The most comprehensive guide to the camera of the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone. Setting up the Samsung Galaxy S5 camera Samsung galaxy s5 camera specifications

In our short review, we will take a tour of the camera interface, some options and settings. Various modes for photo processing will not be left without attention, because... This is relevant for users who like to take photos and record videos.

For clarity, you will see photos taken using the Galaxy S5 camera and videos recorded on it.

Unlike other camera apps, the Galaxy S5 won't require you to switch modes for photos or videos you've already taken. Instead, you just need to click on the corresponding "Mode" button.

The button in the upper left corner is responsible for switching between the main and front cameras. When you switch to the front camera, a special “Beauty face” mode will open, thanks to which you will get “flawless portrait photographs».

The button just below (also on the left) will allow you to focus on certain objects. Samsung mentions that they should be about 1.5 feet away from you. In this case, objects must be as far as possible from the background. This will allow you to focus as much as possible on foreground objects.

The last button in the lower left corner is settings. They contain a wide range of parameters that you can independently adjust.

True, camera Samsung Galaxy The S5 doesn't have as many modes as previous Galaxy phones. However, the most basic and useful ones are included. Yes, having bought Galaxy smartphone S5, its camera will initially contain modes such as Auto, Beauty Face, Shot & More, Panorama, Virtual tour, Dual Camera.

Shot & More is a very interesting mode. It allows you to choose the most best photo of several that were done in quick succession.

If all the proposed effects are not enough for you, you can use the Download button to download four additional modes. These are: Surround shot, Animated Photo, Sports shot and Sound & shot.

Photos

This is just a random selection of photos taken with the Galaxy S5 camera. Some of them were made on the street, some in the house. There are also pictures that were taken in poor lighting conditions. But the most important thing is that they are all natural and unedited.

As you can see, overall the camera takes great photos.

Video

Similar to the images above, the video was shot without any editing to improve the quality, so you can see that the camera works well even when moving. At the same time, you can see how the camera adjusts the light and how well the microphone picks up neighboring voices. Note that when you stop suddenly, the camera adjusts very quickly to this.

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Detailed testing of one of the most anticipated smartphones of the new season

Of course, one of the most long-awaited and expected new products among mobile devices of the coming year should be considered next update flagship line Samsung smartphones— Galaxy S5. The new product does not need any special introduction - in recent years, the Korean company Samsung Electronics has managed not only to become scandalously famous due to countless lawsuits with rival American Apple, but also to occupy, along with it, one of the leading places in the world market for the sale of tablets and, of course , smartphones.

From left to right: Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Apple iPhone 5s

By the way, in recent years the Koreans have firmly accustomed users to the idea that Samsung always has two flagship smartphone. They are representatives of two top product lines moving in parallel courses - Galaxy Note and Galaxy S. Not so long ago there was another update to the line of tablet phones - the Samsung Note 3 smartphone, about which we wrote so much at one time, went on sale. Now it’s time for a series of smartphones to be updated with a more “civilized” design.

Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4

The Galaxy S series smartphones have always been very different from their semi-tablet counterparts from the Note line precisely in size - they were quite elegant devices in terms of dimensions. However, with the release of the Galaxy S5, it must be admitted that the distance separating them is shrinking more and more. Moreover, not only the sizes of each successive representative of the Galaxy S line are becoming larger, but also in the Note line they are consistently decreasing. Galaxy Note 3 has become the smallest among its brothers, and the Galaxy S5, on the contrary, has acquired such large dimensions that it’s time to think: what, exactly, is the difference between the modern representatives of the two lines? Their performance is absolutely the same, the design is similar, the price is the same, and we have already said about the sizes. Is the whole difference now just the presence or absence of an electronic pen?

Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3

In any case, you shouldn’t expect a special technological breakthrough from the new flagship of the Galaxy S line. New technological discoveries have not yet been made, but everything discovered has already been put into practice, and now they are sharpening, finishing, polishing - improving functionality. And we’re not just talking about Samsung devices - the entire market as a whole is now waiting for something new. This, by the way, is clearly visible in the example of the last two world IT exhibitions, held at the beginning of the year in Las Vegas and Barcelona. The products of the Korean company are no exception: in terms of hardware and technology, the new flagship is not much different from the previous one (Samsung Galaxy S4) - now the focus is on improving functionality. Ultra-fast data transfer capabilities, an updated camera control program interface, a wide selection of fitness applications, a heart rate monitor, a fingerprint scanner, as well as agreements with the world's leading content and service providers to pre-install a host of various applications with a long-term prepaid subscription - that's what , which is what Samsung is now working on. Gigabytes and gigahertz somehow suddenly faded into the background, which is probably for the better. Surprisingly, the Koreans didn’t even add RAM to their new flagship - the Galaxy S5 still has 2 GB of RAM, although the new product still has some changes in hardware.

Main characteristics of Samsung Galaxy S5 (model SM-G900F)

	Samsung Galaxy S5	LG G2	TCL Idol X+	Lenovo Vibe Z (K910)	Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (N9005)
Screen	5.1″, Super AMOLED	5.2″, IPS	5″, IPS	5.5″, IPS	5.7″ Super AMOLED
Permission	1920×1080, 432 ppi	1920×1080, 424 ppi	1920×1080, 440 ppi	1920×1080, 400 ppi	1920×1080, 386 ppi
SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4 Krait 400 cores) @2.5 GHz		MediaTek MT6592 (8 cores ARM Cortex-A7) @2.0 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (4 Krait 400 cores) @2.2 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (4 Krait 400 cores) @2.2 GHz
GPU	Adreno 330	Adreno 330	Mali 450MP4	Adreno 330	Adreno 330
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	3 GB
Flash memory	16 GB	16/32 GB	16 GB	16 GB	16—64 GB
Memory card support	microSD	—	—	—	microSD
operating system	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.2	Google Android 4.2	Google Android 4.2	Google Android 4.3
Battery	removable, 2800 mAh	non-removable, 3000 mAh	non-removable, 2500 mAh	non-removable, 3050 mAh	removable, 3200 mAh
Cameras	rear (16 MP; 4K video), front (2 MP)		rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (2 MP)	rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP, video 1080p)	rear (13 MP; 4K video), front (2 MP, 1080p video)
Dimensions	142×73×8.1 mm, 145 g	139×71×8.9 mm, 143 g	140×69×7.9 mm, 120 g	149×77×7.9 mm, 147 g	151×79×8.3 mm, 168 g
average price	T-10725078	T-10505130	T-10632117	T-10516952	T-10545574
Samsung Galaxy S5 offers	L-10725078-10

• SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC), 4 Krait 400 cores, 2.5 GHz
• GPU Adreno 330, 578 MHz
• operating room Android system 4.4.2 Kitkat
• Touch display Super AMOLED, 5.1″, 1920×1080, 432 ppi
• RAM(RAM) 2 GB, inner memory 16 GB
• Map support microSD memory up to 128 GB
• Networks 2G, 3G, 4G (LTE Cat.4, up to 150/50 Mbit/s)
• Bluetooth 4.0 BLE/ANT+
• USB 3.0, OTG, MHL
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac HT80, MIMO (2x2), point Wi-Fi access
• NFC, infrared
• GPS (A-GPS), Glonass
• 16 MP camera, autofocus, LED flash, UHD video (4K) 30 fps
• Camera 2 MP (front)
• Accelerometer, gyroscope, distance sensor, compass, barometer, Hall sensor (magnetic field), light sensor, gesture sensor (infrared), fingerprint scanner, heart rate sensor
• Dust and moisture protection according to IP67 standard
• Li-ion battery 2800 mAh
• Dimensions 142×72.5×8.1 mm
• Weight 145 g

Appearance and ease of use

As already mentioned, the new model of the Galaxy S series has become significantly larger in size than the previous one. It feels like the smartphone in your hand has finally crossed that invisible line called “a little more and it will be too much”: now the device has become really bulky and surprisingly heavy. For the breast pocket of a shirt, for example, this is now certainly an inaccessible guest, although, of course, people who are determined to follow the path of life with a “shovel” at the ready will not feel anything unusual in the size of the new Galaxy S. Still, it is smaller than the Galaxy Note 3, although the difference is already minimal. And yet, it is still not clear why it was necessary, with almost identical screens, to make the new model so much larger than the previous one. On the Galaxy S4, for example, the side frames are only 3 mm wide, but on the Galaxy S5 they suddenly grew to 4 mm, the same goes for the top and bottom parts of the frame - they also suddenly became much wider, although the screen itself is practically the same size. changed.

Concerning appearance, then here the developers clearly adhere to a single design line: metal and leather, leather and metal - they are now used in all mobile devices companies (including numerous wearable gadgets). It’s just a pity that at the exorbitant prices at which current flagships are sold, the company was greedy to provide real leather - maybe then these devices would look truly stylish. But no, as in previous times, ordinary molded plastic is used here to create the appearance that the back wall of the smartphone is made of leather. The texture on the plastic is different from that of the Galaxy Note 3: here they used a kind of pseudo-embossing, as if a pattern of numerous dots was pressed into the leather. Looks nice and fresh, at least better than glossy plastic, for a long time adorning the surfaces of all Galaxy S and Galaxy Notes.

As for metal, there is none here either: the shiny “chrome” rim around the entire perimeter of the case (exactly the same as on previous models, only with a different pattern) is a coating on plastic, not real metal. This bezel, by the way, has also become much wider and even thicker, adding bulk to the smartphone as a whole.

The surface of the rim is quite slippery - due to it, as well as due to its considerable mass, it is rather inconvenient to lift the device from the table surface, since the fingers do not feel a confident grip.

The back cover is easily removed from the case and just as easily put on - it is traditionally attached to several plastic latches, with a barely noticeable ledge for hooking with a fingernail. Under the cover are hidden slots for SIM cards and memory cards, located in a “sandwich” one above the other.

Below there is a compartment for a removable battery- it supports the cards, but the memory card can still be replaced “hot”. The device uses only one SIM card, Micro-SIM format; a microSD memory card can be used here with a capacity of up to 128 GB.

On the back of the smartphone there is a square window for the camera module, it is quite large in size, and there is an LED flash next to it. Below in the recess you can see the eyes of the sensor for measuring the pulse. The heart rate sensor chamber is recessed into the body, and it also has its own backlight - a small LED element illuminates the blood vessels of the finger applied to the camera, while it counts heartbeats. Even lower is a hole for sound output from the ringing speaker with a slightly curved rod, and the whole thing is decorated with a silver chrome-plated company logo.

The front panel has not undergone significant changes - this is a completely recognizable element of all Samsung mobile devices. It stands out, first of all, for its elongated mechanical key under the screen, which this time has received additional functionality. This button is also responsible for scanning a fingerprint - now no one can blame Koreans for not having golden smartphone with fingerprint scanner. Unlike the iPhone scanner, here you can’t just put your finger on it: you need to move it along the key, and even at the right speed - if you rush, you can fail. In this regard, the iPhone scanner looks preferable: not only do you not need to move your finger, but you can also place your finger on the button at any angle, which allows you to hold the device with any comfortable grip. In the case of the Samsung Galaxy S5 scanner, you will have to hold the device with one hand and swipe the sensor with the other, which is very tedious, and most users will most likely simply disable this function.

The touch buttons next to the mechanical ones have a bright white backlight with an adjustable glow time, which is commendable. Above, above the screen, you can see a longitudinal slot in the protective glass for sound output from the earpiece, with little eyes visible next to it front camera and sensors. There is also led indicator notification, which lights up in different colors depending on the charging status and incoming events - its functions can be configured: disabled or enabled individually.

There are two buttons on the side faces of the device: on the left - volume control, on the right - power and lock. The large metallic keys of all Samsung smartphones have a soft stroke and distinct pressing, they are perfectly located blindly, and in general, in this regard, the products of the Korean company are one of the best on the market.

At the top end, a headphone jack (3.5 mm) and an infrared transmitter eye, which serves to control various equipment as a remote control, are comfortably located next to each other. The corresponding proprietary software called Smart Remote passes from model to model - naturally, it is there too. Functionality Smart programs Remote is at its best: it is not only capable of connecting a smartphone using infrared port with any technology, but can also act as an interactive program guide.

At the bottom end, the USB 3.0 connector is covered with a metalized cover with a rubber gasket - it protects the smartphone from dust and moisture getting inside. Yes, yes, the new flagship of the Galaxy S line has finally acquired dust and moisture protection according to the IP67 standard. In principle, the previous model also had it, but there it was a separate branch of the line called Galaxy Active. The protection in the Galaxy S5 is arranged in the same way as there: a rubber gasket is glued to the inner surface of the back cover, and the connectors are closed with special plugs. It's nice that every time you put it on back cover or the plug is removed from the Micro-USB connector, the smartphone itself reminds you to close the protective covers (the reminder can be turned off).

And finally, about the best part: now the Galaxy S line has a new color - gold. In addition to this, there are three more colors on sale that have previously graced Samsung’s flagship devices (for example, the Galaxy S3). By tradition, they were given romantic names: Charcoal Black (black), Sparkling White (white), Electric Blue (light blue) and Copper Gold (golden). For additional jewelry, in particular a keychain or strap, no fastenings are provided.

Screen

The Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone is equipped with a Super AMOLED touch matrix. The screen dimensions are 63x113 mm, diagonal - 5.1 inches, resolution - 1920x1080 pixels. Such a parameter as the pixel density per inch is equal to 432 ppi here - the pixel density is very high.

The screen is covered from the outside protective glass. The thickness of the side frames from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body is approximately 4 mm; the frames are not very narrow; they were smaller in the previous model.

The display brightness can be adjusted manually, or you can use automatic adjustment. Multi-touch technology here allows you to process up to 10 simultaneous touches. The screen can be operated with gloved hands, and it becomes more sensitive to any touch, so the settings prudently leave the option to disable this function. The smartphone also has a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear.

Detailed examination using measuring instruments conducted by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the brightness of reflected objects, there is a very effective anti-glare filter that is superior in reducing reflection brightness to the screen filter of Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected when the screens are turned off (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Samsung Galaxy S5, then they can be distinguished by size):

Due to the slight difference in the color tone of the reflection and frames, it is difficult to visually assess the amount of reduction in the brightness of the reflection, however, statistics from graphic editor shows that the S5's screen is indeed slightly darker than that of the Nexus 7. The ghosting of reflected objects is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. The outer surface of the screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, maybe a little better than Google Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a lower speed than with regular glass.

When the white field was displayed in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 340 cd/m², the minimum was 2 cd/m². Despite not the highest brightness value, even in bright daylight You can use your smartphone, as an effective anti-glare filter helps. You also need to take into account the fact that in this case, the smaller the white area on the screen, the brighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. For example, when outputting white on half the screen, the maximum brightness with manual adjustment increases to 360 cd/m². Low brightness mode allows you to use your smartphone even in complete darkness without any problems. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front speaker). You can make adjustments to the operation of this function by moving the setting slider away from −5 before +5 units. Below, for three conditions, we present the screen brightness values ​​for three values ​​of this setting - for −5 , 0 And +5 . In complete darkness in automatic mode brightness is reduced to 4, 9 and 16 cd/m² respectively (generally a bit dark), in an artificially lit office environment (approximately 400 lux) the brightness is set to 100, 180 and 270 cd/m² (acceptable), in a brightly lit environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) - rises to 420-425 cd/m² for all three correction values, which is above the maximum for manual adjustment and should be enough to ensure readability in the sun. In principle, the result of this function is as expected. When brightness decreases, modulation appears at a frequency of 240 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for three brightness settings:

It can be seen that at maximum brightness there is practically no modulation (the amplitude is insufficient for flicker to be visually distinguishable), but at medium and low brightness the relative modulation amplitude is high, so image flickering can be seen in a test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, this flickering may cause increased fatigue.

This smartphone uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix based on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphotograph:

(For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.)

For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer calculates the screen resolution based on the green subpixels; based on the other two, it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this version is similar to that in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 screen. This version of PenTile RGBG is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and stripes of green subpixels. However, some unevenness of contrast borders and other artifacts are still present. For example, when outputting a black and white world through one pixel (the original can be taken from here) vertical lines look uneven, and the horizontal ones are low-contrast and separated not by white, but by a greenish space. A fragment (the original photo is available at the link) of the macrophotography reveals the reason:

It can be seen that the vertical lines have a black gap and that the sum of the colors of the subpixels can be considered white, but due to the red subpixels on one side there is some unevenness of the lines. When horizontal lines there is neither a white gap (there are green subpixels) nor a black gap (there are red and blue subpixels). However, these artifacts are of purely academic interest, since in mobile use it is extremely difficult to visually distinguish such small details. As a result, the resolution margin cancels out the “features” of the PenTile RGBG matrix.

The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, although the white color acquires a slight tint when deviated to relatively large angles, but the black color is simply black at any angle (although the reflection from bright objects has a bluish halo that is more elongated horizontally, which is why there are black areas in the light may lighten slightly and acquire a “metallic” tint). So black that the contrast parameter is simply not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is excellent. For comparison, here are photographs in which Samsung screens The Galaxy S5 and the second competitor displayed the same images, with the screen brightness set to approximately 210 cd/m². There is a white field perpendicular to the screens:

One can note the excellent uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture (in mode Standard):

Color rendition is clearly not bad, but despite all the conventions of forced color balance in the camera, set to 6500 K, it is clear that the colors of the S5 are clearly “cooler” and have too high saturation. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen. White field:

The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed was doubled compared to the previous two photographs), but in Samsung case The drop in brightness is much less pronounced. And a test picture:

It can be seen that the colors did not “float” on all screens and the brightness of the Samsung S5 at an angle is noticeably higher.

Switching the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the turn-on (and, less often, turn-off) front, there may be a step (or two) 16.7 ms wide (corresponding to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is what the dependence of brightness on time looks like when moving from black to a shade of 25% (according to the numerical value of the color) and back:

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects, but in normal use these artifacts are almost impossible to see. Quite the contrary - dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “jerky” movements.

The ability to customize color rendering is implemented on the page with a selection of profiles, one of which involves some kind of automatic adjustment (profile Adapt Display):

In case one of the three fixed profiles is selected, except the profile Dynamic, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals according to the numerical value of the shade of gray, the gamma curve did not reveal any blockage in either highlights or shadows, and the index of the approximating power function is 2.28-2.30, which is slightly higher than the standard value of 2.2 , while the real gamma curve practically does not deviate from the power-law dependence:

For profile Dynamic The gamma curve has a slight S-shape, which increases the apparent contrast of the image. Let us recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for generally light images and increases for dark ones. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) most likely slightly does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen. This image dynamism increases when you select the option Auto tuning screen brightness. Below are the dependences of brightness on time obtained when switching from a black field to a white field and back with the option turned off and on Auto tuning screen brightness:

In the second case, the brightness begins to decrease after some time. The picture is slightly darkened, but energy is saved a little.

Color gamut for profiles Dynamic, Standard And Professional photography very wide and almost covers the Adobe RGB gamut:

When selecting a profile Cinema The coverage is tightened to the sRGB boundaries, but still remains a little wider:

Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:

In case of profile Cinema with maximum correction, the color components are already slightly mixed together:

Note that on wide-gamut screens, the colors of regular images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. This can be seen in the photographs above. However, a visual assessment showed that when choosing a profile Cinema saturation is noticeably reduced, and colors become close to natural. The screenshot taken after selecting this profile is shown below:

Unfortunately, the most recognizable shades - skin, for example - still remain slightly oversaturated.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is not ideal, but, in general, acceptable. Color temperature in profiles Dynamic And Standard significantly higher than 6500 K, in the remaining two - close to 6500 K, while in the area of ​​the gray scale from white to dark dark gray this parameter does not change very much. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) over most of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, and also does not change much:

(The darkest areas of the gray scale can in most cases be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

To summarize: the screen has a fairly high maximum brightness and a very effective anti-glare filter, so the smartphone can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is acceptable, and in bright light it is even recommended to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works more or less adequately. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating and a color balance close to standard (if you select the appropriate profiles). At the same time, let us remind you about the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color, excellent uniformity of the white field, less drop in image brightness than LCDs when viewed at an angle. Disadvantages include screen brightness modulation, which appears at medium and low brightness values. For users who are particularly sensitive to flicker, this may cause increased fatigue. However, overall the screen quality is very high.

Sound

In terms of sound, the smartphone is approximately the same as the Galaxy S4. The sound is moderately bassy, low frequencies not deprived, clean throughout the entire range, but not so loud - there were louder devices ( HTC One or Oppo Find 5, for example). The sound output grille here is cut into the back wall, so the sound is muffled when the device is lying on the table. In conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable, leading telephone conversations Samsung Galaxy S5 is quite comfortable.

To play music, the device offers a choice of three pre-installed players: Google Play Music, Yandex.Music and Samsung's own player. All sound effects when playing melodies with a proprietary player are combined with a technology called SoundAlive - although some of them are only available with connected headphones. The same applies to the sound optimization function. There are a lot of different virtual effects, they are combined into a matrix of squares, you can experiment for a very long time.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy S5 is equipped with two modules digital cameras with a resolution of 16 and 2 megapixels. The front camera takes pictures with a maximum resolution of 1920×1080, and also shoots video with the same resolution.

The main rear camera is equipped with a new 16-megapixel module with ultra-fast autofocus (focusing in 0.3 s), stabilization, single-section LED flash and the ability to shoot video in UHD resolution (4K). In addition to one fancy feature - 4K video recording - it also uses another: just like the latest Sony Xperia Z2, here comes the possibility of selective focusing, which allows you to highlight a certain part of the image, leaving the background blurred. That is, now you no longer need to use special lenses to create a shallow depth of field (DOF) effect.

When shooting in automatic mode, which is set by default, photos are 5312x2988 in size. I really liked the design and organization of the new camera control interface. Here, as in the case of the audio settings menu, everything is divided into equal cells, each of which is always visible, interactive, their drawing is clear, the entire menu is clearly visible even in the brightest sunlight. In general, the camera control settings menu turned out to be perhaps the best on the market in terms of ease of access to all functions and overall clarity.

The camera can shoot video in UHD resolution (4K), with a choice of several resolutions up to a maximum of 3840x2160. Traditionally for the latest top models of the mobile market, the settings also include slow and fast shooting modes. Examples of test videos are presented below.

• Video No. 1 (189 MB, 3840×2160, 4K)
• Video No. 2 (58 MB, 1920×1080, 1080p)
• Video #3 (123 MB, 3840×2160, 4K indoors)
• Video No. 4 (71 MB, 1280×720, slow motion)
• Video No. 5 (4 MB, 1920×1080, accelerated)

Examples of photographs with our comments are presented below.

	The sharpness of the photo is good.
	The sharpness across the frame is also quite good.
	Small details are worked out quite well.
	The camera doesn't cope so well with backlight, but the exposure is well chosen.
	On thin lines you can notice small waves from the noise reduction - but only upon closer inspection.
	In low light conditions, noise can be seen, although it is relatively small.
	The camera handles noise in the shadows well. True, the detail suffers a little from this.
	The camera does macro well in low light, but it's worth using a focus lens due to the relatively long shutter speeds.
	In good lighting, the camera does macro photography well.
	Another example of a good macro.
	The text is well done, but a little damaged. However, it is possible that the camera works more accurately with smaller text.
	Panorama stitching is almost perfect. Only dynamic objects suffer, which is quite natural.

	Lighting ≈1300 lux. The camera does a very good job.
	Lighting ≈460 lux. The situation remains virtually unchanged.
	Lighting ≈240 lux. Noise becomes noticeable, especially its processing.
	Lighting ≈240 lux, flash. The flash noticeably improves the situation, almost returning the original resolution.
	Lighting<1 люкс. В темноте камера не справляется.
	Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. И в темноте вспышка отрабатывает очень хорошо.

First of all, it is worth noting that now the camera has a 1/2.6″ format sensor, and not just a higher resolution, while previously smartphone cameras were only awarded with 1/3″ format matrices (not counting Nokia), or even less, Until Sony decided to install a 1/2.3″ format sensor in the Xperia Z1. So Samsung, following Sony, began a slow but steady movement towards improving the quality of pictures. And, I must say, the result is already noticeable to an inquisitive eye.

Firstly, you can already see good work with noise. Their processing still leaves much to be desired, but if you do not look at the images pixel by pixel, then noticeable strong color noise in the shadows is practically not visible. Of course, this is the result of the noise reduction, but the higher resolution allows it to work more subtly, and the increased sensor size slightly reduces the likelihood of strong noise. Of course, we won’t go into discussions about pixel size (like HTC) and the supposed qualities of the camera that follow from this, but enlarging the sensor definitely brings its benefits. Secondly, image detail has improved, which is also due to the higher resolution and larger sensor.

I would like Samsung to further improve the noise reduction, then the camera can be compared with ordinary compacts. Although even without this, she shows herself very worthy, and it is clear that they worked hard on her. The camera optics operate quite smoothly across the entire field of the frame and in all plans. Of course, it would be strange to see a flagship with shortcomings in such places, but we have already encountered this. Sharping can only be found if you know where to look. The only thing that really cannot be called ideal is the work of the noise reduction - such a processing result looks very archaic in photographs of a modern flagship.

Based on the results of shooting the stand, we can conclude that the actual resolution of the images may not be the highest, but we have already stated that in this case this is far from the main characteristic, especially in the vicinity of such values, since the resolution can be high, but not quite natural. However, the camera resolution is quite decent. It is also worth noting the good performance of the flash and the sensor, which works quite consistently in different lighting conditions.

In general, the camera is made very well, almost at the level of compact cameras. Of course, there is something to work on, and in general there is room to strive. But even in its current form, it is well suited for shooting documentary and feature stories.

Telephone and communications

The developers place special emphasis on the communication capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy S5: the smartphone operates in the fifth generation of Wi-Fi 802.11ac networks with support for 2x2 MIMO mode - in this mode, data can be received and transmitted in two streams, that is, up to two times faster than in the first generations of 802.11ac compatible devices. In addition, the device provides support for a large number of 4G (LTE) frequencies and speeds corresponding to the LTE Category 4 standard - up to 150 Mbit/s. With a SIM card from the domestic operator Megafon, the smartphone in practice confidently finds and works with the LTE network.

In addition, the smartphone supports the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band and the NFC standard. As a standard, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels; there is a Wi-Fi Direct mode. The navigation module works with both the GPS system (with A-GPS) and the domestic Glonass. The speed and quality of operation of the GPS module is not satisfactory: the system works quickly and flawlessly, the navigation module finds the first satellites almost instantly, and even indoors.

No spontaneous reboots/shutdowns were observed during testing. The screen of the smartphone is large, so drawing letters and numbers on virtual keyboards is quite comfortable to control. It’s very convenient that there is a dedicated top row with numbers - you don’t have to switch the layout every time. But the layout itself and the location of the keys are not the same as others: instead of just pressing the dedicated button with the image of a globe, here you have to switch language layouts by scrolling sideways on the spacebar, which is certainly less convenient. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. There is support for continuous writing by sliding, but there is no option to move the keyboard closer to one of the edges, as on the Galaxy Note series tablets.

OS and software

The system uses the latest version of Google Android software platform 4.4.2 (Kitkat) and the proprietary graphical user interface TouchWiz, the appearance of which has undergone changes. He became, according to the new fashion, more “flat”, which clearly benefited him, although the traditional Asian clumsiness remained. The appearance of the settings menu has changed: now all icons look like exactly the same circles and they are arranged in the form of a single long list. But, of course, the display of the menu can be changed, leading to the old view with vertical tabs. In this case, there will no longer be four of them, as before, but as many as six. In general, I liked the new look of the interface and the settings menu more than the old one: everything is neat, orderly, symmetrical, working with various subsections of the menu has become more intuitive. The menu of installed applications has not undergone significant changes, but now you can display a special button on the home screen, which, when clicked, opens a context menu with quick access to the most popular applications. The notifications menu received two additional dedicated oval buttons for quick access to searching throughout the smartphone and enabling the function of quickly connecting to familiar devices.

To the various ways to lock a smartphone, another one has now been added: you can lock the screen using a fingerprint, the scanner of which is built into the central key under the screen. To successfully memorize the texture of your fingertip, you need to swipe the sensor at least eight times, after which you will also have to come up with a standard digital code in case your finger remains unrecognized after five attempts. It’s a shame when the developer also imposes restrictions on the personal password you create: an attempt to limit yourself to a digital password failed - you need to alternate numbers with letters.

By the way, the issue of security has been strengthened in the Samsung Galaxy S5 by another innovation: now, due to the appearance of the “Children” mode, you can open access only to certain permitted programs, after which you can safely entrust the device to a child for 30 thousand rubles to play with.

Speaking of games, it is worth noting that we tested games such as Dead Trigger 2 and Asphalt 8 on the smartphone - we did not find any problems with playing them.

Another specific operating mode has been added to the smartphone, which the developers themselves talked a lot about at presentations. In fact, this is a regular energy-saving mode that any built-in program for saving energy in mobile devices has, it’s just that Samsung brings its smartphone to the point of complete “exhaustion” in this mode. When the maximum power saving mode is activated, not only all network interfaces are disabled, but also the graphical interface of the shell becomes black and white, and the number of applications allowed to run is strictly limited. Naturally, in this mode, the smartphone can “work” much longer (who would doubt it), but this work will be carried out within a very limited framework.

One of the central applications pre-installed in modern top-end Samsung smartphones, which developers constantly remind you of, is a program for monitoring your own health called S Health. The program has a wide range of health-promoting functions: pedometer, exercise recording, nutrition monitoring, etc. Now the application has not only received the new version S Health 3.0, but has also acquired additional functionality in the form of a dedicated hardware heart rate counter. In principle, some programs have previously tried to count heartbeats using an ordinary smartphone camera, but now a whole block with a small camera and backlight has been allocated for this. You need to put your finger on the recess in the back of the smartphone, and then the program will count your pulse. Naturally, this data is saved, processed and displayed in the form of graphs and tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Performance

The Samsung Galaxy S5 hardware platform is based on a single-chip quad-core system (SoC) Qualcomm Snapdragon 801. The new platform has the functionality of the Snapdragon 800 with a slightly higher frequency of processor cores: the Snapdragon 801 can operate at frequencies up to 2.45 GHz, while the core frequency of the previous The chip version was limited to 2.36 GHz.

The processor here is supported in graphics processing by the same Adreno 330 video accelerator, but here too there is an increase in frequencies: the GPU is already overclocked to 578 MHz instead of 450 MHz. About 12 GB of RAM (out of 16) are initially available for the user's needs in the device; the amount of RAM here is 2 GB - in this regard, surprisingly, no expansion occurred, while Sony equipped its newest flagship with three gigabytes random access memory. MicroSD memory cards are supported in this model; you can also connect external flash drives, keyboards and mice using a special adapter in OTG mode.

Since the most powerful and most productive of the competing serial platforms is now SoC MediaTek MT6592, the configuration of which includes eight full-fledged processor cores [simultaneously] operating at frequencies up to 2 GHz, it is logical to include its results in the comparison first of all. Let us remind you that we recently released a review of the powerful TCL Idol X+ smartphone, which is built on the maximum version of this platform. Also, naturally, it is worth adding to the comparison the results demonstrated in the same tests by the previous version of the Qualcomm platform - Snapdragon 800, on which all the top smartphones of last year run. However, the most important battle today will still not take place, because the main competitor of the hero of today’s review, the flagship smartphone Sony Xperia Z2, also built on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, has not yet reached our test laboratory. In the near future, we will definitely compare it with the Samsung Galaxy S5 data obtained today.

To get an idea of ​​the performance of the platform of the smartphone under test, we will conduct a standard set of tests.

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing in MobileXPRT, as well as in the latest versions of AnTuTu 4.x and GeekBench 3:

The results of testing are as follows. As for the competing MediaTek MT6592, the latest Qualcomm system (Snapdragon 801) coped with it in all respects. In general, this is not at all surprising, considering that the previous version of Snapdragon 800 coped with it. As for the comparison with the Snapdragon 800, according to the results of all tests, there was practically no real increase: the same maximum 35K points in AnTuTu, and in other benchmarks the difference is negligible - within the margin of error.

By the way, as for these very resulting figures: since the smartphone being tested today is a landmark device, and the rest will be compared to it throughout the year, it is probably worth recalling the fresh balance of power. If you rely on the numbers of the popular AnTuTu benchmark, it looks something like this: eight MediaTek MT6592 cores with a frequency of 2 GHz demonstrate 31K points in this test (26 thousand points for the eight-core Zopo 998 and THL T100S with a lower frequency of processor cores - 1.7 GHz), and about 35 thousand - for top smartphones such as LG G2, Sony Xperia Z1, Acer Liquid S2 and now Samsung Galaxy S5, built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800/801 hardware platform. Two main conclusions emerge as a result of all these comparisons: TCL Idol X+ is the first smartphone on the MediaTek platform, which managed to come close to the leading solutions from Qualcomm, albeit at the expense of twice as many processor cores. And second: the new version of the top Qualcomm platform brought virtually no increase in performance, although this microscopic superiority allowed it to gain an even stronger foothold on the podium as the undisputed leader among platforms for mobile devices. According to the above, the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 platform is currently one of the most powerful smartphones on the planet.

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

Results of testing the graphics subsystem in the Epic Citadel gaming test, as well as Basemark X and Bonsai Benchmark:

The lag in the operation of the Mali-450MP4 video subsystem is still noticeable: this video accelerator produces approximately 47 fps in those test modes in which the Adreno 330 produces 60 fps.

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can be truly correct only in the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.

With video playback, things are not as smooth as we would like for the Samsung Galaxy S5. Amazingly, this is one of the rare smartphones in which the popular MX player flatly refuses to run with the Hardware+ decoder, and most often only this option saves the situation when the standard player cannot play the audio track of a file. That is, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S5, in order to normally play three of our five test files (MKV), you will have to use a software decoder (at least for audio decoding - video can be decoded in hardware) - neither Hardware nor Hardware+ , nor, of course, the decoder of a standard video player are capable of playing these types of files with sound that are common on the network. And this is an obvious drawback, because we have a solution with an excellent large and high-quality screen in all respects and maximum performance, which could become an excellent multimedia assistant. By the way, similar problems occur with the Galaxy Note 3 - we hope that with the release of updates for MX Player the situation will somehow change. By the way, the top smartphones from LG and Sony always have complete order in this table, because even with their own hardware they are able to play all the presented files, not to mention supporting all modes of the MX player.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Standard video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3	plays normally, sound only with software decoder (Hardware+ is not supported)	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3	plays normally, sound only with software decoder (Hardware+ is not supported)	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹

¹ sound in MX Video Player was played only after switching to software decoding (mode Hardware+ is not supported); The standard player does not have this setting

Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. To test it, we used an LG IPS237L monitor that supports direct MHL connection using a passive adapter cable from Micro-USB to HDMI. Let us recall that Samsung has implemented its own version of this interface at the physical level. As a result, to connect an external device via MHL, you need to use special adapters or connect standard MHL adapters through simple passive adapters. In this case, we carried out the test using a proprietary Samsung adapter, and output via MHL was carried out at a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels at a frequency of 60 frames/s.

When the smartphone is in portrait orientation, the image is displayed on the monitor screen in portrait orientation, while the image on the monitor is inscribed within the height of the screen, and wide black fields are displayed on the right and left. In this case, the actual resolution on the monitor screen is, of course, lower than the resolution on the smartphone screen. When the smartphone is in landscape orientation, the image is displayed on the monitor screen in landscape orientation, while the image on the monitor fits within the boundaries of the screen and exactly matches the image on the smartphone screen. The exception is the start screen, which is displayed only in portrait orientation:

Sound is output via MHL (in this case, the sounds were heard through headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and is of good quality. At the same time, at least multimedia sounds are not output through the loudspeaker of the smartphone itself, and the volume is controlled by buttons on the smartphone body. In principle, in the smartphone settings you can select the sound output mode - stereo or surround. However, in our case, the monitor only received stereo sound, so there was no choice. The smartphone connected via MHL is charging.

To test the output of video files on the screen of the device itself, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In our tests, we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode, since there were a lot of artifacts in the “Hardware+” mode. The results of this test (block entitled “Smartphone screen”) are summarized in the table:

Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with playback of the corresponding files.

According to the frame output criterion, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the smartphone itself is high, since frames (or groups of frames) can be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals, and there are no skipped frames. The smartphone can even display files with a resolution of 4K up to 30p inclusive. However, uniform alternation of frames is a relatively unstable state, since some external and internal background processes lead to periodic failure of the correct alternation of intervals between frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution (adjusted for some PenTile features). The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows only a couple of shades merge with black, but in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed. However, dark scenes may not look very good, as the darkest shades vary too much in brightness and color tone, which can lead to compression artifacts being too noticeable.

With a monitor connected via MHL, when playing a video with a standard player, the image of the video file is displayed only in landscape orientation, while only the image of the video file is displayed on the monitor, and only information elements and virtual controls are displayed on the smartphone screen.

The results of the monitor output tests are shown in the table above in the “MHL (monitor output)” block. The output quality is very good. When playing video files with Full HD resolution (1920 by 1080 pixels) on the monitor screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, maintaining true proportions, and the resolution corresponds to Full HD resolution. The brightness range displayed on the monitor is equal to the standard range of 16-235, that is, all shade gradations are displayed in shadows and highlights.

The conclusion is typical: an MHL connection can be used for games, watching movies, displaying web pages and other activities that benefit from multiplying the screen size. True, you will have to purchase an adapter specifically for Samsung or find an appropriate adapter.

Battery life

The lithium-ion battery installed in the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a capacity of 2800 mAh, which is good by modern standards, but not a record one. Accordingly, in terms of battery life, the device showed very good results, which we traditionally summarized in a comparative table.

	Battery capacity	Reading mode	Video mode	3D Game Mode
Samsung Galaxy S5	2800 mAh	17:20	12:30 pm	4 hours 30 minutes
TCL Idol X+	2500 mAh	12:30 pm	7:20 am	3:00 am
Lenovo Vibe Z	3050 mAh	11:45 am	8:00 am	3 hours 30 minutes
Acer Liquid S2	3300 mAh	16:40	7:40 a.m.	6:00 am
LG G Flex	3500 mAh	23:15	13:30	6 hours 40 minutes
LG G2	3000 mAh	20:00	12:30 pm	4 hours 45 minutes
Sony Xperia Z1	3000 mAh	11:45 am	8:00 am	4 hours 30 minutes
Samsung Note 3 N9005	3200 mAh	22:30	14:00	4 hours 45 minutes

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted until the battery was completely discharged for more than 17 hours, and when continuously watching videos from YouTube in high quality (HQ) with The device lasted 12.5 hours at the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network; in 3D games mode, the smartphone lasted 4.5 hours, decent for such a screen, and really pleased with such stability: its predecessor Galaxy S4 at first overheated greatly and with these tests were performed poorly, and only with a firmware update the situation returned to normal. With the new flagship, no problems in this regard have been found before the start of sales, and by the way, the device heats up significantly less than its predecessor.

Bottom line

Summarizing the Samsung Galaxy S5 review is both easy and difficult. It’s easy, because, perhaps, no one needs to explain why the flagship smartphones of the Korean company are deservedly among the best on the market. And it’s not just the combination of top-end technical characteristics and maximum performance that makes them stand out, there’s also something else. It seems to us that the company is one of the few who are not ashamed to spy on the desires of users. For most manufacturers, this always remains only unfulfilled pretentious promises and slogans, but in practice, no matter how much users cry about something, they will never get it. But the Koreans have a completely different point of view on this matter; they readily satisfy any desires of customers. Want a removable battery? - Get it. Need a memory card slot? - For God's sake, we don't feel sorry! Suddenly fell in love with the golden color? - So, we now have a golden smartphone. And with such simple actions, coupled with high-quality products and huge production volumes, the Korean company managed to climb to the very top of the mountain, pushing many along the way, and simply throwing some off the cliff. Those who know how to adapt survive, and this is what Koreans do best.

As for the hero of today's review, we can say with confidence that he has become a worthy successor to the flagship line. An excellent screen, powerful hardware, complete technical equipment, good battery life and maximum functionality, several added features like a heart rate monitor and a fingerprint scanner - all this is worthy of praise. Although, it is worth admitting that the fifth Galaxy S did not have so many noticeable innovations that it could rightfully be called a completely new model, in terms of design and appearance (in this regard, by the way, there was even a kind of decline: the smartphone has become heavier, larger, rougher - everyone admits this). It’s even surprising that the Koreans didn’t call this model Galaxy S4s - such a “letter modifier”, which has already become generally accepted, denoting an improved version of the model, would be more appropriate here. But all this is just a little confusing.

But what’s really depressing is how much Samsung jacks up the prices for its top-end smartphones. It seems that the Koreans no longer remember that prices can sometimes be varied somehow - they reached the 30,000 mark with the previous flagship and now put the same price tag on all subsequent models as a matter of course. The tricky thought in the minds of entrepreneurs is obviously this: “They will complain the first time, but the next time they will be happy that they did not raise the price even higher.” This, by the way, is what happened: now users are happy that the price of the new flagship at the start of sales was not raised higher than the previous one. This is very alarming, and of course, against this background, it is difficult to recommend such a device for purchase: it is certainly very worthy, but for many, Samsung products may already be unaffordable. Did we think five years ago that we would talk like this in the future about the products of this Korean company?

Recent reports from observers regarding the new flagship smartphone Samsung suggest that the camera has become one of the most innovative modules of the device. Despite the fact that most of the provided features and functions have already been used to one degree or another by manufacturers of smart phones, the overall picture leaves a very favorable impression.

So, among the main features of the optical module of the smartphone are the video recording mode in 4K format (or Quad HD) and high-speed autofocus (0.3 seconds). The first function can be appreciated thanks to the video, but you can feel the speed of autofocus without holding it in your hands Galaxy S5 It’s unlikely to work - the camera reacts too quickly to the user’s touch. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg - the Koreans have taught 16-megapixel optics to create truly unique pictures, thanks to many special modes and functions, the number of which can be daunting for a novice user.

First of all, it is worth noting the presence of the new Photo Studio photo editor and Collage Studio software for creating collages, which allow you to apply many effects to photos, crop, glue pictures, etc.

Let's move directly to the shooting modes. The default camera settings allow you to take fairly high-quality photos (of course, keep in mind that the images below are demo images).

Of course, there is an HDR mode that can be used both during photo and video shooting.

Another interesting option that has already been tested by Nokia developers is post focus. The user can refocus on a photo they've already taken, blurring the rest of the photo.

The Drama Shot feature is also not new to experienced photographers - it allows you to take a photo of movement by stitching together several frames.

Panning Shot is another mode that allows you to emphasize the dynamics of the composition. In such photographs, the target object is clearly conveyed, while the background is blurred.


The rather popular panoramic shooting mode also did not go unnoticed by the developers.

An interesting option is also the creation of double shots, to which you can apply a lot of effects - ideal for users with a developed imagination.

Conclusion: camera Samsung Galaxy S5 and the accompanying software (which, by the way, can be updated in Samsung's own app store) provide users with a completely new photo and video experience. Korean developers managed to significantly raise the quality bar in this direction - the next step behind Apple, Nokia, Sony and HTC.

The camera in the Galaxy S5 has also received some work. And they worked very seriously. First of all, we need to focus not on the resolution increased from 13 to 16 MP, but on the refusal to use the Sony Exmor sensor. An Isocell matrix is ​​used, where the pixels are shielded, which in theory should provide very high frame clarity. It’s not clear exactly whose matrix this is – Samsung or another company, but it doesn’t seem to be from Sony.

Typically, increasing the shooting resolution is achieved by simply increasing the megapixels without increasing the size of the matrix itself. This may result in lower image quality, increased noise and artifacts. In the case of the Galaxy S5, the matrix was also increased and the pixel size remained the same - 1.12 microns. At the same time, the standard frame has a ratio of 16:9 (5312x2988), while the Galaxy S4 had a more square 4:3.

The focal length of the lens in terms of 35 mm film is 31 mm. The maximum aperture opening is f/2.2. It's not bad, but overall it's standard. The iPhone 5s has a slightly better value of f/2.0, so dark shots can come out brighter in poor lighting conditions.

The camera interface has changed, but only in the settings. The basic shooting controls are familiar to us from the Galaxy S4 and other Samsung devices of the same generation. Although there are fewer shooting modes, the most popular ones have been highlighted more precisely. Others can be downloaded separately.

All parameters are placed in a separate grid table. There are so many icons that such a menu can easily knock out traffic jams for the average Galaxy S5 buyer. But don’t be alarmed – the settings here are clear, with hints, and useful. Moreover, they can be swapped, and some can even be moved to the panel on the left in the main camera interface.

Among the unusual modes, we can note selective focus, where it is possible to change the focus of the photo after shooting. This doesn't always work, but in theory it might come in handy someday. Well, for those who like to send postcards with a small selfie, there is a “Dual Camera” mode, which inserts a small photo from the front lens into the main frame.

Now let's look at some shooting examples:

The Galaxy S5 camera provides very high quality shooting. Sometimes, of course, it over-saturates, but this can be adjusted in the settings. In poor lighting conditions, the result for a smartphone is also quite good.

As for the front camera, its resolution remained the same – 2 MP. Other manufacturers are already installing 5 MP sensors, but there is little point in them - why take your own pictures in such a high resolution, but at the same time with a fairly low quality?

The front camera takes worse pictures, but overall it’s decent. During the day, of course, the photo comes out of better quality, but in room lighting the clarity is no longer sufficient.

Now let's look at the video. Galaxy Note 3 on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip (model SM-N9005) became the first smartphone capable of. With the Galaxy S5, Samsung went even further - Ultra HD is supported by all modifications of the flagship: SM-G900H (8-core) and SM-G900F (4-core). Filming is carried out at a frequency of 30 frames per second. Here is an example of such a video with a resolution of 3840x2160:

Looks good, doesn't it? The only question is where you can watch this video in full resolution. The author's 27-inch monitor with a resolution of 2560x1440 was not enough - Ultra HD screens are still expensive. But even despite this, the smartphone already shoots such video no worse than traditional Full HD. But keep in mind that the files are large. For example, the above one-minute video took up 405 MB.

Well, a “regular” 1080p video looks like this:

Overall everything is quite good. And the files are more compact - a 1-minute demo video under the same conditions took 134 MB.

In addition, video capture in other modes is possible. For example, in Full HD resolution, but with a frame rate of 60 per second:

This mode is called "Smooth Motion". It turns out really smoother, but a regular player on a computer may not cope and will skip some frames. And the file takes up twice as much space as regular Full HD.

And it remains to mention “Fast Movement”. This mode lowers the shooting resolution to 1280x720, but at the same time provides a frame rate of 120 FPS. Then the shooting slows down, or rather, when recording, more frames are captured, but played back at the usual frequency, which gives this effect. We know all this from the iPhone 5s.

It is only necessary to note that x8 slowdown is achieved by switching to display mode only 15 frames per second, so this is where the smoothness is lacking.

And the last thing about the camera is video shooting with the front matrix. Here the maximum resolution is 1920x1080 at 30 fps.

The quality is very, very decent for a front camera. The rear one, of course, captures video better, but even here everything looks decent.

So, the Galaxy S5 camera sucks. It burns, tears everyone to shreds, and the list goes on. In fact, it is one of the best smartphones on the market. Even the famous Nokia will find it difficult to compete with it. The Galaxy S4 and Note 3 were already great at shooting, but the situation only got better with the S5.

Galaxy S5 Specifications

As always, there are several modifications of the Galaxy S5. The two most common are the SM-G900F and SM-G900H. The first one will probably sell the most widely. This is a version based on a 4-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with LTE support, which was demonstrated at MWC 2014. The second is based on an 8-core Samsung Exynos 5422 chip. In theory, LTE is also present there, but due to the external Intel XMM 7160 module. We were lucky enough to test both of these versions of the smartphone.

Let us also add that there are many operator versions, as well as Korean versions. Yes, and there are three Chinese modifications: SM-G9006V, G9008V and G9009D. They are also distinguished by DualSIM support. You should also expect the announcement of the Galaxy S5 mini, whose characteristics are close to the Galaxy S III.

During the announcement of the Galaxy S5 in February in Barcelona, ​​a model based on a Qualcomm processor was demonstrated there. However, very soon information appeared about a version with a Samsung Exynos chip. The main difference between them is the number of cores. In the first case there are 4 of them, and in the second - 8. This, of course, is not an indicator of performance and is not at all a guarantee of it, but such a division exists and, apparently, Samsung will focus on the model with a chip.

Compared to the Snapdragon 800, which is used in the Galaxy Note 3 (model SM-N9005), Sony Xperia Z1, LG G2, Google Nexus 5 and other flagships, the chip with the 801 index has an increased clock frequency from 2.3 to 2.5 GHz . In addition, its video core was overclocked from 450 to 578 MHz, and at the same time the memory bus was overclocked from 800 to 933 MHz. In general, the Snapdragon 801 is only a slightly overclocked version. The performance there is very high, but in comparison with last year’s flagships it will be higher by a fraction of a percent. At the same time, this chip is also used in other top smartphones of early 2014: Sony Xperia Z2, HTC One (M8), Oppo Find 7, and others will soon follow.

The Galaxy S5 labeled SM-G900H is equipped with a Samsung Exynos 5422 chip - an improved version of the Exynos 5420 that was used in the Galaxy Note 3. Well, let us remind you that the Galaxy S4 could boast of an 8-core Exynos 5410. However, the 5422 model is different in that it has All 8 cores can work at once, whereas its predecessors only have either 4 Cortex-A15 or 4 Cortex-A7 cores. But the built-in video card is no different from the 5420 - it uses an ARM Mali-T628 MP6. A very productive solution, although faster modifications already exist.

In terms of performance, Samsung Exynos 5422 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 differ little. We'll go into more detail about this in the next section of testing the Galaxy S5. And here we note that the main and very significant difference between these chips lay in LTE support from Qualcomm. Last year, all Samsung Exynos smartphones were so-called “3G versions”. Now the situation has changed - along with Exynos 5260 (used in) and Exynos 5422, the Intel XMM 7160 4G module can be installed. So LTE works in all Galaxy S5. True, Samsung may disable it, or ship the smartphone without it to certain markets.

At the same time, let us recall that everyone was expecting a 64-bit Exynos 6 processor from the Galaxy S5. Moreover, Samsung was literally beating itself up, claiming that, and in 2014. It is possible that the Galaxy Note 4 will receive such a chip. However, there is no complete certainty about this.

Just look at the recent announcement of Qualcomm Snapdragon 810. This chip was introduced in April 2014, and it will become available no earlier than 2015. Moreover, Qualcomm chose to use ready-made Cortex-A57 and A53 cores, instead of developing its own architecture for the ARMv8 instruction set, as Apple did for its A7 processors. In short, we all mean that everything turned out to be not as simple as it might seem at first. So it’s quite possible that the Galaxy Note 4 will be limited to the Snapdragon 805 and the next upgraded version of Exynos 5. Well, Exynos 6 may be the destiny of the Galaxy S6.

The rest of the characteristics are good, but not impressive. For example, the amount of RAM has remained unchanged since the Galaxy S4 - 2 GB. Even the Galaxy Note 3 has a gigabyte more RAM. It’s also depressing that the Galaxy S5 only comes with 16 or 32 GB of memory. Even a 64 GB version is not yet available, although it’s time to think about a 128 GB version. Apparently, this was also saved for the Galaxy Note 4. However, there are changes regarding the memory card - support for microSD cards up to 128 GB inclusive is guaranteed.

By the way, this time the user has more memory available than the 16 GB version of the Galaxy S4. Let's remember that this smartphone was complained about only 8 GB of free space. This time there is more than 9 GB of space, or rather even more than 11 GB. However, after installing all the updates, as well as five or two applications, the free space is reduced to that same 9 GB.

We have given details about the characteristics of the screen and camera above, and the battery is discussed below. Actually, we are moving on to testing, including autonomy.