Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra camera explained: Samsung's best foldable camera yet

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is worth considering if photography is a big part of how you use your phone. It combines high-resolution cameras and 8K recording with a folding design that gives you more ways to take photos and videos.

The cover screen lets friends and family check their pose while you frame the shot on the main display. It also acts as a viewfinder when you use the rear cameras for higher-quality selfies.

You can partially fold the phone and set it down for hands-free shooting, too. That lets you join a group photo or record yourself without holding the phone or setting up a separate tripod.

The camera system at a glance:

The cover screen addresses an annoying issue: The person in front of the lens usually cannot see what the camera sees.

Cover Screen Preview shows a live feed on the outer display, allowing your subject to adjust their pose and expression before you hit the shutter. It is the difference between getting a group photo right the first time, rather than taking six and hoping one turns out okay. Just remember to tell everyone to look at the rear cameras.

In practice, this works particularly well with kids, who tend to stay engaged much longer when they can actually see themselves on the screen.

The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra offers three ways to take selfies.

The 10 MP cover-screen camera is the quickest option. You can take the phone out of your pocket and take a selfie without unfolding it.

Open the device, and the 10 MP main screen camera takes over. This lens features a 100-degree field of view, which can fit more people in the frame and is the natural choice for group selfies and video calls.

For the best quality, open the phone, switch on Cover Screen Preview, and point the rear cameras at yourself. The live preview appears on the cover screen, while the shot itself is captured by the 200 MP wide camera.

You can also switch to the ultrawide for a wider shot or use the telephoto camera.

Both dedicated front cameras run through an AI image signal processor designed to handle skin tones and hair textures. For video, both front-facing lenses record at up to 4K at 60 fps.

Fold the phone partway and set it down on a flat surface. It stays open at different angles on its own, giving you a stable hands-free setup without needing a tripod or something to prop the phone against.

The most obvious way to use it is for recording yourself. Just set the phone down, step back, and you can easily film a dance clip, a workout, or a cooking demo with both hands completely free.

For low-angle photos, you can rest the partially folded phone on a table or near the ground rather than holding it in position.

Voice commands are a smart way to take a photo without touching the phone. Enable them under Camera settings → Shooting methods, then say “Smile”, “Cheese”, “Capture” or “Shoot” for a photo, or “Record video” to start filming.

Showing an open hand to the camera triggers a countdown timer. There is also a Floating Shutter button that you can drag anywhere on the screen. The floating button is incredibly handy when the phone is at an awkward angle and the usual shutter button isn't within reach.

 You can even set up a group photo, start the timer and join everyone in the picture.

The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra retains the Fold7’s 200 MP main-camera resolution. Shooting at full resolution gives you plenty of room to crop into a group photo later, or pull a tighter composition out of a wider shot without losing too much sharpness.

On the Fold8 Ultra, High Dynamic Range (HDR) also works in 200 MP mode. It helps preserve detail in bright skies and dark, shaded parts of a photo.

The ultrawide is the main hardware upgrade, increasing from 12 MP at F2.2 on the Fold7 to 50 MP at F1.9. Its 120-degree field of view is useful for photographing a group, the inside of a room or a building you’re standing close to. The wider aperture also lets in more light.

The 10 MP telephoto retains the Fold7’s 3x optical zoom. Its optical image stabilisation is useful when zooming in, as small movements of the phone become easier to notice at higher magnification.

Using the zoom button in Photo mode, you have multiple zoom options: .6x (ultra-wide), 1x, 2x, 3x, 10x, 20x, and 30x.

The 2x setting is an “optical quality” zoom. It crops directly from the middle of the 200 MP sensor rather than switching to a separate lens. The 2x setting is useful for everyday shots, whether you're taking a portrait, getting a closer view of something in front of you without physically moving, or shooting food.

The 3x setting is true optical zoom from the dedicated telephoto camera, giving you more reach for a performer on stage or a building across a large square..

Past 3x, the phone relies on digital zoom. At the far end of the range, 30x is useful for things like reading a distant sign.

Yes. The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra records 8K at 30 fps with both its main and ultrawide cameras. The upgraded ultrawide adds 8K recording compared to the Fold7. You can film separate clips with the two cameras and edit them together at the same resolution.

The video size options include 8K, UHD (4K), FHD, and HD. Both UHD and FHD offer a choice between 60 or 30 fps, with 4K at 60 fps useful for when you want smoother motion rather than sheer resolution.

For those planning to edit their footage later, the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra supports APV (Advanced Professional Video). You can turn this on in the Camera settings and then control it straight from the Video viewfinder.

APV footage retains its clarity through multiple rounds of editing. At FHD 30 fps, it uses about 1.5 GB per minute at the higher-quality profile and around 0.75 GB per minute at the lower setting.

For handheld shooting, Super Steady^[1] helps you smooth out camera shake. Tap the running figure icon in the viewfinder and you get three settings: off, Super Steady on its own, or Super Steady with Horizontal Lock^[2].

Horizontal Lock keeps the frame level while you move. It is especially useful when you're walking and recording at the same time. This runs on both the wide and ultra-wide lenses at up to QHD at 60 fps, cropping the frame just slightly to maintain that steady horizon.

My FanCam^[3] lets you create a new clip that follows one person in a video you have already recorded. Open the video in the Gallery app, choose the person you want to follow, and it actively tracks and reframes the footage around them.

You can even pick the output aspect ratio (1:1, 3:4, 9:16, 2:3, or 3:5), meaning a wide scene you shot can come out completely vertical for social media without cropping it by hand.

The strong low-light performance starts with the physical hardware. The F1.7 aperture on the 200 MP wide lens and the F1.9 on the 50 MP ultra-wide are both wide apertures that let in plenty of light.

That wider aperture on the ultra-wide (compared to the Z Fold7) matters in challenging environments — a lit street at night, a dim restaurant, or an indoor event with low lighting.

For night photos that need a longer exposure, you can rest the partially folded phone on a steady surface. Keeping the phone still can help produce a clearer image.

The ProVisual Engine handles the processing behind this, reducing noise as you shoot using patterns specific to each sensor. Nightography^[4] is Samsung's name for the low-light capabilities, and on video it works the same way, helping footage from a concert or other dimly lit event retain more colour and detail without you having to switch modes or change any settings.

Auto FPS can help as well. It automatically adjusts the frame rate to record brighter footage when the light drops. You can leave it off, enable it only for 30 fps recording, or have it work at both 30 fps and 60 fps.

Camera Assistant is a useful tool that changes how the camera behaves, rather than just altering how the photos look. To find it, open the Camera app, tap the Quick controls icon, hit the Settings gear, scroll to the bottom, and select Camera Assistant. If it isn't installed yet, the menu will prompt you to download it.

From there, you can toggle several helpful features. Quick tap shutter forces the camera to fire the moment your finger touches the button, rather than waiting for you to lift your finger, which is useful for capturing moving subjects. Auto lens switching lets the phone pick the best lens for you based on light, distance, and zoom level.

The 24 MP resolution option adds a 24 MP setting directly to Photo mode, sitting nicely between the standard setting and full resolution and allowing higher detail than the default resolution without the big file sizes of 200 MP mode.

Prioritise focus over speed will force the camera to wait until focus is locked before shooting, which is useful when focus accuracy matters more than capture speed. Photo softening dials back the artificial sharpening for much more natural-looking skin textures in portraits.

There is also a 2x crop zoom shortcut that puts a dedicated 2x button straight into the zoom selector.

If you have compatible Galaxy Buds, the 360 Audio Recording feature captures three-dimensional sound. This helps a video from a loud concert or busy market capture the spatial sound of the place along with the picture. The earbuds record audio in tandem with the phone's built-in microphones.

To use it, connect your Galaxy Buds, open the Camera app, tap the Quick controls icon, select the Settings gear, tap Audio options under the Videos section, and turn on 360 audio recording. Note that turning this on automatically switches off the standard Zoom-in mic feature.

Yes. The Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra is a strong choice for high-resolution photos and video recording. Compared with the Fold7, its 50 MP ultrawide offers higher-resolution photos and supports 8K video. The 200 MP main camera supports HDR at full resolution. APV recording is also available on all rear and selfie cameras for footage you plan to edit.

The folding design gives you more ways to use those cameras. You can show friends and family the shot on the cover screen, take high-quality selfies with the rear cameras, or set the phone down for hands-free photos and videos.

^{[1] Super Steady results may vary depending on editing method and/or shooting conditions}

^{[2] Available on wide & ultra wide lenses; supports up to QHD at up to 60fps. Image will be cropped to maintain a level horizon.}

^{[3] My FanCam feature requires a Samsung Account login. Availability may vary by video. Not supported if there is no subject to track. Accuracy of results is not guaranteed.}

^{[4] Nightography Video: Results may vary depending on light condition, subject and/or shooting conditions.}