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The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is a few things: a productivity machine, an entertainment hub and an expressive communication tool. It also features a snappy dual camera, a first for Samsung.
We’ve been playing around with the Note 8 and here are some of our favourite features of the camera:
1 Samsung finally put a dual camera on the Note 8, the first for the company. The two 12-megapixel cameras on the rear have different focal lengths, allowing for either zoomed-in photos, or wide-angle shots. A perfect example of this is using the new Live Focus mode for portrait shots. You would need to have Dual Capture turned on if you want both images – zoomed and wide – to save to your gallery, which allows for near professional portraits to be taken. The photo effect achieved is a blurred-out background.
2 Speaking about the background blur, the dual cameras allow you to change the level or blurriness before you snap a photo. Having the option in real time is quite a nifty feature, giving you complete freedom to choose the intensity level, although cranking it all the way up could be somewhat unrealistic. Alternatively, you can adjust the blur afterwards, straight from the gallery and save the image as a new file.
3 It has optical image stabilisation (OIS) on both cameras, front and back, making it the first camera on a mobile device with this feature. OIS reduces the shakiness when snapping photos and videos, to ensure blur-free shots, as well as take sharper images in low light conditions, like at night. It is useful if you love posting videos to Instagram Stories, Snapchat or live streaming, for steady and smooth transitions. Video capabilities on the Note 8 include 4K recording on the rear camera; and 2K on the selfie-cam.
4 Creating custom GIFs natively on the Note 8 is one of our favourite features, because it lets you share it across social platforms, the web, or email. You can get creative with your scribbles, but a useful feature is to snap a photo or take an existing one and create a custom message or birthday greeting for a friend or loved one, to give it a bit of a personal touch.
5 Various modes on the camera, such as professional, food, panoramic, hyperlapse or virtual shot, could be useful whichever situation you may find yourself in.
Professional mode lets you tinker with manual settings; food mode spruces up any dish; and panoramic and hyperlapse are useful for your travels. Virtual shots are useful for 360-degree views of an object or landmark in front of you.
The Note 8 is a strong contender in the smartphone game, but, if you want one, you’ll have to be prepared to foot the corresponding bill.
