The photo has never really been the strong point of this type of device, but serious progress can be noted, even in these price ranges. The Galaxy A23 5G thus offers a quadruple photo sensor consisting of a 50 Mpx wide-angle module whose lens opens at f / 1.8, and which benefits – new this year – from optical stabilization. It is accompanied by a 5 Mpx ultra wide-angle (f / 2.2), a 2 Mpx depth sensor and a 2 Mpx macro module also (f / 2.4).
Main module: 50 megapixels, f/1.8
The main module uses the technology of the pixel-binning which makes it possible to merge the pixels (here, four-in-one) in order to capture more light when it runs out. We therefore take advantage of shots of 12.5 megapixels by default. The Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G, to which this Galaxy A23 5G can be compared, does the same by merging nine pixels into one to deliver 12MP photos.
By day, the two smartphones opt for a rather different treatment. The Galaxy A23 5G does quite well and delivers a fairly homogeneous shot. The Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G offers a higher level of detail and better sharpness, as can be seen in the faces, the cover of the book or the playing cards. On the other hand, the general colorimetry tends too much towards red. This is often the case on Xiaomi devices.
Although less accurate, the Galaxy A23 5G photo shows a more flattering hue. The Redmi retains our preference, but it is possible to capture convincing shots with the Samsung mobile.
In the dark, things go seriously wrong. The Galaxy A23 5G sees its level of detail drop drastically. The South Korean smartphone can’t really transcribe the scene and the digital smoothing is much too pronounced. Its Chinese rival operates a significant increase in ISO and reinforces the contrast to deliver a much better result – despite the appearance of noise.
Mode 50 Mpx
It is of course possible to opt for the 50 megapixel mode. We isolated an area of identical size on each of the images in order to compare the two definitions.
In a bright environment, we see that the mode makes it possible to recover a little more detail. But it’s not convincing enough to use it constantly… and clutter up the phone’s memory at the same time. It brings almost no gain during night shots. We can therefore use it occasionally for shots that need to be cropped followingwards.
Module ultra grand-angle : 5 Mpx f/2,2, 123°
Galaxy A23 5G competitors have more defined ultra-wide-angle modules. This is the case with the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G (8 Mpx).
The performance of this module is far from equaling that of the main sensor. Even during the day, the level of detail is too low and the general color quite bland. The Redmi is far from shining in the exercise, but delivers a much sharper and more precise rendering (see the color patterns). Unfortunately, it once once more sports a colorimetry that is far too saturated, with a strong drift towards red.
At night, neither smartphone delivers a really usable shot, but the digital smoothing of the Redmi Note 11 Pro 5G is less aggressive. This allows you to better distinguish the elements of the scene, even if you should not expect miracles.
Front and video module
At the front, the smartphone has an 8 Mpx sensor whose lens opens at f / 2.2. The selfies are of decent quality, provided they are well exposed. Its big brothers (A33, A53) do much better, however. The shots lack a bit of detail, but the colorimetry is natural.
Portrait mode works quite well, but will be easily misled if the background is too busy or if there are flyaways. The A23 5G is capable of shooting in Full HD at 30 frames per second, for a fairly convincing result. The images are precise and benefit from a good dynamic range.