The Samsung Galaxy S26 camera performance is evaluated across photo, zoom, and video use cases using DXOMARK’s objective measurements and perceptual analyses to assess imaging performance across common shooting conditions. This article provides a structured summary of DXOMARK’s lab measurements and perceptual analyses to describe the device’s imaging performance.
Overview
Key camera specifications:
- Primary: 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.56″, 1.0µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS
- Ultra-wide: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.55″, 1.4µm
- Tele: 10 MP, f/2.4, 67mm (telephoto), 1/3.94″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom
With a score of 147 points, the Samsung Galaxy S26 delivers a balanced camera experience, combining solid still-image quality with competitive video performance. The device performs particularly well in everyday shooting conditions, producing images with accurate target exposure, a relatively wide dynamic range, and vibrant color rendering. Video is one of its strongest areas, offering performance that is comparable to the Galaxy S26 Ultra thanks to effective stabilization, well-controlled noise, and consistent color reproduction. Overall, the Galaxy S26 provides a reliable imaging experience that remains well suited to a broad range of use cases.
In photo mode, the device offers a good balance between texture preservation and noise reduction, producing natural-looking images in most lighting conditions. Portrait photography also benefits from a sufficiently wide depth of field, making the camera well adapted to small group shots while maintaining pleasing rendering in both indoor and outdoor environments. These qualities contribute to a camera that performs consistently across its primary focal lengths without relying on overly aggressive image processing.
The Galaxy S26’s main limitations become more apparent in more challenging situations. Low-light photography is affected by visible white balance casts, increased noise, and a loss of fine detail. Zoom performance is also constrained by the absence of a dedicated long-range tele camera, limiting image quality at higher magnification levels. Nevertheless, the device remains competitive within its class, particularly for users who prioritize everyday photography and high-quality video recording over extended zoom capabilities.
Scoring
Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.
Samsung Galaxy S26
146
camera
Use cases & Conditions
Use case scores indicate the product performance in specific situations. They are not included in the overall score calculations.
Portrait
Portrait photos of either one person or a group of people
Outdoor
Photos & videos shot in bright light conditions (≥1000 lux)
Indoor
Photos & videos shot in good lighting conditions (≥100lux)
Lowlight
Photos & videos shot in low lighting conditions (<100 lux)
Zoom
Photos and videos captured using zoom (more than 1x)
Pros
- Color rendering is saturated and pleasant in most situations
- Captured dynamic range is generally high
- Good texture and noise compromise
- Stabilization is effective
Samsung Galaxy S26 – Accurate target exposure and warm white balance
Apple iPhone 17 Pro – Accurate target exposure and pleasant colors
Apple iPhone 17 – Accurate target exposure and warm white balance
The Samsung Galaxy S26 delivers acceptable performance in low-light conditions, maintaining accurate target exposure in most scenes. This allows the camera to preserve a balanced overall brightness even as illumination decreases.
Image quality is nevertheless affected by several limitations, including visible white balance casts and a higher level of noise. These artifacts become more noticeable in darker environments and reduce the overall consistency of the camera compared with higher-ranking devices.
Samsung Galaxy S26 – Natural skintone rendering and wide depth of field
Apple iPhone 17 Pro – Natural skintone rendering, second model is out of focus
Apple iPhone 17 – Natural skintone rendering, second model is out of focus
The device is well suited to portrait photography, producing pleasing results in both indoor and outdoor conditions. Exposure is generally well managed, while the camera’s relatively wide depth of field helps keep multiple subjects in focus, making it a good option for small group portraits.
This balanced rendering allows the device to deliver natural-looking portraits across a variety of everyday situations, with consistent performance under favorable lighting conditions.
Samsung Galaxy S26 – Accurate target exposure and colors, but lack of details
Apple iPhone 17 Pro – Accurate target exposure and colors, fine details are lost
Apple iPhone 17 – Accurate target exposure and colors, fine details are lost
Zoom remains the Galaxy S26’s main area of compromise. Equipped with a single 3x tele module rather than a dedicated long-range tele camera, the device is unable to match the performance of flagship models at higher zoom factors. Photo zoom quality remains in line with other devices featuring a similar hardware configuration but falls behind more versatile camera systems at long range.
Video zoom, however, is a notable strength. The Galaxy S26 delivers zoom performance during video recording that is comparable to the Galaxy S26 Ultra and the iPhone 17 Pro, maintaining good image quality and smooth transitions throughout the zoom range.
Test summary
About DXOMARK Camera tests: DXOMARK’s camera evaluations take place in laboratories and real-world situations using a wide variety of use-cases. The scores rely on objective tests for which the results are calculated directly using measurement software in our laboratory setups, and on perceptual tests where a sophisticated set of metrics allow a panel of image experts to compare aspects of image quality that require human judgment. Testing a smartphone involves a team of engineers and technicians for about a week. Photo and Video quality are scored separately and then combined into an overall score for comparison among the cameras in different devices. For more information about the DXOMARK Camera protocol, click here. More details on smartphone camera scores are available here. The following section gathers key elements of DXOMARK’s exhaustive tests and analyses. Full performance evaluations are available upon request. Please contact us on how to receive a full report.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Camera Scores
This graph compares DXOMARK photo and video scores between the tested device and references. Average and maximum scores of the price segment are also indicated. Average and maximum scores for each price segment are computed based on the DXOMARK database of devices tested.
Photo
144
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra
About DXOMARK Camera Photo tests
For scoring and analysis, DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 3,800 test images in controlled lab environments as well as outdoor, indoor and low-light natural scenes, using the camera’s default settings. The photo protocol is designed to take into account the main use cases and is based on typical shooting scenarios, such as portraits, landscape and zoom photography. The evaluation is performed by visually inspecting images against a reference of natural scenes, and by running objective measurements on images of charts captured in the lab under different lighting conditions from 0.1 to 10,000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300K to 6,500K.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 delivers solid photo performance, although it remains behind the Galaxy S26 Ultra in most image quality attributes, with exposure being the main exception. The camera consistently provides accurate target exposure and maintains a relatively wide dynamic range across a variety of lighting conditions. Color rendering is generally vivid and pleasant, giving images an attractive appearance in both indoor and outdoor scenes.
Image quality also benefits from a good compromise between texture preservation and noise reduction, producing balanced results in most situations. However, fine details become less well preserved in low light, where a slight increase in visible noise and occasional white balance casts reduce overall image quality.
Main
153
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S26 Photo scores
The photo Main tests analyze image quality attributes such as exposure, color, texture, and noise in various light conditions. Autofocus performances and the presence of artifacts on all images captured in controlled lab conditions and in real-life images are also evaluated. All these attributes have a significant impact on the final quality of the images captured with the tested device and can help to understand the camera’s main strengths and weaknesses at 1x.
Video
151
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
About DXOMARK Camera Video tests
DXOMARK engineers capture and evaluate almost 3 hours of video in controlled lab environments and in natural low-light, indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera’s default settings. The evaluation consists of visually inspecting natural videos taken in various conditions and running objective measurements on videos of charts recorded in the lab under different conditions from 0.1 to 10000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300K to 6,500K.
Video is one of the Samsung Galaxy S26 strongest categories, delivering an overall performance that is comparable to the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Colors are accurately reproduced, noise remains well controlled across different lighting conditions, and stabilization is effective, resulting in smooth and natural-looking footage.
The main limitation concerns exposure, which can occasionally be inaccurate during recording. Exposure adaptation is not always perfectly stable, particularly in indoor and outdoor scenes with changing lighting, leading to visible brightness fluctuations in some sequences.
Main
158
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
Samsung Galaxy S26 Video scores
