Samsung Galaxy S26 FE review

Same ol', same ol'

You wouldn't exactly expect the FE to be the vehicle for camera hardware innovation in the Galaxy lineup, but you could hope for some bits from higher up the roster to trickle down to what used to go as Fan Edition. Well, not this time, as the Galaxy S26 FE features the exact same cameras as last year's S25 FE, which in turn was barely an upgrade over the S24 FE before it.

That means a tried and tested main camera with the in-house GN3 sensor that has a 1/1.56" optical format. This one in particular is a pretty capable piece of kit and the one that's almost looking like it belongs in an S-series model - the non-FE 'proper' S26 has that too.

The rest of the modules come with this or that compromise. The telephoto is based on a relatively tiny 1/4.4" sensor with just 8MP resolution, though it will get you 12MP images. The ultrawide uses a fixed-focus lens, which is like the regular S26s, but here it's a smaller sensor too. The front camera also makes do without autofocus - the proper S models do have AF.

• Wide (main): 50MP Samsung ISOCELL GN3 (S5KGN3, 1/1.56", 1.0µm-2.0µm); 24mm, f/1.8, OIS, dual-pixel PDAF; 8K30/4K60 video recording.
• Telephoto: 8MP OmniVision OV08A10 (1/4.4", 1.0µm); 69mm, f/2.4, OIS, PDAF; 4K30.
• Ultrawide: 12MP (1/3.2", 1.12µm); 13mm, f/2.2, fixed focus; 4K30.
• Front camera: 12MP (1/3.2", 1.12µm); 23mm, f/2.2, fixed focus; 4K60.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The S26 FE's main camera does take pretty great photos in daylight. They have very good detail which is presented naturally and has just a very fine grittiness in the shadows or areas of uniform color that we wouldn't really call noise. Dynamic range is very good, the white balance isn't prone to blunders, and colors are looking nice without being overdone.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

In people shots we got a bit of a touched-up pinkish tinge to skin tones, which is probably a good thing. The Portrait mode's blur level is quite restrained and thus believable (unlike the exaggerated live preview).

Human subjects, main camera (1x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

50MP main camera photos are quite good, showing a bit more detail in certain types of subjects when there's enough light.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP

At 2x zoom, photos are still very good. Grass and random detail of that sort does get somewhat stronger sharpening, and in dimmer conditions things can get a touch softer and noisier in the shadows, but overall it's a solid attempt at 2x from a wide camera.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

Our portrait scenes tend to be a little dim, so the results can be on the soft side, but quality remains good in our book. The blur in Portrait mode can be a bit overdone though.

Human subjects, main camera (2x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

Telephoto camera

The 3x telephoto's results have very good dynamic range and likeable colors, even if the white balance can stray a little bit from the main camera's take. Detail is alright - it's almost surprisingly good outdoors, despite the 8MP to 12MP upscale job, but in indoor scenes things do go softer.

Daylight samples, telephoto camera (3x)

The headshots turn out soft-ish, which is understandable given the small sensor and relatively demanding conditions. If you refrain from pixel-peeping, you should be fine, but there's no escaping the fact that sharpness is not among the 3x photos' virtues.

Human subjects, telephoto camera (3x): Photo mode • Portrait mode

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera's photos are good in this unpretentious midrange kind of way. A key deficiency is the lack of AF, which means you're out of luck trying to shoot nearby objects. For things that are past a meter or so away, you should be getting reasonably sharp shots. Shadows can be soft and noisy, particularly in high contrast scenes where the phone has to do wonders to fulfill its wide dynamic range promises. The white balance is on point though and colors are generally great.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Close-ups

Your best path to close-ups on the S26 FE is the main camera, used at 2x zoom. You can expect quite large magnification at minimum focus distance, the 10-ish centimeters to your subject help you avoid casting shadows, and quality isn't half bad at 2x.

Closeup samples, main camera (2x)

Selfies

Now, we may be complaining that the S26 FE's selfie camera lacks autofocus and that will, indeed, mean you won't be able to do close-ups of your face. At arms' length distances, however, which is where most of your selfies likely happen, it captures excellent shots - nicely sharp and detailed. Colors are great and dynamic range is very good too.

Selfie samples

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

The S26 FE's low-light photos at 1x in full auto shooting are alright. They have this laid-back approach to processing with relatively low contrast, minimal sharpening, and not a whole lot of noise reduction going on, that has its appeal. Dynamic range is good, white balance shows no odd tendencies and colors are quite likeable.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

Night mode does clean up some of the noise and it dials up the sharpening, plus it can help with contrast in some scenes. We can see how both approaches can have their fans, and Samsung would rather you didn't use Night mode on your own - you have to re-enable it by installing the in-house Camera Assistant add-on.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x), Night mode

At 2x zoom, there's a bit of an improvement compared to the previous generation, but it's still a generally noisy rendition that doesn't do well with low-contrast detail.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

Once again, Night mode cleans up the noise and improves contrast but the heavy sharpening is a little unpleasant in its own way.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x), Night mode

Telephoto camera

The telephoto camera's photos are hard to like. They're soft, noisy, washed out - just generally meh.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3x)

It's at 3x that Night mode is clearly the better option.

Low-light samples, telephoto camera (3x), Night mode

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide also tends to be lifeless in full auto shooting, with gloomy exposures, soft and flat shadows, and a bit of a desaturation going on, though there's still good detail where there's some light.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Night mode livens things up, giving shadows a boost and saturation a nudge too. An increase in sharpening is also a mostly welcome sight here.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x), Night mode

Video quality

The Galaxy S26 FE can record video up to 4K60 with its main camera on the back, which can also do 8K30. The ultrawide and the telephoto max out at 4K30, and they don't do 60fps even at 1080p. The selfie camera tops out at 4K60. HDR recording is available on all rear cameras - up to 4K60 on the main camera, and 4K30 on the ultrawide and telephoto.

You can hit '> play' below and use the '>| next' button to advance through the playlist of all video samples, or you can watch the full playlist on YouTube.

Daylight video quality from the S26 FE is good overall. The main camera's sharpness and detail is very good at 1x and it's also quite solid at 2x. Dynamic range and contrast are pretty great too, white balance is accurate and saturation is well judged. The ultrawide is a bit more contrasty and not quite as sharp, but not half bad in its context, all things considered. The telephoto's clips are, conversely, slightly more washed out and somewhat lacking in their detail presentation.

Video screengrabs, daylight: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x

At night, both the main camera and the ultrawide tend to expose a touch on the bright side of average, which can mean slightly harsh highlights, but it does make for an overall pleasing viewing experience. The main camera's detail is quite good for the circumstances as is its color rendition, while the ultrawide's clips are softer, but still decently usable. The telephoto can be prone to focus hunting but even when it is in focus, the results are soft and noisy.

Video screengrabs, low light: 0.6x • 1x • 2x • 3x

Stabilization is excellent across the board. The clips from all three rear cameras are super steady when you're shooting from a stationary position and all three cameras pan without abrupt transitions. Walking shake on the main camera is also ironed out expertly.