The added 10x telephoto zoom is the added icing on the cake.
One thing to be aware of, is the price, which is definitely high, and you'll most likely need to buy the more expensive version with 256/512GB storage if you want to record 8K/4K video, as there is no MicroSD slot, so no cheap way to expand your memory when you end up filling up the phone. If you do use the smartphone for video, then the Director's view, as well as the ability to record 4K 60fps video with any of the cameras, makes the S21 Ultra a great choice, and the ability to record 8K video puts it ahead of much of the competition.
| The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G has some of the best cameras we've ever seen on a smartphone, and gives an impressive set of telephoto options. |
Own this product? Let us know what you think of it in the EQDB.
Spotted a mistake? Let us know in the EQDB.
Vs The Oneplus 9 Pro
Comparison images compared to other recent smartphone(s) including the OnePlus 9 Pro.
| Samsung S21 Ultra 5G | OnePlus 9 Pro |
WIde Trees | 1/1864 sec | f/1.8 | 6.7 mm | ISO 50 |
Wide Trees | 1/29729 sec | f/1.9 | 6.1 mm | ISO 125 |
Ultra Wide | 1/1232 sec | f/2.2 | 2.2 mm | ISO 50 |
Ultra-wide | 1/2214 sec | f/2.2 | 3.5 mm | ISO 125 |
Wide House | 1/1104 sec | f/1.8 | 6.7 mm | ISO 50 |
Wide House | 1/5745 sec | f/1.9 | 6.1 mm | ISO 125 |
Wide Tree Roots | 1/124 sec | f/1.8 | 6.7 mm | ISO 50 |
Wide Tree Roots | 1/1286 sec | f/1.9 | 6.1 mm | ISO 100 |
Night Mode | 1/8 sec | f/1.8 | 6.7 mm | ISO 1600 |
Night Mode | 1/7 sec | f/1.9 | 6.1 mm | ISO 16000 |
Portrait Bokeh | 1/259 sec | f/1.8 | 6.7 mm | ISO 50 |
Portrait Bokeh | 1/203 sec | f/1.9 | 6.1 mm | ISO 100 |
Ultra Wide | 1/1460 sec | f/2.2 | 2.2 mm | ISO 50 |
Ultra Wide Hall | 1/1122 sec | f/2.2 | 3.5 mm | ISO 125 |
Wide | 1/843 sec | f/1.8 | 6.7 mm | ISO 50 |
Wide Hall | 1/2026 sec | f/1.9 | 6.1 mm | ISO 125 |
3x | 1/1116 sec | f/2.4 | 9.0 mm | ISO 50 |
Telephoto (3.3x) | 1/1089 sec | f/2.4 | 7.4 mm | ISO 100 |
10x | 1/205 sec | f/4.9 | 30.6 mm | ISO 50 |
We didn't use the digital zoom on the OnePlus 9 Pro, however, it does offer up to 30x digital zoom.
Vs The Samsung S20 Ultra 5g
AI Scene optimizer was switched OFF for the S21 Ultra 5G, but switch ON for the S20 Ultra 5G
| Samsung S21 Ultra 5G | Samsung S20 Ultra 5G |
Ultra Wide | 1/1460 sec | f/2.2 | 2.2 mm | ISO 50 |
Ultra Wide | 1/1308 sec | f/2.2 | 2.2 mm | ISO 64 |
Wide | 1/843 sec | f/1.8 | 6.7 mm | ISO 50 |
Wide Hall | 1/778 sec | f/1.8 | 7.0 mm | ISO 50 |
3x | 1/1116 sec | f/2.4 | 9.0 mm | ISO 50 |
5x Hall* | 1/410 sec | f/3.5 | 19.0 mm | ISO 50 |
10x | 1/205 sec | f/4.9 | 30.6 mm | ISO 50 |
10x | 1/309 sec | f/3.5 | 19.0 mm | ISO 50 |
30x | 1/256 sec | f/4.9 | 30.6 mm | ISO 50 |
30x | 1/486 sec | f/3.5 | 19.0 mm | ISO 50 |
100x | 1/658 sec | f/4.9 | 30.6 mm | ISO 50 |
100x | 1/1052 sec | f/3.5 | 19.0 mm | ISO 50 |
Night Mode | 1/8 sec | f/1.8 | 6.7 mm | ISO 1600 |
Night Mode | 1/8 sec | f/1.8 | 7.0 mm | ISO 2500 |
*Despite the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G having a 4x telephoto lens, the camera zoom options jump to 5x zoom when you switch to the telephoto camera. You can then zoom back to 4x, however our shot came out blurry. It's clear to see that the S21 Ultra is doing a better job with the 10x and beyond shots.