Master Galaxy S23 Camera app

Master Galaxy S23 Camera  App

To fully benefit from the latest camera technology in Galaxy S23, you should master the Galaxy S23 Camera app.

This Galaxy S23 camera guide explains all 19 items you need to know about the Galaxy S23 Camera app interface (UI). The meaning and usage of these items are included so that you can let Galaxy S23 shoot what you want with the Galaxy S23 Camera app.

Although Galaxy S23 Ultra has significantly upgraded camera sensors, compared to Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+, the Galaxy S23 Camera app is almost identical on all Galaxy S23 phones. So, this guide applies to all Galaxy S23 phones.

In the Android 14 update (One UI 6), a new resolution button was added between the Motion photo and Photo size (aspect ratio) buttons so that you can choose the resolution (12M, 50M, or 200M) directly without going through the aspect ratio button. You can also use the camera widget to launch the camera app in any specific camera mode. The Auto Scan feature allows you to scan documents automatically. All of the new camera features in the One UI 6 (Android 14) update are explained in this post.

Understand the Galaxy S23 Camera app interface

In this guide, we will cover the following 19 items in the Galaxy S23 Camera app:

  1. Preview screen.
  2. Camera access status icon.
  3. Camera settings.
  4. Flash.
  5. Timer.
  6. Photo size.
  7. Motion photo.
  8. Effects (Filter/Face/Color tone).
  9. Zoom control.
  10. Special mode.
  11. Camera mode.
  12. Shutter button.
  13. Front/rear camera switch.
  14. Shortcut to Gallery app.
  15. Super Steady.
  16. Video size.
  17. Auto framing.
  18. Focus enhancer.
  19. Text recognition.

We now go through them one by one.

By default, when you open the Galaxy S23 Camera app (e.g., with Galaxy S23 Camera Quick Launch), it is in Photos mode (Auto mode), as shown in the screenshot below.

1. Preview screen

As suggested by the name, the preview screen in the Galaxy S23 Camera app allows you to check the scene before pressing the shutter button.

When recording videos, it is a live preview of what is recorded.

Besides, you can use various touchscreen gestures on the preview screen to lock the exposure, zoom in/out, switch the front/rear camera, and switch camera modes.

2. Camera access status icon

As a privacy and security feature, since Android 12, Google added the camera access indicator icon to alert you that the camera is being used.

So, when the camera is accessed (by the Galaxy S23 Camera app in this case), you should see the camera access indicator icon (a green dot, initially a camera icon), as shown in the screenshot above.

Galaxy S23 Camera app interface (Photo mode/Auto mode)

3. Camera settings

You can tap the gear icon to change some settings for the Galaxy S23 camera, for example, scene optimizer, picture file format, and location tags.

Galaxy S23 camera settings are explained in this guide. You can also install Camera Assistant to access more advanced camera settings.

4. Flash in Galaxy S23 Camera app

The LED flash (on the back of the phone, see Galaxy S23 layout) can compensate for the light under certain low-light conditions to improve picture quality.

But in most cases, it may degrade the photo quality and result in very noisy photos. So, if you are not sure, you should avoid the flash.

In the Galaxy S23 Camera app, you can tap the flash button to set it as (as shown in the screenshot below):

  • On. You seldom need to turn it on.
  • Off.
  • Auto.

Please note that although the front camera has no LED flash, Galaxy S23 can light up the touchscreen as “flash”. So, you can enable or disable the flash for the front camera. And the flash settings for front and rear cameras are independent, i.e., you need to set them up separately.

Flash settings in Galaxy S23 camera app

5. Timer in Galaxy S23 Camera app

Sometimes, it is inconvenient to tap the shutter button to take group photos or selfies with the rear camera.

In such cases, you can use the timer to take photos automatically after the preset delay. The timer in the Galaxy S23 Camera app is designed for this purpose.

You can use the timer for both front and rear cameras. But you need to set them up separately. In other words, front and rear cameras have their own timers. They do NOT share the timer.

Furthermore, you need to manually cancel the timer if you do not need it anymore. Opening and closing the camera does not reset the timer.

By default, only one picture is taken when using the timer. You can enable Camera Assistant to take multiple (up to 7) photos for the timer (timer multi-photo options).

The Galaxy S23 Camera app allows you to set the timer of 2, 5, or 10 seconds (of delay) for the cameras, as shown in the screenshot below.

Galaxy S23 Camera Timer

6. Photo size option in Galaxy S23 Camera app

The Galaxy S23 Camera app only allows you to set the aspect ratio of the photo, not the size (resolution; pixels) of the photo. For each aspect ratio, Galaxy S23 always automatically uses the maximum resolution at that ratio.

The supported photo size (aspect ratio) in the Galaxy S23 Camera app includes 4:3 (best for printing), 16:9 (best for TV/ digital photo frame), 1:1 (for design. Instagram), and  20:9 (full screen), as shown in the screenshot below.

Photo size settings in Galaxy S23 camera app

You may check this photo size guide for Galaxy S10, S20, S21, S22, and S23.

If you need to resize the photo size, you can do it in the Gallery app, as explained in this guide (the guide applies to Galaxy S23 and S22 although it was written for Galaxy S21).

Please note the 3:4(200MP) option is only available on Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Update: a dedicated photo size button was added in the One UI 6 (Android 14) update.

7. Motion photo

You can use Motion Photo to add context to the photo.

If enabled, the Galaxy S23 camera can capture a few seconds of action leading up to when the shutter button is released. Similar to burst shot photos, you can choose a different frame as the final photo.

When sharing photos, you have the option to share the Motion Photo as a video file or as a picture.

Please note that Google Photos supports motion photos. So, it is safe to back up Motion photos to Google Photos.

8. Effects (Filter/Face/Color tone)

In the Galaxy S23 Camera app, Effects were expanded to include adjusting face filter and color tone.

Camera effects, if enabled, will be applied to the photos when they are taken.

Of course, you can add effects when editing them. But some users may prefer to add them when taking photos so that they want to share them quickly, especially using the face filter to smooth the skin.

As shown in the screenshot below, there are three tabs under the effects:

  • Filter (the traditional filter).
  • Face.
  • Color tone.
Effects in Galaxy S23 Camera app

In One UI 6 (Android 14) update for Galaxy S23, S22, and S21, you can apply effects with a dial instead of a slider.

9. Zoom control in Galaxy S23 Camera app

Galaxy S23 supports hybrid optical zoom and super-resolution zoom.

By default, on Galaxy S23 Ultra, 4 pre-set zoom levels (0.6x, 1x, 3x, and 10x) are shown.

You can tap any of the 4 icons to choose the zoom level. At the same time, once you tap the icons, you will see more pre-set zoom levels up to 100x (Galaxy S23 Ultra), as shown in the screenshot below.

Camera zoon control for Galaxy S23 camera

If you pinch or spread on the preview screen, you will see the additional slider for you to control the zoom more precisely.

10. Special mode (Night mode)

When you use the Auto mode (Photo mode) in the Galaxy S23 Camera app, some special modes may be enabled.

For example, the night mode may be enabled automatically if the Galaxy S23 camera detects a low-light condition. Of course, there is a dedicated Night mode you can use.

11. Camera modes

Although the default Photo mode (Auto mode) in the Galaxy S23 Camera app is sufficient for many situations, you may want to use different camera modes for some special events.

You can choose a different camera mode whenever you want.

By default, only 3 camera modes (Portrait, Photo mode, and Video mode) are added for quick access. Other camera modes can be accessed by tapping the More button.

You can move other camera modes out of the More page so that you can access them quickly. Please check this Galaxy S23 camera mode guide (coming soon) on how to manage and use camera modes in the Galaxy S23 Camera app.

Please note Expert RAW is not a dedicated mode in the Galaxy S23 Camera app. It is not necessary to install the app on Galaxy S23.

If you updated your Galaxy S23 with Android 14 (One UI 6), you can use the camera widget to launch the camera app in a specific (pre-defined) camera mode, as explained in this guide.

12. Shutter (capture) button

The shutter button in the Galaxy S23 Camera app is for you to take photos or to start (or stop) video recording.

If you tap and hold the shutter button on the Galaxy S23 Camera app (while in Photo mode), a short video will be recorded until you release the button. This feature can be enabled/disabled after you install the Camera Assistant. Please refer to this guide on how to use the Camera Assistant on Galaxy S23.

Burst shot photos (burst mode) can be taken by swiping down the shutter button to the bottom in the Galaxy S23 Camera app. Up to 100 burst-shot photos will be taken until you release the button (or until 100 photos have been taken).

You can customize the swiping down from the shutter button gesture to create GIF animations (explained here) if you do not want to use the burst mode.

For Galaxy S23 Ultra, you can also use the S Pen as a remote control. For example, press the S Pen button once to take a photo.

In addition to the Shutter button, you can also use other methods to take photos (e.g., a floating shutter button, volume key, or showing your palm)

13. Front/rear camera switch

You can use this switch button to switch between the front and rear cameras on Galaxy S23.

If you prefer gestures (regardless of using navigation buttons or navigation gestures), you can swipe upwards or downwards to switch between the front and rear cameras.

If you have updated your Galaxy S23 to Android 14 (One UI 6), you can choose to disable this gesture.

The shortcut to the Gallery app lets you quickly check photos in the Gallery app without exiting the Galaxy S23 Camera app.

The thumbnail shows the last photo taken. You can tap it to open the Gallery app.

In the Android 14 (One UI 6) update, you can use one-tap editing to directly edit photos in the Gallery app without switching to the Photo Editor.

When you use the Video mode, you will see the following three new buttons (15-17).

Galaxy S23 Camera app interface/UI (Video mode)

15. Super Steady

The Super Steady in Galaxy S23 Camera app can reduce the blur of the videos when Galaxy S23 is not held stationary.

When Auto framing (read on) is on, Super Steady will not be available.

16. Video size

Video size lets you set the video resolution and frame rate.

The available option depends on the aspect ratio settings. If you set the ratio as 1:1 or full-screen, then you can only choose FHD@30fps.

If you set the aspect ratio to 16:9 (or 9:16), you can choose from 6 different size settings, as shown in the screenshot below.

Video size settings in Galaxy S23 Camera app

Normally, you should choose a 16:9 aspect ratio for most videos. With this aspect ratio, you can record up to 8K videos.

Video size selection has been enhanced with a pop-up box in the One UI 6 (Android 14) update.

17. Auto framing

Auto framing in the Galaxy S23 Camera app can automatically zoom in and follow people who enter the camera’s frame when recording a video. It will try to capture all people entering the frame.

Auto framing is not compatible with Super Steady.

Sometimes, you may need to use two more buttons (Focus enhancer and Text recognition) in the Galaxy S23 Camera app, as shown in the screenshot below.

Galaxy S23 camera app UI: focus enhancer and etext recognition.

18. Focus enhancer in Galaxy S23 Camera app

When taking a close-up photo with the Galaxy S23 camera, the focus enhancer can help you get a better photo.

On Galaxy S23, the focus enhancer icon appears only when the phone detects you are trying to take a close-up photo. You can then tap the icon to disable it or enable it.

19. Text recognition

The Galaxy S23 Camera app can also recognize text shown on the preview screen. This is part of the One UI 5 feature of Extract Text from images and photos.

If Galaxy S23 detects a considerable portion of text, it will try to recognize it and show the Text button. You can tap the button to “scan” it or to extract text from it.

Please note that you must enable Scene Optimizer in the camera settings to use this feature.

Update: in the One UI 6 (Android 14) update, document scan (Auto Scan) and text recognition are now independent of the Scene Optimizer.

Do you have any questions about the Galaxy S23 Camera app on Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra?

If you have any questions about the Galaxy S23 Camera app on Galaxy S23, S23+, and S23 Ultra, or encounter any issues when using the Galaxy S23 Camera app, please let us know in the comment box below.

The community will help you.

You may check other Galaxy S23 guides organized in the following 4 sections.

Besides, you can read and download (in PDF format) the official Galaxy S23 user manual (including the updated Galaxy S23 user manual for Android 14 (One UI 6).

In addition to the comment box below, you can also reach us through the following channels:

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Enjoy your Galaxy S23!

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