Fact check: Can Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra replace movie cameras?

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra was revealed at the Galaxy Unpacked event. The Korean smartphone manufacturer has added a ton of new features to its flagship device's cameras. While the S22 Ultra's cameras were already next-level, with improvements added to the device with this year's iteration, Samsung is confident that the product is now capable of shooting movies.

At the launch event, the brand showcased two short films and behind-the-scenes footage to offer insight into the production challenges and experience related to the S23 Ultra. And while the phone does deliver movie-quality visuals, it won't replace movie cameras. More information regarding the newly revealed smartphone is offered below.

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Details regarding films shot using Samsung S23 Ultra

The smartphone manufacturer showcased two short films at the event, a Ridley Scott direction called Behold and a horror masterpiece by the Korean director Na Hong-Jin titled Faith.

In the films, the S23 Ultra is used with other pro-grade filming equipment like external lenses, camera cages, and sliders. However, Samsung claims that with almost double the in-body stabilization performance, enthusiasts can shoot rock-stable videos without fancy hardware. Additionally, the smartphone can now be used to capture 4K 60 FPS footage with HDR enabled via both the front and rear cameras.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra smartphone also comes with an S Pen (Image via Samsung)

Both the short films gave the new flagship device difficult scenarios to work with. The list includes moving objects, landscapes, and dark environments. The S23 Ultra offers advanced Nightography technology that helped the smartphone in the horror film by Na Hong-Jin.

At the event, Samsung announced that Behold and Faith would be launched to the public soon. A few shots from both short films were showcased. A quick look at them revealed that the company had put a ton of work to get some amazing shots on the S23 without much human input. Thus, it is an efficient machine for videography that can fit in a pocket.

Samsung's S23 Ultra will come with new features like astrophotography, low-light identification, and sensor detection to improve image quality without having to in a ton of hardware. It is well-known that smartphones rely more on software than the camera modules they contain that determine the quality of the final image.

The improvements on both these fronts push the boundaries of what the device can achieve. That said, the image quality offered by the product is not close to what modern Hollywood movie shots look like. This makes sense provided that, at its core, the device packs a much smaller sensor that limits the depth of field it can create and the light it can capture.

Samsung's S23 lineup, however, has done an amazing job, given the devices' price points. The phones will bring high-quality movie-like production to the masses. The short films showcased by Samsung are a testimony to what can be achieved with the items in the lineup.

Although the smartphones' cameras are not close to those used by Hollywood, they can prove to be viable options for videography enthusiasts for some high-level production projects.