Samsung Galaxy S5 camera review

yes, I've always found a physical kb much better for typing. Unfortunately it means you have to have a smaller screen though. BB has just announced a new device with a square screen and 1440 x 1440 pixels res, I think this is what the OP referred to in his post.

Grasscatcher, you will be as happy with S5 as we are. Excellent phone. If and when I upgrade from s4, it will be a tough decision between S5 and Blackberry. I will heed Lars advice, I will need to see the camera specs when the square (whatever its called) blackberry comes out.

The square BB10 device seems squarely aimed at the business/enterprise market.. so, a high end camera may not be their top priority.

If or when.

@Lars, I see it now, the BB Passport, 1440x1440 (my BBQ10 is 720x720). Looks impressive. I'm sure it will be a very productive tool. BB has, over the last five years or so, had very-well-integrated physical controls in addition to touchscreen controls (although they seemed to take a step backward on those ergonomics when going from the Bold to the Q10). Looks like the Passport will move that integration forward again.

I hope BB does well with their new offerings. They have a good OS, and it would be a shame if they disappeared - competition is always good for the consumer. I think I heard that they turned a profit last quarter, so maybe things are looking up! :)

I am looking forward to the S5. I think I'll get more use out of apps in the Android world with the S5, then I will out of the productivity-based BB. As I mentioned, I can sideload Android apps into BBQ10 now, but many of them don't work seamlessly (and some, not at all) like they do in my Nexus 7. If more developers would create apps native to BB OS, I could easily be swayed back to BB. Tthere are some native apps designed for BB OS that have extremely smooth animations, like BE Weather, that I have not seen anything comparable in the Android world. The ported apps don't have the same experience, so it will take more effort on the developers' part.

LOL, Thank you Lars, that's a pretty important thing to forget.

Item 9: Not so sure about that. I am a collector of such things. ;-). You have good taste in the finer things in life!

Panorama technology, both real-time and in post, has evolved enough to render a true wide lens on a smartphone not desirable anymore, IMHO.

Good point, the pano mode on the S5 is excellent, the one in the Google Camera app has some pretty good options, too

Lars Rehm,

Before you go too far, please disclosure your relation with all the phones/products which you reviewed/reviewing.

I do believe this is the rule of Amazon who owns DPR.

Are you suggesting I have some special relationship to Samsung? Because if you do I can assure you that's not the case. I get the test model from them for the review and send it back after the review, just like with the manufacturers of all cameras and smartphones I have ever reviewed.

To me it looks like a fair review but I can follow his logic:

Amazon does not sell the iphone*.
Amazon does sell the Samsung Galaxy S5
Amazon owns dpreview so Lars works for the anti iphone pro S5 Amazon

*You'll find the iphone on amazon.com but all are sold by 3rd party sellers. Here's a search on iphones sold by amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st_undefined?keywords=iphone&qid=1405071127&rh=n%3A2335752011%2Ck%3Aiphone%2Cp_76%3A2491146011%2Cp_6%3AATVPDKIKX0DER&sort=price-desc-rank

you should go back and look at our iPhone 5s review. If I am not totally mistaken it was pretty positive indeed.

...of course I was talking about trade-offs, a panorama mode is no substitute for a true wide lens, but OTOH it is also true that digital zoom is no substitute for a more "normal" lens...

your point is totally valid, it's good to have a wider lens in some situations but for general shooting a less wide one makes more sense for most users. Given smartphones do not offer interchangeable lenses this is always going to be some sort of compromise though.

Lars, I think both this and the iPhone review are well done; I was just theorizing as to the posters logic.

Regarding wider: wider is better for selfies hence wider is better for smartphones.

yes, I understand where you are coming from. Selfies are typically taken with the front cam though ;) Which is some newer ones offer extra-wise angle views, makes perfect sense there...

Yes, the placement is stupid, but you can drag it to your favorite settings that stay always on screen.
Another quirk that I found is that when spot metering is selected, the camera does not measure where you tap to focus, but actually in the very center of the frame.
Very weird and not intuitive, since there is no visual clue of the metering region, but after you get used you can force the camera to expose where you want, while selecting a different focus point. You can also hold the on screen button or the volume button to recompose while the focus and exposure are locked.

Were talking quality here, not crap video, why would someone even use garbage video, let me guess the beat way to shoot video is vertical LOL!

Well, I actually found the S5 video very usable. Are the samples in my review in line with your experience or are we dealing with some kind of sample variation here?

Well Lars, I look at it this way what you find usable, to me is crap! I just have higher quality levels than your review here., The video is also way over compressed. I know what I see and how it holds up in Post. that's the bottom line!

I loved Heidelberg, Dresden and Rothenburg Altstadt and although across the border, Innsbruck too, for the beautiful cathedrals and churches. I wish I could be there again, because for an Australian there is simply nothing here for comparison.