Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Photography Review

Here is another review of the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G photography outdoors at Batu Caves in Selangor.

I chose this place because of the naturally vivid colours that the entire place gives, plus it is a top-rated tourist attraction that is world-class and well known.

Also, it was difficult to move around Malaysia because of the movement control order (MCO) since it came back into effect on 13th Jan until 4th March 2021.

All the photos you see here are taken using the all-new Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G smartphone, purely for my review.

Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Photography Review

This eagle statue is one of the new additions to Batu Caves.

While most reviews in Malaysia or around the world will be very technical, I choose to go down the simple road for simple people to understand my review.

This is because most people prefer to know what the smartphone is capable of instead of how many mirrors or microchips power the camera. You know what I mean.

So, I took the liberty of visiting Batu Caves in early February 2021, about two weeks after the Galaxy S21 Ultra was officially launched in Malaysia.

My work usually takes me around Malaysia and Southeast Asia, but since the Covid19 pandemic, I, just like many others, have been locked down here; therefore, there are no interesting international photos.

However, that will not stop my passion for reviewing smartphones for laymen and laywomen locally. So, read on and let me know what you think.

And, just to highlight that all the photos here are not enhanced or edited. They have only been resized and added with my watermark, that's all.

One of the lesser-seen photos was taken in Batu Caves on ultra-wide mode.

Multiple Zoom Modes

Below is a series of ultra-wide to the standard full 10x zoom mode photos. To be very honest, the 100x zoom on the phone is still a novelty which I would not recommend focusing on.

I would comfortably say that the 10x standard digital zoom is excellent without worrying about the photo being blurred. No one wants that if you ask me.

Using the ultra-wide mode.

Using the standard normal mode.

This shot is using the 3x zoom normal mode.

Using the 10x zoom on normal mode.

As you can see from the four photos above, they were all taken handheld from one position at Batu Caves. Note that the 10x zoom photo has some loss in the colours and sharpness.

Again, the photos above are all unedited, nor are they enhanced in any way. They are straight from the phone to my desktop, resized and added my watermark.

If you ask my honest opinion, the Artificial Intelligence or A.I. for the camera is quite fascinating considering they compensate for the natural colour enhancements.

While most people will view photos taken on their smartphone device using the incredible Dynamic AMOLED screens, very few will transfer photos to their desktop.

Well, I am one of those who does that; transfer photos from phone to desktop and then view them on my desktop monitor, which is a Samsung curved screen for some strange reason.

So, for beginners or general camera users, I would say that the normal mode on the Galaxy S21 Ultra is very user-friendly and enough for your personal or social use.

Even if you view the photos on another device or desktop, the colours and quality still remain, which I like.

Cropped photo of Lord Hanuman at Batu Caves in 108-megapixel.

108 Megapixel Shot

This one is the mother of all sizes, I mean, 108 megapixels! Who needs such a high-resolution for everyday use? Well, you will be surprised so that function is available.

Lord Hanuman's photo above was taken in the 108-megapixel mode on the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, and so sorry I had to crop it here because it would just eat my bandwidth if I posted the original.

Anyway, the original pixel size for the 108-megapixel photo is 12,000 x 9,000 pixels, which is more than enough to print out a medium-sized poster.

Also, this function would work best if you are taking photos outdoors with a steady hand or tripod. Or if you are inside a studio with proper lighting.

However, I would not recommend using this for all your general photos unless you work for your client.

Taken with the ultra-wide mode on the S21 Ultra 5G.

My other Reviews of the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G

Before this article, I also did an earlier camera review of the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, more for indoor photos. 

Before this, I have been doing several Samsung smartphone reviews in Malaysia dating back many years ago.

The current phone I am using for the last two years is the Galaxy S10 Plus, which has been an excellent phone overall.

Perhaps it is time for me to upgrade to the S21 Ultra 5G due to the technological advancements in the last two years.

My next review will focus on the night mode of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, so follow my blog if you want to know how amazing the technology has advanced for the Galaxy phones.

A sample of the night mode photo was taken with the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Conclusion

There you go, an honest and straightforward photography review of Malaysia's Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G smartphone.

To learn more or buy this phone, you can visit the official Samsung Malaysia website, where they have all the different variants and colours available.

Finally, if you need to upgrade or change your smartphone, the Galaxy S21 is a unit worth considering, provided your budget allows it.