Samsung Galaxy Note10 review

No ToF camera, but all three regular ones are here

The Galaxy Note10 has, for the most part, the same camera setup as the Note10+. It has a lot in common with what you'd find on a Galaxy S10 and S10+ too, so in terms of hardware things are pretty well proven.

The primary module has been around in one form or another since the S7, getting a somewhat major update in the S9 with the addition of a dual aperture f/1.5-2.4 lens. It has a 26mm equivalent focal length, just as before. The 1/2.55" sensor behind it has a 12MP resolution and 1.4µm pixel size.

There's an ultra wide angle camera covering a 123-degree field of view (that would be an equivalent focal length around 12mm, though the EXIF data says 13mm), which captures 16MP images.

And then there's the telephoto module offering 2x optical zoom (counting from the main cam). This one has an improved lens, compared to previous iterations and it now has a wider f/2.1 aperture. As we'll observe later, this has allowed Samsung to more confidently use it in low light, as opposed to defaulting to a digitally zoomed in view from the main cam..

What's missing is the ToF camera from the Note10+ - the vanilla Note10 can only rely on its regular and telephoto cams for depth detection, and should be missing the Plus' advanced depth mapping.

Over on the front, the display punch hole houses the same 10MP sensor with 1.22µm pixels that was introduced on the S10. However, in the push for making the opening smaller, Samsung was forced to make the lens dimmer - the aperture is now f/2.2 instead of f/1.9.

Camera software

The Note10 uses the One UI camera app that you'd find on the S10 series and the Note10+. Swiping left and right will switch between all available modes and there's also an option to re-arrange or remove some of the modes from the viewfinder.

Out of the box, you have all available modes enabled - starting from left to right, the app offers Food mode, Night mode, Panorama, Pro, Live focus, the standard Photo mode, Video, Live focus video, Super Slow-mo, Slow motion and Hyperlapse.

Camera UI

Most of them are pretty self-explanatory - you wouldn't shoot landscapes in Food mode and Night mode is best used after dark. There's a Pro mode too, and it's one of the pro-est around. You can select ISO (50-800), push shutter speed around (1/24000s-10s), manually select the aperture of the main cam (f/1.5 or f/2.4), focus manually (with peaking to aid you), and select the white balance (by light temperature). Metering mode and AF area options are available too, as well as a set of picture controls for contrast, saturation, and whatnot. Sadly, there's still no live histogram.

In live focus mode, Samsung is keeping the option to shoot portraits with the main camera and the telephoto lens - whichever you prefer. You can also expect better low-light performance from the telephoto unit since it has a wider aperture. A couple of background effects are in tow.

The settings icon is located in the upper left corner of the screen and gives you fine control over the cameras. The usual stuff like video resolution, grid lines, location data, etc., can be found there. You can also turn on and off the Scene optimizer and set the HDR to auto or manual.

The so-called shot suggestion feature will help you with your photo composition for better results while Tracking auto-focus will keep the selected subject locked on focus even if it moves.

Camera settings

Oh, and let's not forget about the available S-Pen actions. If you pull out the stylus, a small window with instructions will pop-up briefing you about the available actions and gestures. You can snap photos, switch between modes and even zoom in and out. Now, zooming is fiddly at best, and there is no way to switch straight to the wide, regular and telephoto cams, which we believe should be addressed with a software update. The others gestures, however, work great even if with a slight delay.

Available S-Pen camera actions