One Week with the Galaxy S25 Ultra: A Real-World Camera Review for Creators
After a week of using the Galaxy S25 Ultra as my daily driver, I’ve got a lot of thoughts—not just on Android, but more importantly, on the camera. As a photographer and content creator, that’s what really matters to me. This isn’t going to be a pixel-peeping, spec-sheet breakdown. Instead, this is a real-world camera test. I took it out, shot with it, edited the files, and here’s what I found.
Shooting Experience: Familiar, Comfortable, and Intuitive
Right off the bat, shooting with the S25 Ultra is just… fun. It feels great in the hand—well-balanced and easy to grip. The camera app is intuitive, especially if you’re coming from a mirrorless or DSLR setup. Pro Mode gives you full manual control, RAW image support, and the ability to tweak everything from shutter speed to white balance.
Quick tip: the Pro Photo and Pro Video modes are hidden in the “More” section of the camera app by default—but you can drag them to the main screen. Huge usability win there.
Image Quality: 50MP Mode Is the Star
I shot mostly in RAW for photos and LOG for video to get the most flexibility, and the 50MP mode quickly became my go-to. The level of detail and clarity is wild. Seriously.
That said, it’s not flawless. The ultra-wide lens in 50MP mode felt a bit soft and showed noticeable edge distortion—especially in architecture shots with straight lines. Meanwhile, the 5x telephoto lens hit a sweet spot: sharp, well-exposed, and true-to-life colors.
Editing Workflow: Like a Mirrorless Camera
Editing the RAW files from this phone felt surprisingly similar to editing files from a traditional mirrorless or DSLR camera. I used my own preset pack (which you can find here) and had no trouble dialing in the look I wanted.
One of the standout features? Shadow recovery. I could push the darker areas of my images without crushing the blacks or losing important detail. Skin tones stayed consistent, and color balance held up nicely across changing light.
Check out my full gallery of test images from the S25 Ultra with my edits below.
Video Quality: Surprisingly Solid, Even in LOG
All my video clips were shot in LOG and brought into Premiere Pro. After applying a basic conversion LUT, I was genuinely impressed. Footage was clean, flexible to grade, and didn’t show weird noise or compression artifacts. It might not be quite on par with Apple’s LOG format, but it’s very usable for creators.
Even the front-facing camera held its own—perfectly usable for vlog clips or casual B-roll. It handled backlight and sunlight better than expected, which was a pleasant surprise.
Low Light Performance: Usable, Not Mind-Blowing
Low light was where things dipped a little. It’s not terrible—you can get usable shots—but you won’t be blown away either. One quirk I noticed was how the camera handled direct light sources: flares looked smudged, almost like you had a dirty lens (mine were clean, I triple-checked). But in well-lit nighttime settings like bars or restaurants, you’ll still get decent results.
Display: Samsung’s Secret Weapon
Let’s talk about the screen. One of the biggest surprises of using the S25 Ultra was just how bright and easy to see the display was outdoors. I was shooting in direct midday sun, and thanks to Samsung’s anti-reflective layer, I could still clearly see my composition. Compared to my iPhone 15 Pro, it’s night and day. Once you experience it, it’s hard to unsee the difference.
Galaxy AI: Shockingly Good for Creators
Here’s the wild card: Galaxy AI. I know, everyone’s throwing AI into their marketing, but Samsung actually delivered. The AI photo tools—like the object eraser and generative edits—feel like a lightweight version of Photoshop, built directly into your gallery app.
Want to remove trash, photobombers, or awkward shadows? Just tap, circle, and it’s gone. It’s not 100% perfect, but it’s good enough that I didn’t feel the need to jump into Photoshop. For mobile creators who want to clean up content quickly, this is a massive win.
Final Thoughts (for Now)
So after just a week, here’s where I’m at:
The Galaxy S25 Ultra isn’t just a phone camera—it’s a genuinely capable creative tool. It’s not perfect, but it nails the stuff that matters: detail, usability, editing flexibility, and AI-powered tools that actually help.
I’m planning to dive deeper in the coming weeks. Think: creative challenges, controlled testing environments, maybe even using it as my main camera for a full YouTube video.
If you’re using the S25 Ultra—or thinking about switching—drop a comment or shoot me a message and let me know what you’d like to see tested next. I’m excited to see how far I can push this thing.
And as always—enough consuming. Go create something.
