Cheap Samsung phone crushes its biggest rival in camera test

He Samsung Galaxy A55 And Galaxy A35 They’re close enough in style, software, and price to make you wonder which model is better to buy. But this time it’s time for DT English journalist Andy Boxall to test the camera.

Ultimately, we decided that the cheaper Galaxy A35 is a great buy, as it has some interesting and unexpected advantages over the more expensive Galaxy A55, despite slightly lower performance. But what happens when the camera is most important to you? We decided to find out.

Galaxy camera specs comparison

The Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 share the same 50-megapixel main camera, so at first glance they should both take photos of the same quality under normal circumstances. They also share the same optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), and f/1.8 aperture. Additionally, both phones have a 5MP macro camera next to the main camera, but there are differences when it comes to the wide-angle camera.

The Galaxy A55 has a 12MP wide-angle camera, while the Galaxy A35 has an 8MP wide-angle camera. We’re not fans of 8MP wide-angle cameras, as they tend to hide details due to pixel clutter and anti-aliasing. While the 12MP camera looks better on paper, will it be enough to make the Galaxy A55’s camera system worth the extra money?

Another hardware difference in the camera is the selfie camera. The Galaxy A55’s 32MP camera also sounds much better on paper than the A35’s 13MP selfie camera, but how it handles those extra pixels will determine whether it’s actually better when you use it. The processor is another important component that can affect camera performance, as the Galaxy A35 uses an Exynos 1380 chip (previously featured in Samsung Galaxy A54), and the Galaxy A55 uses the new Exynos 1480 chip.

All photos were taken on different days, the cameras were set to automatic mode. Images have been resized for ease of online viewing, but were previously compared on a color calibrated monitor. Let’s take a look at which affordable Samsung Galaxy phone is worth buying for camera fans.

main camera

The cameras may look very similar to each other, but there are differences between the photos, and it’s important to see them because it may influence your decision about which phone to buy. The first photo is a simple image of coffee and cake. The Galaxy A55 shot has sharper focus and a more natural white balance, but there is more noise than the Galaxy A35 shot. The color dynamics are similar, but this is not always the case, as we will see below. However, none of them are bad photos, and most people will probably be happy with any of them.

Our photo below is a prime example of a key difference between the two cameras, as the Galaxy A55 doesn’t always display the most natural colors compared to the Galaxy A35, which may surprise many. The differences are sometimes more subtle than the example I used here, but I often preferred the overall tone of the A35 in the photos I took. However, the A55’s photos are undoubtedly more detailed and often sharper, with sharper focus, as we saw in the first image.

All these aspects are then combined into one image. The sky in the Galaxy A55’s photo doesn’t have as much power as the A35’s, and the contrast affects the greenness of the trees and grass. But there is much more detail in the A55 photo. If you zoom in, the car tire mark will be sharper than the same area in photo A35, as will the gravel on the ground.

The last photo was taken indoors in medium light and at first glance they look very similar. Crop the photos and the Galaxy A55 has more detail and sharper focus, as we’ve seen throughout the comparison, and the color differences between the two aren’t as obvious. This makes it a little difficult to determine a winner, but since color, contrast and brightness can be changed in editing, but the lack of detail cannot, the Galaxy A55 should win. Galaxy A35 instantly takes the most popular photos; They simply won’t stand up to serious scrutiny.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A55

wide angle camera

Comparing wide-angle photos taken with the Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A55 comes down to which bad shot you prefer. Neither one takes wide-angle photos you’ll be proud to share, and you also won’t find much consistency between the main and wide-angle cameras in terms of color, exposure, and performance.

The first photo was taken in difficult lighting with the sun low in the sky, almost directly in front of the bridge. The Galaxy A35’s photography is noisy, pixelated, and blurry. The Galaxy A55 photo suffers from the same set of problems, only to a lesser extent. Both photos are bad, but the Galaxy A35 is worse.

The image below shows the view and the Galaxy A35 doesn’t blur the scene well, making it look like it was taken in the middle of winter. The Galaxy A55 at least delivers true-to-life colors and makes the scene much more attractive. However, it still lacks detail and is terribly noisy in places, but not as bad as the A35 pictured. Reluctantly, the Galaxy A55 takes the “victory”, but it’s a dubious award as neither of the wide-angle cameras are very good.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A55

2x zoom

None of the Galaxy A series phones have an optical zoom mode, but every camera app asks you to use the 2x shortcut. This hasn’t always been a good idea in the past, as digital zoom features often result in loss of quality, but what about these two phones? If you don’t look too closely, the photos aren’t all that terrible, but even a little closer inspection shows all the usual problems with digital zoom images.

The first photo shows minor differences in color and exposure, but when viewing the full image they are not particularly off-putting. However, if you crop it, the house in the background and the horizon become pixelated and obviously digitally enhanced, so you won’t fool anyone into thinking it’s a real 2x optical zoom image.

But in some cases, the Galaxy A55 shows some improvements over the A35. The water in the foreground in the second photo shows less noise than in the Galaxy A35 photo, and the bridge is slightly sharper, but the difference in distance is minimal, while the noise level in the sky remains the same. As with the main camera, the A35’s colors are a bit more realistic, but like the wide-angle camera, these can be changed with a little more detailed photo editing on the Galaxy A55. It’s hard to recommend using 2x mode often on any phone, but the Galaxy A55 has some small advantages that can’t be changed by editing, giving it another somewhat dubious “win”.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A55

night mode

So far, neither phone has scored a clear and absolutely decisive victory that I would call a legitimate victory, but that’s about to change. The Galaxy A55 takes much better photos in low light, probably mainly because it uses a newer processor. The first photo was taken in dim light, but the sharpness and improved detail of the Galaxy A55’s image is immediately apparent, from the wooden door to the green metal trailer.

The second photo further highlights the night capabilities of the Galaxy A55. Look at the noise and smudges in the Galaxy A35’s photo, from the grass to the building’s tiled roof, then compare to the A55’s image, where detail is crisp throughout. The sky is more accurately colored, and thanks to better exposure and contrast, tree leaves can also be seen in the background.

Finally, the last photo shows the huge difference in color accuracy, as well as the ability to make better use of the available light. The two 50MP cameras have the same f/1.8 aperture, but the phones use different processors, and with such a big difference in low-light performance, there could be other small internal hardware changes as well. In any situation, the Galaxy A55 takes much better photos than the Galaxy A35 in low light.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A55

selfie camera

The Galaxy A55’s selfie camera has more megapixels than the Galaxy A35’s front camera, but don’t immediately think that this means it takes much better selfies. There are certain differences between the two, such as skin tone, background blur in portrait mode, and color depth. Neither is good for anything other than great lighting, and indoor selfies can be noisy and blurry. I took selfies that I liked on both phones, and a lot on both phones that I didn’t like. absolutely. Under the right conditions, the Galaxy A55 can take better selfies, but otherwise neither is impressive.

Winner: Draw

Galaxy A55 beats A35’s camera

The Samsung Galaxy A55 crushes the Galaxy A35 in our camera comparison. It won in all categories except selfie, but the Galaxy A35 was only able to match it there. This must make the camera much better, right? It is, but in many cases the Galaxy A35 takes perfectly acceptable photos with the main camera, and I think many will be pleased with what it can do, especially considering that this is not an expensive high-end model from which we expect ultra-high quality and detail. See the two photos below to see what I mean. The A55’s photography is technically “better,” but will you be thoughtful enough to pay more for it if you just want to take a few photos?

Interestingly, the processor upgrade for the Galaxy A55 has significantly improved the low-light camera performance. Additionally, when using two phones at the same time, the Galaxy A55’s camera app is much faster, and both it and the phone itself are ready to use in a shorter period of time. This means that if you really want wear camera, especially in different conditions, you will be more satisfied with the Galaxy A55.

However, before you rush out to buy the Galaxy A55, I will add one more thing. For this test, I carried both phones for a week or so after completing my reviews, and the Galaxy A35 is still much more comfortable to hold than the Galaxy A55. This is somewhat disappointing as the phone is clearly superior in a number of other areas, including overall camera performance. It may not have won the camera test, but if you’re only passingly interested in photography, the A35 could still be a phone worth buying.

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