Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Low-Light Camera Test: How Good Is It Really?

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a significant improvement over its predecessor for low-light photography, but “excellent in the dark” would be too broad a description. Its 200MP main camera now uses a much wider f/1.4 aperture, while the 50MP 5x telephoto also gains a wider f/2.9 aperture. Combined with updated image processing, those changes give the S26 Ultra more light to work with and help produce brighter images with better detail and less noise in difficult conditions. Independent testing confirms a meaningful generational improvement, although the phone still shows noise, exposure inconsistencies and autofocus limitations in very dim scenes.

In practical use, the main camera is where the S26 Ultra makes its strongest low-light case. It can produce remarkably bright night photographs and retain useful detail without making every scene look artificially clean. But the experience becomes less consistent as light falls, particularly with moving subjects, the ultrawide camera and some telephoto shots. DXOMARK measured a 0.5- to 1.5-second capture delay in certain low-light conditions, while its testing also found autofocus failures with the ultrawide camera.

What changed for low-light photography?

The biggest hardware change is easy to overlook because Samsung still emphasizes the familiar 200MP headline.

The more consequential specification is the f/1.4 aperture on the main camera. DXOMARK identifies the primary camera as a 200MP sensor measuring 1/1.3 inch, paired with a 23mm-equivalent f/1.4 lens and optical image stabilization.

A wider aperture allows more light to reach the sensor. That gives Samsung’s processing system more information to work with, particularly when the scene is dark.

The 50MP 5x telephoto also moves to an f/2.9 aperture, while the 10MP 3x telephoto remains an important part of the system.

This is why simply comparing the S26 Ultra with an older Galaxy by counting megapixels misses the important change. For nighttime photography, how much usable light reaches the sensor can matter more than the headline resolution.

The main camera is the star after dark

The 1x main camera is where the S26 Ultra’s low-light improvements are easiest to appreciate.

DXOMARK reports improvements in texture, noise and color compared with the S25 Ultra. Its testing found that the S26 Ultra retains more useful detail while reducing the pronounced noise seen on the previous generation. In extremely low light—below 10 lux—the camera deliberately allows somewhat more noise in some circumstances rather than aggressively smoothing away fine detail.

That is an important distinction.

Heavy noise reduction can make a photograph look clean at first glance while removing the texture that makes objects recognizable. Samsung’s newer processing appears to accept some visible noise in extreme darkness in exchange for retaining more natural detail.

Amateur Photographer similarly found the S26 Ultra’s low-light results generally very good, including a night scene in which the camera recorded substantially more visible detail and brightness than the photographer perceived with the naked eye.

The result is impressive, but it also illustrates one of the central characteristics of modern smartphone night photography: the camera is often producing an interpretation of the scene rather than reproducing exactly what your eyes saw.

Night mode can make darkness look surprisingly bright

This is both a strength and a consideration.

Samsung’s computational photography can combine information from multiple frames and apply substantial processing to produce a brighter final image. That is useful when you want to see architectural details, people or landscapes that would otherwise disappear into shadow.

But brightness should not automatically be confused with accuracy.

A very dark street may emerge looking almost like it was photographed during blue hour. A building’s shadow may contain substantially more visible detail than you could see while standing there.

That can be desirable for a photograph. It simply means the S26 Ultra’s low-light performance should be judged on more than whether the final picture is bright.

Look instead at:

• Fine detail
• Noise in shadows
• Highlight control
• Color accuracy
• Texture preservation
• Motion blur
• Consistency between consecutive photographs

On those measures, the S26 Ultra is more interesting than its Nightography branding suggests.

How much better is it than the Galaxy S25 Ultra?

The improvement is real rather than merely a specification-sheet change.

DXOMARK describes the S26 Ultra as a noticeable step forward from its predecessor in low light, particularly because the wider aperture and revised processing improve the balance between texture, noise and color.

Tom’s Guide also conducted direct comparisons with the S25 Ultra and reported that the newer phone produced a clearer, less noisy photograph of a distant clock tower. In an extremely dark indoor scene, it also produced a brighter image with more visible detail.

That does not mean every S26 Ultra photograph will outperform every S25 Ultra photograph. Smartphone cameras can change their processing decisions depending on subject, lighting, movement and exposure.

The more defensible conclusion is that Samsung has addressed one of the S25 Ultra’s more visible weaknesses by giving the S26 Ultra more optical light and improving its processing pipeline.

What happens with people at night?

This is where expectations should be moderated.

A stationary building is relatively easy for a smartphone camera to photograph in the dark. A person walking under street lighting is considerably harder.

The camera has to balance exposure with motion. If the shutter remains open longer, the subject can move and become blurred. If it uses a faster shutter, it needs more light or higher gain.

DXOMARK found that the S26 Ultra’s autofocus remains generally precise in low light, but measured a 0.5- to 1.5-second capture delay in certain dim laboratory conditions. That can cause missed moments when photographing people or other moving subjects.

This is particularly important for nightlife, concerts, children, pets and street photography. A photograph can look bright and detailed when the subject is stationary but become considerably less reliable when movement enters the equation.

For practical advice on dealing with movement, the principles covered in a Samsung Galaxy Ultra moving-subject photography guide apply here too: prioritize sufficient light, appropriate shutter speed and reliable focus rather than assuming Night mode will eliminate motion blur.

The telephoto cameras tell a different story

Zoom is one of the areas where low-light expectations need more nuance.

The S26 Ultra’s 3x and 5x cameras give photographers genuine optical focal-length options, but smaller telephoto sensors and narrower apertures generally make the job harder when illumination falls.

DXOMARK found that telephoto image quality improved in noise control and color reproduction, while also noting that fine-detail capture has slightly decreased compared with the predecessor in some measurements. The overall telephoto experience became more reliable, but it does not transform the long-range cameras into unrestricted night cameras.

Amateur Photographer reached a similar practical conclusion: the zoom cameras produced usable low-light images, although they did not match the main camera’s stronger performance.

This makes the choice of focal length important after dark.

If the subject is nearby, 1x is generally the safer starting point. If you need 5x because the subject is far away, the dedicated telephoto camera can still produce useful results, but you should expect the low-light trade-offs to become more apparent.

What about the ultrawide camera?

The 50MP ultrawide camera has an f/1.9 aperture and autofocus, and it benefits from some of the same processing improvements as the other cameras.

However, this is one area where the S26 Ultra’s low-light performance is less convincing.

DXOMARK found that the ultrawide produced clean and stable results outdoors, but reported autofocus failures in low light that reduced sharpness and hurt its overall wide-angle performance.

That matters because ultrawide cameras are often used precisely when photographers want to capture a large nighttime scene—city streets, architecture, interiors or landscapes.

If the scene is genuinely dark, check the photograph rather than assuming that switching to 0.6x will produce the same quality as the main camera.

Night portraits are good, but not perfect

Portrait photography introduces another problem: the camera has to separate the person from the background while simultaneously exposing both appropriately.

The S26 Ultra generally produces convincing background blur and good subject separation. DXOMARK found its portrait segmentation capable of handling most outlines, although fine details such as hair can occasionally cause problems.

Low-light portraits also expose the limits of noise reduction.

DXOMARK specifically notes background noise in indoor and low-light portraits and says that some fine facial detail can be lost in real-world scenes.

So if your priority is photographing people at night, look beyond the attractive background blur. Inspect skin texture, hair and darker areas around the subject.

Low-light video is a different test

The S26 Ultra also improves nighttime video.

Tom’s Guide reported brighter, less noisy low-light footage in its comparison testing, including a restaurant and clock-tower scene where it found the S26 Ultra’s footage brighter and sharper than the iPhone 17 Pro Max in that particular test.

DXOMARK’s more extensive testing paints a more qualified picture. It found improvements in video exposure, color, noise and stabilization compared with the S25 Ultra, but reported that low-light autofocus can be slow when the focus plane changes abruptly. Subject tracking can also become less smooth, while aggressive denoising can remove fine detail and introduce texture artifacts.

That distinction matters because a nighttime video can look clean while still losing subtle detail.

For casual clips, the S26 Ultra’s low-light video performance is strong. For demanding filmmaking, especially involving moving subjects in very dark environments, the limitations become more visible.

The real low-light test: what happens at 1x, 3x and 5x?

A useful way to test the phone yourself is not to photograph one nighttime scene and declare it successful.

Instead, photograph the same subject at several focal lengths.

The most revealing comparison is therefore not simply “Can it take a night photo?” It is how consistently it maintains detail as light decreases and focal length increases.

What independent testing says overall

DXOMARK’s results are useful because its protocol includes controlled laboratory measurements and thousands of photographs across different lighting levels, along with real-world scenes. Its low-light testing covers illumination levels below 100 lux and includes measurements down to 0.1 lux.

Its conclusion is nuanced: the S26 Ultra makes meaningful progress in low light, with better detail, lower noise and more stable color than the previous generation, but it still does not eliminate the compromises found in very challenging conditions. Noise can remain visible, exposure can vary between shots, and autofocus can struggle in particular situations.

That is broadly consistent with other hands-on testing. Tom’s Guide found noticeably better low-light images than the S25 Ultra, while Amateur Photographer described the overall night results as very good but found the zoom cameras less impressive than the main camera.

What the S26 Ultra does especially well at night

The phone’s strongest low-light characteristics are relatively clear:

The main camera benefits substantially from its wider aperture. The f/1.4 lens gives Samsung more optical light to work with before computational processing begins.

Noise control is better than on the previous generation. DXOMARK found a meaningful improvement while noting that Samsung sometimes accepts more noise in extreme darkness to preserve natural detail.

Color and white balance are generally strong. DXOMARK found improved color reproduction and generally good white balance across challenging scenes.

The phone can reveal detail that is difficult to see with the naked eye. That is particularly useful for architecture, city scenes and landscapes where the subject is stationary.

Where the limitations become obvious

The S26 Ultra is less convincing when several difficult conditions occur simultaneously.

A moving subject, very low light and long zoom are a particularly demanding combination. So is a dark portrait where the camera must expose the face while controlling bright lights behind it.

Exposure consistency is another issue. DXOMARK observed brightness differences between consecutive shots in challenging conditions, meaning that taking a second photograph can sometimes produce a noticeably different result.

And although Samsung’s computational photography is powerful, it cannot manufacture genuine sensor information where there is almost no light. Increasing brightness through processing is not the same thing as recovering perfectly natural detail.

How to get the best low-light photographs

For everyday nighttime photography, the simplest approach is usually the most effective:

• Start with 1x when possible.
• Keep the phone steady during capture.
• Give Night mode enough time to complete its exposure.
• Avoid moving the subject unnecessarily.
• Use the dedicated telephoto cameras when distance genuinely requires them.
• Check focus when using the ultrawide in very dark conditions.
• Use a faster shutter in Pro mode when subject motion is causing blur.
• Take two or three photographs when the scene is important rather than trusting one exposure.
• Inspect shadows and faces rather than judging only by the overall brightness.

The S26 Ultra’s broader feature set is also worth considering in the context of ownership. For example, storage requirements become more important if you routinely shoot high-resolution photographs or large video files; Samsung’s Galaxy Ultra storage guide covers the practical differences between 256GB, 512GB and 1TB.

The important question is not whether it can see in the dark

The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s low-light camera is genuinely better than the S25 Ultra’s, and the improvement has a concrete hardware explanation: the wider apertures give the system more light before computational processing is applied. Independent testing also supports improvements in noise, detail and color.

But the phone’s performance is not uniformly exceptional across every camera and every level of darkness. The main camera is the strongest tool, while the telephotos become more dependent on available light and the ultrawide can encounter autofocus problems in very dark scenes. Low-light video is improved but still faces focus and processing compromises.

The most useful way to think about the S26 Ultra at night is therefore not that it makes darkness disappear. **It gives the camera more usable light and better computational tools for turning limited light into a convincing photograph—but the farther you move toward extremely dark scenes, moving subjects and long zoom, the more traditional photographic limitations begin to reappear.**