Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 vs Galaxy Z Flip 3: Camera shootout

In our test reports, we have already established that neither the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 nor the Galaxy Z Flip 3 are the world’s best camera phone. With mostly 12-megapixel shooters, Samsung’s foldable shots take average shots, but are not necessarily comparable to the best camera phones on the market, like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and its 108-megapixel sensor. But how do the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 cameras fare when they face each other?

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 have almost identical camera hardware. In fact, the new foldables only differ in the smallest of differences.

The Z Fold 3 has a 12 MP main camera at f / 1.8 with OIS, dual-pixel autofocus and 1.8 μm pixels. The Z Flip 3 has a 12-megapixel main camera at f / 1.8 with OIS, dual-pixel autofocus and 1.4 μm pixels. There’s only the slightest difference in the pixel size that separates them. Both phones have the same 12 MP ultra-wide camera with f / 2.2 and 1.12 μm pixels. The Z Fold 3 adds a 12 megapixel telephoto camera at f / 2.4 with OIS, 2x optical zoom and 1.0μm pixels. The Z Flip 3 does not have a telephoto lens. Both phones feature Gorilla Glass DX that covers the lenses of these major shooters.

Related: The best foldable phones you can get

Like the main cameras, the selfie cameras are almost the same. The Z Fold 3 has a 10 MP selfie camera at f / 2.2 with 1.22 μm pixels and the Z Flip 3 has a 10 MP selfie camera at f / 2.4 with 1.22 μm pixels. Only the aperture separates them. The Z Fold 3 adds a 4MP under-display camera at f / 1.8 that is hidden beneath the pixels of the main inner display.

It’s not just the camera hardware that’s virtually mirrored between the two phones. Each is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor that uses the same ISP to process photo data. And let’s not forget Samsung’s software. The camera app is also shared between the two phones.

In other words, we expect the results of this shootout between Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 to be pretty close. Is one above the other? Let’s find out.

In this simple daylight shot, we have a lot of blue sky, green bushes, and whitish building elements. The recording from the Z Fold 3 has a slightly nicer blues and is sharper with less noise, especially in the large tree in the background. If you look closely, the Z Fold 3 delivers the better picture here.

In this second picture of the day we have more green and gray tones thanks to the church. The greens of the Z Fold 3 image are significantly stronger than those of the Z Flip 3. Both images show solid exposure and balance – and noise. There is a lot of distracting noise in the leaves of the trees. Overall, the image of the Z Fold 3 is a bit richer and more pleasing to the eye.

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In these color swatches, you can see bright, pushed colors from both phones. Samsung is known throughout the industry for enhancing color and that is evident here. I see identical color, exposure and white balance, although the example from the Z Flip 3 is a little sharper. The colors don’t exactly match reality, but they look so good that it’s easy to forgive Samsung for the fine-tuning. It’s too close to name an overall winner.

There’s a lot going on in this somber shot of a waterfall under a bridge. The HDR is working overtime working out the details in these building blocks on the left side of the image. I like that the greens are richer in the shots of the Z Fold 3, but the Z Flip 3 does a slightly better job of balancing the sky and land together. The Z Fold 3 blew the sky a bit compared to the Z Flip 3. There is no obvious winner here in my opinion.

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When we read the text, we can really examine the details of this pair of images. The text is equally legible in both examples, despite the slight difference in magnification between the two. That said, the smaller text the Z Fold 3 picked up is just a tad sharper and cleaner due to the noise from the Z Flip 3. The carving itself looks just as good in both photos, and the exposure and color are on par between them. There is no clear winner here.

Here we look at photos taken by each phone’s ultra-wide angle cameras. Of all the recordings in this collection, these two are the most similar. Everyone has the same strengths and weaknesses. For example, the colors and dynamic range are solid, while the small building is losing detail in both photos due to slight overexposure. Given that the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 use the same ultra-wide-angle camera, it’s no surprise that the photos are almost identical.

Here’s a look at how the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 take portraits. Aside from the obvious difference in magnification, both phones do an admirable job here. Washington’s head is captured in great detail, with good edge detection and pleasant background blurring. The exposure looks a bit better on the Z Flip 3, as the Z Fold 3 overexposed Washington’s face a little, resulting in a small loss of detail. The most important thing is that the portraits are not too loud and do not appear forced.

See also: The best Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 cases you can get

Here are some selfie examples of the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3. Each of them is a 10 MP shot, the Z Fold 3 with the outer cover camera and the Z Flip 3 with the inner pinhole camera. They’re good selfies, but not the best I’ve seen. There is a lot of noise in both images, especially in the background. However, exposure, color, and sharpness are on par. It is almost impossible to tell them apart from one another.

There is a clear winner between these two low-light shots. I like the way both photos show shadows from the floodlights on the buildings. The Z Fold 3 took an all-round cleaner photo that is sharper, more nuanced, and less washed out by ambient light sources. The Z Fold 3 also managed to produce better colors despite the lack of light.

Related: The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 cases you can get

None of these night pictures are particularly convincing, but there is a clear winner here too. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 was able to bring out significantly more details from the dark background with the night mode tool. The image of the Z Flip 3 shows little detail in the trees, and its muted colors cannot be compared to those of the Z Fold 3.

In this series, we have a complete look at the phones’ zoom capabilities. Keep in mind that both phones have an ultra wide-angle camera and a main camera, while the Z Fold 3 adds a 2x optical camera for zooming in. The results are surprisingly similar on the two phones, considering how they use different lens configurations to get the same results. Despite the added glass of the Z Fold 3, it doesn’t gain nearly the advantage it should have over the Z Flip 3. Thanks to overprocessing at 4x and 10x, the Z Flip 3 shows a hair less detail than the Z Fold 3. When you consider how loud the 10x recordings are, that’s not so important.

Given the nearly identical hardware used between these two phones, I expected the results on this Z Fold 3 vs. Z Flip 3 to be even closer than they are. In fact, the majority of the above images are almost dead, with only minutiae separating them. Whenever I spotted a trend, it was consistently better color when shooting with the Z Fold 3. The color wasn’t dramatically better, but it was generally more pleasant to look at than that when compared to when I shot the Z Flip 3, and the low light output didn’t make the photos different.

I will give the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 the victory in this head-to-head comparison, although it is not necessarily by a significant margin. The cameras are so close together – and given the hardware similarities, they should be – that it’s hard to call one really better than the other. Whether you spend $ 999 on the Z Flip 3 or $ 1,799 on the Z Fold 3, you’ll get comparable images from the cameras.

What is most important here in my opinion is that neither the Z Fold 3 nor the Z Flip 3 set the bar when it comes to mobile photography. If you want the ultimate in camera quality from your phone, you’re better off with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra ($ 1,049) or the iPhone 12 Pro ($ 999) – or even the Sony Xperia 1 III ($ 1,299). Dollar).

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