APRIL 2020 T3 75Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
The noticeably pronounced
rectangular array (which will have to
be protected by a case to avoid scrapes
and nicks in our opinion) houses a
seriously powerful quad-camera
system, with a 108MP wide-angle
main snapper joined by 48MP
telephoto, 12MP ultra wide and
time-of-flight DepthVision lenses.
And, while we’re talking about the
rear array’s selection of lenses, the
phone’s new Single Take shooting
mode makes use of them all. In this
mode all the lenses are used when a
shot or video is taken and then, post
shot, the user is presented with a
variety of differing options (10 shots
and mini-videos), which sit all under
one entry in the phone’s image gallery.
The S20 Ultra also comes with
some pretty impressive zoom
functionality. From the furthest out
ultra-wide setting to 1x, through 5x,
10x, 30x and up to 100x, you have
plenty of range at your disposal when
shooting. And fidelity remains decent
at most zoom levels aside from 100x,
which seem to take on a soft-focus
watercolour finish. With a proper
tripod, we’re sure you could get some
half-decent images from it, but we
question its everyday usability.
Elsewhere, though, the S20 Ultra’s
camera system really does flex its
muscles. The amount of shooting
modes on offer is quite remarkable.
As well as a maximum freedom Pro
shooting mode, you’ve got a strong
panorama option, as well as dedicated
settings for food, nighttime and live
focus. As you would expect, you can
shoot in a variety of aspect ratios, too.
In terms of video, you can shoot at
a wide variety of resolutions up to 8K,
while the Ultra also delivers a Pro
video shooting mode, as well as
slow-mo, super slow-mo and
hyperlapse options. But while the
8K video shooting is a technical
achievement, and very nice to have,
the vast majority of people will not
get to enjoy it, as you’d need an 8K
screen to play it back at full fidelity- though creating 4K video from this
8K source looks just excellent.
As you would absolutely expect,
the S20 Ultra delivers very strong
camera images, no matter what
you’re shooting. Colour balance in
particular seems to be a strong point
and vibrancy is good, although there
is no getting away from the fact that
Samsung still seems to be leaning
towards quite heavy post-processing.
It’s a tad clumsy in our opinion and
can lead to sharp edges appearing a
little soft.
Lastly, in terms of camera system,
the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra comes
with a 40MP front-facing selfie
camera. This bad boy can, if you so
wish, capture your lovely mug in
40MP glory with or, for the brave,
without beauty mode activated.The big screen
Pick up the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
and the first thing that you notice is
how large its screen is. At 6.9 inches,
it is a match for even the gargantuan
Samsung Galaxy Note 10+, which
comes with a 6.8-inch screen.
Side-by-side these two phones look
essentially the same in terms of size;
however when you pick them up
there is a noticeable weight
difference, with the Ultra feelingSMOOTH OPERATOR
The S20 Ultra is a bezel-free
beauty that has an even
bigger screen than the huge
Samsung Galaxy Note+. On
top of this, its 120Hz display
is smooth as silk, leaving all
of its rivals in the dustThe S20 Ultra
delivers excellent
quality camera
images – naturallySELFIE-CENTRED
Samsung has bet big on the
S20 Ultra’s cameras; even
the front facing snapper can
capture sumptuous pictures
with a seriously powerful
40MP sensor