Galaxy S22 Ultra is a smartphone that we have been using for several months now and that over this time has constantly improved thanks to the continuous software support received by the updates released by Samsung. It is therefore a smartphone that we know thoroughly and that we have tried in practically every context. Practically in italics because, actually, until last week we had not had the opportunity to test it even in a more extreme scenario than usual, that is on the road.
The pandemic has practically eliminated the opportunities to move outside of Italy, but fortunately the situation is gradually returning to normal and therefore we took pleasure in the invitation that Samsung offered us : almost a week in Jordan to test the potential of S22 Ultra in the field of photography, but not only. We then armed ourselves with our trusty top of the range, a DJI Osmo stabilizer and little more and we left with several Italian colleagues for Jordan for this extraordinary field test.
Our trip allowed us to appreciate different scenarios and among these we mention 4 in particular: the capital Amman, the crusader castle of Kerak, the archaeological site of Petra and the Wadi Rum desert. Each of these areas allowed us to put the S22 Ultra to the test in different conditions: from city shots to night photography, through outdoor landscapes and others completely indoors.
- THE CAPITAL AMMAN
- THE KERAK CASTLE
- THE PETRA SITE
- GO DESERTO THE WARD ROOM
- CONCLUSIONS
THE CAPITAL AMMAN
The capital of Jordan, Amman , was the city from which our journey started and ended and it was this last part that provided us with the greatest shooting opportunities, in particular on the occasion of the visit to the Archaeological Museum of Amman and during a short city tour.
Exploring the streets of Amman allowed us to juggle scenarios a little different from those you will see in the following galleries and in this case there was no need for special precautions, so we relied on the most basic solution offered by Galaxy S22 Ultra : stock application and freehand shooting .
On the other hand, this is also the scenario in which we imagine that most of the people who will face a pleasure trip will be found, therefore the one in which you do not want to pay too much attention to the settings and prefer to aim to get the right shot in the shortest time. possible . As you can see from the image gallery, we have often relied on 3x optics to bring home some shots with a slightly different perspective from that offered by the main optic, which often turns out to be a bit too wide.
And this is also one of the recurring themes in this special, that is how it is precisely the 3x optics that is the most interesting in many shooting scenarios, while it is the ultra wide-angle camera that is less convincing, a bit as we had also reported in the first episode of our comparison between the world of Samsung and that of Apple.
In daytime shots you can therefore make extensive use of the two telephoto optics that the Galaxy S22 Ultra is equipped with, while already when you go indoors it is preferable to return to the main one. Outdoors it is also possible to give free rein to the 10x optical , even if in this case something is lost in terms of dynamic range, but it is possible to capture scenes that would otherwise be precluded, or in any case not usable.
THE KERAK CASTLE
The crusader castle of Kerak was our first real stop on the journey to discover the beauties of Jordan and allowed us to deal with different scenarios , including the presence of rooms now buried under the ground – therefore with poor lighting – and lots of backlight .
In such conditions S22 Ultra was able to offer us shots capable of preserving the details of the stone that makes up the remains of the castle , including those of the bas-reliefs that adorn some wings of the structure built in 1142. In these conditions it was the main camera of the S22 Ultra to better manage all the scenes, since it is the one able to react best in a situation that offers varied scenarios as in this case.
On the way to the castle we had the opportunity to visit a local bazaar and then put the S22 Ultra’s macro shooting skills to the test , approaching one of the mosaics just made by local artisans. The choice of equipping the ultra wide lens with a dedicated focusing system also allows for such shots, thus making the smartphone even more versatile. If the ultra wide does not convince us that much as regards traditional use, in these cases it becomes really fundamental .
THE PETRA SITE
Petra was undoubtedly the main attraction that convinced us to embark on this journey and it was one of the most beautiful discoveries of the experience. We all thought we would find ourselves in front of an all in all quick excursion, in which the only noteworthy subject would be the main temple carved into the rock that can be glimpsed in all the posters ( it is called The Treasure ), but it was enough to go into the long gorge that connects the entrance to the site with the Treasury to understand that there was much more.
Petra is just the ideal scenario to test all the S22 Ultra optics, in particular to put the zoom to the test again and to try some shots with the ultra wide angle . In the first gallery – the one above – we again relied only on the stock camera with automatic settings, since in conditions of such excellent lighting it is really easy to obtain noteworthy results. As you can see, we have again used 3x optics on several occasions, especially because of its ability to offer us perspectives that can give the right emphasis to the subject, without getting lost in the surrounding scenery.
Even in these situations the Expert Raw mode manages to be particularly effective even if you do not intend to edit the photo at a later time, but you are simply looking for a JPEG that is immediately shareable and that adopts a different pipeline from that of the stock camera. , as in the case of the two images proposed above.
The open spaces of the Petra site also allowed us to test an alternative to wide-angle photos, namely shooting in Panoramic mode using the main sensor. It goes without saying that the result is much better than the wide angle, as the distortion is almost completely eliminated and you have a qualitatively better photo. In addition to that, we can choose how wide the shot should be.
At nightfall , Petra’s scenario offers us suggestive views that allow us to whip the Galaxy S22 Ultra and test the nightography mentioned by Samsung during the presentation in extreme conditions. Those offered by Petra are really critical conditions, not so much for the almost total absence of light – which therefore leads to high noise even in photos taken in night mode – but for the use of many red lights that tend to considerably complicate the work. of the algorithm and the artifacts present in the gallery – in particular in the third photo – are proof of this.
View in Full Screen
The comparison proposed above, on the other hand, allows us to examine a situation that is really at the limit and the way in which it is managed by the smartphone, that is a night shot with a strong dominance of red, one of the colors that most undermines the main sensor of any smartphone. As you can see, the S22 Ultra is no exception and the details of the rock face are completely lost. Curiously, however, the hair of the lower left girl has considerably less noise and the same seems to be true for many of the other people present.
GO DESERTO THE WARD ROOM
The most evocative moment of the whole trip was undoubtedly the tour in the Wadi Rum desert, perhaps the most alien landscape among all those we have had the opportunity to see in this almost week.
Alien is the most correct term, since Wadi Rum is also one of the most famous movie sets when it comes to shooting a film set in a red and desolate planet. It is no coincidence that The Martian , the film with Matt Damon , was shot right here, as well as some scenes from the latest Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker . The Martian landscape is an incredibly interesting subject that offers endless shooting ideas; every dune and every rock can become a source of inspiration.
We spent almost a day in the desert, so we had the opportunity to photograph it in all light conditions, from the sunny afternoon, through to sunset and in the morning. The gallery proposed above collects several shots taken in all the conditions mentioned and in most cases we have relied on the main optics. The uniqueness of the landscape and the open spaces also prompted us to trust the ultra wide-angle optics again for a particular shot, but overall our cold judgment towards the latter hasn’t changed much.
The Wadi Rum desert welcomes us with the traces of the passage of aliens … sorry, of the old Bedouin tribes
Despite the prevalence of rocks and sand, even the desert hides some interesting remains of the passage of the old civilizations that populated it and in this situation it is again the 3x optic that allows us to bypass the other tourists and immortalize some truly suggestive traces.
In addition to the case mentioned above, there were also other situations in which Wadi Rum was a subject capable of allowing the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s 3x zoom to give its best, giving us other suggestive perspectives during our jeep trip. through the desert dunes.
Unfortunately, however, even the desert is no longer so deserted and even an area of ​​the world completely isolated from the outside has to deal with the problem of light pollution, in particular that produced by other fields. The starry sky of Wadi Rum was therefore less of an impact than we would have expected, but it still allowed us to try some astrophotography shots.
To do this we relied on the fully manual mode of Expert Raw and we played on exposure times and ISO values, in order to be able to capture the starry sky as faithfully as possible. The results produced by Expert Raw undoubtedly have an impact on the S22 Ultra panel, but unfortunately it is difficult to be able to appreciate the same quality even on screens other than those of the best top of the range; in any case they are suggestive shots. Obviously, in order to take these shots home, the use of the stabilizer was essential .
CONCLUSIONS
This slightly different test allowed us to confirm the impressions we made during these months of using the Galaxy S22 Ultra , especially as regards its photographic sector. S22 Ultra turns out to be once again a versatile smartphone and suitable for practically any type of situation, especially when we find ourselves in conditions in which it is possible to take advantage of its qualities in the zoom field to give that something extra to our shots.
The main weakness is represented by the ultra wide-angle camera, which does not keep up with the rest of the photographic sector in its main field, however it is particularly effective as soon as there is a need to deal with closer scenarios that put the main sensor in difficulty. .
In addition to the good hardware equipment, Samsung has also enriched the S22 Ultra with a good software suite as regards shooting, since Expert Raw is a real credible alternative for most scenarios . In reality it could be the one to be preferred almost always, were it not that this requires a really careful memory management, considering that each RAW weighs on 30 MB and the accompanying JPEG another 5-6 MB.
Samsung could further improve the versatility of the S22 Ultra by merging Expert Raw with the stock camera app , thus eliminating the need to switch between two apps. Another very appreciated element would be the integration of a much more advanced photo editor, which allows you to intervene immediately on the shots with the possibility of making advanced changes even to the RAWs.
Overall, the S22 Ultra offers a balanced experience, which perhaps does not excel in any way on individual aspects – except for the zoom -, but which in general manages to please everyone thanks to its reliability and – as already repeated several times – its versatility.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G, Charger included, Android Smartphone without SIM 128GB Display 6.8 ?? ¹ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 5 Cameras, 108MP, Phantom White 2022Â
1205 €Â
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G is available online from Unieuro for 1,279 euros .
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G is available at 1,249 euros . (Update of February 28, 2022, 09:32 am)
