We put the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE through our rigorous SBMARK Camera test suite to measure its performance in terms of photo, video and zoom quality from an end-user perspective. This article analyzes the behavior of the device in a series of tests and several common use cases and aims to highlight the most important results of our tests with an excerpt of the acquired data.
Overview
Key Camera Specifications:
- Primary: 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.57″, 1.0μm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS
- Ultra-wide: 12 MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 123˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.0″, 1.12μm
- Tele: 8 MP, f/2.4, 75mm (telephoto), 1/4.4″, 1.0μm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom
Pro
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The target exposure is often accurate in the photo.
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Color rendition is often pleasing with accurate white balance in the photo.
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The level of detail is good in bright conditions in photos and videos.
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The dynamic range is quite extensive in video
Against
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The target exposure is often slightly underexposed especially in HDR conditions for video
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White balance is often pink with desaturated colors in videos
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Noise may be visible even in bright conditions in photos and videos
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The level of detail is low when using the bokeh mode
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Residual motion may be visible in moving videos or static videos in Video
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Some artifacts are visible in the photo, such as hue shift, glare, and blending artifacts.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is the fan edition of the S25 series. Unlike its flagship counterpart, which is powered by a Snapdragon chipset, the FE version is based on the Exynos 2400. While the main camera module is largely unchanged from the S25, the telephoto module has a slightly lower resolution (8 MP versus 10 MP), and the ultra-wide module seems less capable in terms of overall performance.
In terms of image quality, the S25 FE ranks lower in our database. Still photos generally show good quality, but results can be inconsistent, particularly when it comes to color rendition and exposure. The Bokeh mode struggles to retain fine details and can appear soft in low light. The ultra-wide camera captures solid images, but it doesn’t support 4K video recording at 60 fps. The telephoto module also underperforms, with noticeable loss of detail in indoor and low-light scenarios.
Video performance is inferior to many competitors. Shots are often slightly pink and underexposed, and overall detail retention is limited, especially in difficult lighting conditions.
Test summary
About SBMARK Camera Tests: Evaluations of SBMARK cameras take place in labs and real-world situations using a wide variety of use cases. Scores are based on objective tests whose results are calculated directly using measurement software in our laboratory setups, and on perceptual tests where a sophisticated set of metrics allows a panel of imaging experts to compare aspects of image quality that require human judgment. Testing a smartphone involves a team of engineers and technicians for about a week. Photo and video quality are evaluated separately and then combined into an overall score for comparing cameras on different devices. For more information on the SBMARK camera protocol, click here. More details on smartphone camera scores can be found here. The following section compiles key elements of SBMARK’s comprehensive testing and analysis. Full performance evaluations are available upon request. Please contact us to find out how to receive a full report.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE camera scores
This graph compares SBMARK photo and video scores between the tested device and the references. The average and maximum scores of the price range are also indicated. The average and maximum scores for each price segment are calculated based on the SBMARK database of tested devices.
Photo
130
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra
About SBMARK Camera Photo Tests
For scoring and analysis, SBMARK engineers capture and evaluate more than 3,800 test images in controlled laboratory environments, as well as natural outdoor, indoor and low-light scenes, using the camera’s default settings. The photography protocol is designed to take into account key use cases and is based on typical shooting scenarios, such as portraits, landscapes and zoom photography. Evaluation is performed by visually examining images Cons a natural scene reference and performing objective measurements on laboratory-captured graph images under varying lighting conditions from 0.1 to 10,000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300K to 6,500K.
Principal
133
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE photo scores
The main photography tests analyze image quality attributes such as exposure, color, texture and noise under various lighting conditions. Autofocus performance and the presence of artifacts are also evaluated on all images captured under controlled laboratory conditions and in real-life images. All of these attributes have a significant impact on the final quality of images captured with the tested device and can help understand the key strengths and weaknesses of the 1x camera.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE – Accurate target exposure, nice color rendition on SDR scenes
Autofocus irregularity and speed: 1000Lux Δ0EV portable daylight
This graph illustrates focus accuracy and speed, as well as zero shutter lag capability, showing edge sharpness versus shooting time measured with the AFHDR setup over a series of images. All photos were taken under one light condition and with the indicated illuminant, 500 ms after blur. Edge sharpness is measured on the four edges of the Dead Leaves chart and shooting time is measured on the LED universal timer.
Structure
117
VivoX200Ultra
VivoX200Ultra
SBMARK CHART (DMC) Detail Retention Score vs. Lux Levels for Handheld Conditions
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail retention score with lux level, for two retention conditions. The DMC Detail Retention Score is derived from an AI-based metric trained to evaluate the performance of texture and detail on a selection of crops from our SBMARK chart.
Evolution of visual noise with illuminance levels under handheld conditions
This graph shows the evolution of the visual noise metric with lux level in handheld conditions. The visual noise metric is the average of the visual noise measurement across all areas of the Dead Leaves graph in the AFHDR configuration. SBMARK visual noise measurement is derived from the ISO15739 standard.
Tele
112
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra
Huawei Pura 80 Ultra
All image quality attributes are evaluated at focal lengths between approximately 40mm and 300mm, with particular attention to texture and detail. The score is derived from a series of objective measurements in the laboratory and perceptual analysis of real-life images.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE telephoto lens scores
This graph illustrates the relative scores for the different zoom ranges evaluated. The abscissa is expressed in focal length equivalent to 35 mm.
SBMARK CHART (DMC) detail retention score by focal length
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score – a higher value means better quality. The large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application user interface.
SBMARK CHART (DMC) detail retention score by focal length
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score – a higher value means better quality. The large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application user interface.
SBMARK CHART (DMC) detail retention score by focal length
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score – a higher value means better quality. The large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application user interface.
SBMARK CHART (DMC) detail retention score by focal length
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score – a higher value means better quality. The large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application user interface.
Ultrawide
143
VivoX200Ultra
VivoX200Ultra
These tests analyze the performance of the ultra-wide camera at different focal lengths from 12mm to 20mm. All image quality attributes are evaluated, with particular attention to artifacts such as chromatic aberrations, lens softness and distortion. The images below are an excerpt of the tested scenes.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE ultra-wide scores
This graph illustrates the relative scores for the different zoom ranges evaluated. The abscissa is expressed in focal length equivalent to 35 mm.
SBMARK CHART (DMC) detail retention score by focal length
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score – a higher value means better quality. The large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application user interface.
SBMARK CHART (DMC) detail retention score by focal length
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score – a higher value means better quality. The large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application user interface.
SBMARK CHART (DMC) detail retention score by focal length
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score – a higher value means better quality. The large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application user interface.
SBMARK CHART (DMC) detail retention score by focal length
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail retention score versus the full-frame equivalent focal length for different lighting conditions. The x-axis represents the equivalent focal length measured for each corresponding shooting distance, and the y-axis represents the maximum detail retention metric score – a higher value means better quality. The large dots correspond to the zoom ratio available in the camera application user interface.
Video
98
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
About SBMARK Camera Video Tests
SBMARK engineers capture and evaluate nearly 3 hours of video in controlled laboratory environments and natural low-light scenes, indoors and outdoors, using default camera settings. The evaluation consists of visual inspection of natural videos taken under various conditions and performing objective measurements on videos of graphs recorded in the laboratory under different conditions from 0.1 to 10,000+ lux and color temperatures from 2,300 K to 6,500 K.
Principal
125
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
Apple iPhone 17 Pro
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE video scores
The main video tests analyze the same image quality attributes as still images, such as exposure, color, texture or noise, as well as temporal aspects such as speed, smoothness and stability of exposure, white balance and autofocus transitions.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE – White balance slightly underexposed, pinkish
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – Good target exposure, pleasant white balance
SBMARK CHART (DMC) Video detail retention score versus lux levels
This graph shows the evolution of the DMC detail retention video score with the lux level in the video. The DMC Detail Retention Score is derived from an AI-based metric trained to evaluate the performance of texture and detail on a selection of crops from our SBMARK chart.
Evolution of spatial visual noise with illuminance level
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with lux level. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise graph in the video noise setup. SBMARK visual noise measurement is derived from the ISO15739 standard.
Temporal evolution of visual noise with illuminance level
This graph shows the evolution of temporal visual noise with lux level. Temporal visual noise is measured on the visual noise graph in the video noise setup.
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