Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 review

The best cameras in this form factor

Samsung isn't really known for fitting industry-leading camera hardware on its conventional smartphones and the foldables typically come with even less impressive imaging chops. The Galaxy Z Fold8's newly introduced form factor adds further limitations in terms of size to an already space-constrained type of device, so we're not surprised to see just two cameras on its back - no telephoto, and mostly middle-of-the-road wide and ultrawide modules.

What we're looking at here is the main camera from the vanilla Galaxy S26 joined by the ultrawide from the S26 Ultra (or at least an identically specced one). It's not a bad setup, strictly speaking, but it's hardly an exciting one either.

As best as we can decode the info from hardware scanning apps, the main camera is based on the in-house GN3 sensor. The optical format is 1/1.56" (or 1/1.57" depending on where you're looking), so it's solid midrange stuff. It's got a 50MP nominal resolution and a 1.0µm pixel size.

The ultrawide uses a 50MP sensor with 0.7µm pixels - that much can be seen in the hardware info. Out of the long list of sensors that the phone reports, it's only the Sony IMX 858 that matches those numbers, so we're inclined to believe that's the one being used. That's different from the imager used on the Galaxy S26 Ultra (and S25 Ultra before it), which was a Samsung JN3, but the key specs should be the same. Or, of course, it's actually the JN3 here as well, and the reporting is flawed - wouldn't be the first time.

The selfie cameras use 10MP sensors with 1.12µm pixel size, but the exact model isn't listed (or we can't put our finger on it). Either way, the two cameras have different focal lengths - 23mm on the cover and a much wider 17mm on the internal one.

• Wide (main): 50MP Samsung ISOCELL GN3 (S5KGN3, 1/1.56", 1.0µm-2.0µm); 23mm, f/1.8, OIS, dual-pixel PDAF (9.5cm - ∞); 8K30/4K120 video recording.
• Ultrawide: 50MP Sony IMX 858 (1/2.51", 0.7µm-1.4µm); 13mm, f/1.9, multi-directional PDAF; 8K30/4K120.
• Cover camera: 10MP (1/3.52", 1.12µm); 24mm, f/2.2, fixed focus; 4K60.
• Internal camera: 10MP (1/3.52", 1.12µm); 18mm, f/2.2, fixed focus; 4K60.

When it comes to using this new style of foldable as a camera, the more squarish cover display means that the shutter release button is actually on top of the viewfinder image, as opposed to being outside of the live preview - you may not be able to tap to focus/adjust exposure on one side of the frame because there are UI elements there. Maybe you won't notice it at all, or maybe it will be a bit of a nuisance every now and then.

Daylight photo quality

Main camera

The Z Fold8's daytime photos are good overall. They have excellent contrast and dynamic range, reliable white balance and pleasing vibrant colors. What's not entirely peachy is detail which, while ultimately alright, lacks absolute sharpness.

Daylight samples, main camera (1x)

The above observations pretty much hold true when talking about human subjects - great global properties, so-so detail. The Portrait mode action is quite good though - in terms of both subject detection and blur level/quality.

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

The 50MP shots show some potential for extracting extra detail over the binned ones, under the right conditions - in outdoor scenes, they are quite sharp if a little gritty.

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

The 2x zoom photos exhibit relatively strong sharpening which makes foliage in particular look somewhat unnatural. Still, the results are generally alright.

Daylight samples, main camera (2x)

2x headshots are also not setting any sharpness standards, but they're not too bad either. The blur can look a bit much in the Portrait mode shots, though.

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

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide camera does quite well in daylight. It's got very good detail in outdoor scenes and that's also the case even in dimmer indoor settings. Colors are looking lively and white balance is typically on point. Dynamic range is generally great as well, though the highlights in that third scene do leave us wanting. The autofocusing capability is most welcome too.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Here's a handful of shots taken in the nominal 50MP resolution - we've seen worse.

Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x), 50MP

Close-ups

The Z Fold8's close-up shooting capabilities rely mostly on the ultrawide camera's autofocus and its reasonably good quality when zooming in digitally, and to a lesser extent on the main camera's relatively short 9.5cm focusing distance.

The ultrawide at its native focal length will get you uncomfortably close to the subject, disturbing it and casting a shadow, but it can be the right way to go if you're looking for a bit of distortion and a wonky perspective.

Closeup samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

The ultrawide is what will take photos if you're at 1x, get too close to a subject, and have Focus Enhancer enabled (the glorified name for the automatic switching to the camera that can focus at the subject distance you're at). Quality is pretty decent, we reckon.

Closeup samples, ultrawide camera (1x, macro)

2x from the main camera is the next option, and that will mean a more sensible shooting distance, with more or less acceptable pixel-level quality.

Closeup samples, main camera (2x)

Selfies

There are many different ways to take selfies on the Z Fold8. The cover camera is perhaps the most straightforward option - no unfolding, no handling gymnastics. We're getting great results with sharp detail and likeable skin tones.

Selfie samples, cover camera

The internal camera comes with a notably wider field of view. Quality is very good on it too, considering the resolution and coverage.

Selfie samples, internal camera

Then there's the rear cameras. Pressing the shutter button while holding the handset securely requires a bit of a stretch, but you get used to it, plus you can always use the palm shutter. The 1x main camera will take possibly the best selfies, with very good detail, a bit of background blur, and the ability to shoot close-up selfies in sharp focus.

Selfie samples, main rear camera (1x)

Then there's the ultrawide. Thanks to its extreme focal length, you can shoot photos with a lot of context, or do unusual angles. You just might end up with too much of your arm in the frame - maybe it takes some experience to figure out the best way to hold the phone to minimize that.

Selfie samples, ultrawide rear camera (0.6x)

Low-light photo quality

Main camera

The full auto photos from the Galaxy Z Fold8's main camera in low light are alright, exhibiting some of the peculiarities we've gotten used to seeing from recent Samsungs. The default low-light processing is pretty lax and there's often plenty of noise in the shadows coupled with a general softness. Dynamic range is decent and colors are actually quite good.

Low-light samples, main camera (1x)

We installed the in-house Camera Assistant add-on app, which lets us bring in the dedicated Night mode, otherwise missing from the standard-issue camera app. The photos taken in Night mode are sharper and cleaner more often than not, which is a welcome sight, though we're not exactly fans of the way the night sky turns purple.

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

The 2x photos are softer and noisier still, though in the digital zoom 2x context they stand up to comparison quite well.

Low-light samples, main camera (2x)

The dedicated Night mode can clean up the noise and improve sharpness a bit, at least in some scenes.

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

Ultrawide camera

The ultrawide does pretty respectfully in the dark - its images are actually very sharp for an ultrawide, particularly one of relatively unassuming sensor size. The good dynamic range and vibrant colors contribute to the overall positive impression too.

Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)

Night mode can liven up the shadows somewhat and the extra sharpening can help with detail definition in some scenes, plus there's none of that sky brightening that we observed on the main camera. Overall, not too bad.

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

Video quality

The Z Fold8 comes with pretty much all the bells and whistles Samsung has to offer in terms of video recording capabilities - within the limitations of its actual camera hardware, of course. In the regular Video mode, the phone can record up to 4K60 with all four of its cameras (including the two 'selfie' cameras), and you also get 8K30 on the two rear cameras.

The Pro video mode adds a whole bunch of other frame rates, including 24, 25, 48, 50, 100, and 120fps modes for 4K (the 100 and 120fps are only for the rear cameras), and 24fps for 8K.

The out-of-the-box setting for the video codec is h.265 (HEVC), but you can opt for the older and less efficient h.264 codec. The Folds also get the Samsung-developed pro-grade APV codec (Advanced Professional Video) - the S26 Ultra had that, but not the plain S26s. It enables high-quality perceptually lossless encoding resulting in substantial file sizes (1.5GB for a minute of 1080p30), which is why Samsung recommends recording to external media in this case.

There's an option for 10-bit HDR10+ recording, as well as a Log option that can be enabled for both Pro video and regular Video mode, complete with a selection of pre-loaded LUTs (Standard, Blockbuster, Coming-of-age, Romance and Thriller). In Pro mode you also get finer control over focus and exposure (complete with zebras and false color aids), plus mic directionality settings and audio level indicators.

Video stabilization is available in all modes on all cameras, and you can disable it in settings if you have other means of ensuring stability. The Horizon lock stabilization mode is also available on the Z Fold8, but Samsung is no longer making a big deal out of it like they did at the S26 series announcement.

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 4K videos from the main camera are good to very good with excellent contrast and dynamic range, and nicely vivid colors. On a pixel level, things are somewhat less sharp than we'd like, but random detail does have a natural look to it. 2x clips are on the soft side, but still quite usable. The ultrawide's footage is about the same as the 1x results - great on a global scale, less impressive at 1:1.

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

The main camera's low-light footage is also not the sharpest around, and there can be a fair bit of noise in the shadows, though dynamic range and colors are hard to fault. The ultrawide actually does quite well as ultrawides go in terms of detail, and it matches the main camera's solid global properties.

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

Stabilization is pretty great on the Z Fold8. Walking shake is ironed out well on the main camera, and both the main camera and the ultrawide are nicely stable when shooting from a fixed position. There can be a hint of a tremor when panning though, which is as close to a complaint as we can muster, but it's probably avoidable with better technique.