Samsung Galaxy S 5 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Joshua Ho on April 8, 2014 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Samsung
- Mobile
- Galaxy S 5
Capture Latency
Along with its own rear facing camera sensor, the GS5 adapts a dual-mode autofocus system. Traditional AF designs in smartphones rely on testing contrast differences in order to determine when a point is in focus. With GS5, Samsung introduces a second mode: phase detection auto focus. Instead of relying (primarily) on contrast to determine focus, PDAF splits incoming light and compares intensity patterns to determine focus direction.
Low light scenes and scenes that can't generate appropriate phase info will default to contrast AF. PDAF appears to work across the camera's FOV although I did notice that the fastest AF times almost always happened in the center of the display.
Samsung claims a 300ms AF time thanks to its phase detection AF. In order to validate that claim I pointed a camera at a bunch of phones and measured AE/AF latency while preparing our ISO 12233 target shots from the previous page.
I measured from the moment I tapped the focus target to the time the image stopped moving (I didn't rely on the AF lock indicator as some devices report focus lock prematurely). There's a bit more variance than I'd normally like in these numbers due to the nature of the capture, although I'm working on getting a higher speed camera to smooth some of that out.
The GS5 definitely runs its AE/AF routine quickly, basically tying the M8 at the top of the charts here. The improvement over the GS4 is substantial, and there's even a big advantage over Apple's iPhone 5s. Note that if you move to lower light conditions you can see this number at least double, but that's something that impacts all of the devices here.
The Z1s is pretty frustrating because it has a great imaging system but an absolutely terrible camera UI. Focus speed is pretty bad compared to anything else here, basically on par with the iPhone 5/5c.
The shortest time to focus I was able to record on the GS5 was 450ms in a different test scene, compared to 516ms for the M8. The GS5 can definitely be a hair faster but I found the M8 to be comparable if not slightly quicker overall.
Focusing is just one piece of the puzzle, I also measured capture latency as well. Here I'm looking at the time between when I tapped the capture button on the screen and when the camera UI was ready to take another shot.
The GS5 remains solid, but here Apple actually pulls ahead. The 5c (and 5 by extension) are actually at the top of the charts here. Apple does some more work upon capture on the 5s, which is the only reason I can think of for the discrepancy here. Either that or the NAND on my 5s is in a dirtier state, impacting capture performance.
Either way there's a huge improvement in capture speed compared to the GS4. Capture latency is one area where the Nexus 5 is absolutely horrible in. The latest updates made AE/AF reasonably responsive, but the capture latency kills the experience on the N5.
This next chart combines the previous two values to give an overall picture of capture latency on these devices:
Samsung's PDAF and ISP companion seem to do their job well as the GS5 is substantially quicker than the GS4 at image capture. That being said, HTC's M8 is slightly faster by comparison.
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pppp6071 - Wednesday, April 9, 2014 - link
What r u talking about. I never faced any issues on My Nexus 5 regarding software or hardware. RGB is real pixel and not RG BG samsung cheap grossly over saturated colors. Nexus 5 is the best screen/ touch till date and yeah nexus 5 delivers better low light performance and with OIS better videos than Galaxy S4. And yes if being cheap is an draw back then yes Nexus 5 is Cheap. You better face reality.Serroots - Thursday, April 10, 2014 - link
I'm sorry but I truly hate the N5 screen. I've got an S4 and friends have the N5. Every time I pick it up I immediately notice how washed out the colours look. It's a great phone don't get me wrong, but I hate the screen.twebber - Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - link
Yeah I have like 74GB of storage space because of my micro sd card, lets seen your nexus do that.bleached - Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - link
I have about 150Gb of storage available on my Nexus 5 with 50Gb free.hero4hire - Thursday, April 10, 2014 - link
Cloud storage? stop. I have 100 TB of storage on my iphone 3gs because it has a web browser too...Chaser - Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - link
Nexus 5 battery life is paltry compared to the S5. And that's far beyond "basically". So no we're not all lost sheep and you're the brilliant, informed consumer.jmunjr - Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - link
The Samsungs have user replaceable batteries and external SD card slots. Those features alone make their phones MUCH better, for me at least.Until a phone can be recharged in less than 15 minutes I will continue to buy phones that have user replaceable batteries. I swap batteries several times a week. I never have to worry about charging. I never have to wait more than time it takes to shut down, swap batteries and boot up.
The SD card slot is another nicety. Though not a deal breaker if it is missing, it sure is nice to have extra storage beyond what the phone makers offer among other conveniences of transferring files to devices that aren't networked..
goobersnatcher - Thursday, April 10, 2014 - link
I agree about the removable battery. That's why I won't buy a M8 if I were interested in choosing between the S5 and M8.comomolo - Tuesday, April 8, 2014 - link
For such a rant about others idiocy, you don't seem to have very solid arguments, just a pretty subjective opinion.Lack of microSD and replaceable battery is a no go for many people (including myself) against the Nexus. Also, besides all the FUD around "tech" sites, AMOLED is just a much better technology for any screen and especially useful on mobile devices... if it was properly leveraged, which amazingly Samsung does not, but a knowledgeable user can. Even if you don't take advantage of the low consumption of dark themes on OLEDs, you get the best screen out there with the S5, according to DisplayMate.
Now why exactly is the Nexus 5 so "superior"?
goobersnatcher - Thursday, April 10, 2014 - link
The N5 isn't superior by any measure other than the promise of fast OS updates. However, when you take in the huge "bang for the buck" .......... the N5 is very compelling! The Moto X, very nice when it was on sale. You can buy a N5 and a nice tablet for the purchase price of a S5. The value for many for the $600.00+ price for a S5 ......... is prohibitive. Of course I respect those who value having one of the best ...... if that means that much! It's just "different stroke for different folks"!