Jamaluddeen is a features contributor at Android Police, where he dissects Android phones and tablets. He made his first contribution to the site in 2023, where he left his mark on 80+ buyer’s guide articles, helping tech lovers make informed buying decisions.
He’s a B.Eng. (Mechanical) finalist, and when not rummaging through the Android ecosystem, you’ll find him extending his frontiers with non-fiction books on science, productivity, persuasion, communication, artificial intelligence, and more.
I rarely take photos. But when I do, I want excellent results that match my preferences.
For face shots, Samsung's default camera rarely gets there. It mostly over-smoothens my face and makes my dark skin look lighter.
However, Samsung's other camera app, Expert RAW, makes my face look much more natural, even with everything on Auto.
Still, it's missing three things that keep me going back to the default camera. If Samsung adds them, I'll switch to Expert RAW for good.
Expert RAW is built for manual control, but I leave it on Auto
Every setting with an Auto option stays on Auto
Expert RAW is a camera app for hobbyists and advanced users who want manual control. It gives users full control over ISO, shutter speed, EV, and white balance.
It also lets you save photos as RAW files. This preserves more detail in bright and dark areas and makes the photo more suitable for editing.
Still, I've chosen to leave all the controls on Auto because I still get better photos than what the default camera produces.
The one exception, though, is the EV setting: It doesn't have an automatic mode, so I usually leave it at the default 0.0. But recently, I've been playing with the setting a bit more.
In all my comparisons between Expert RAW and the default camera app, the EV of Expert RAW was set to 0.0, while the default camera app had its filters, Scene Optimizer, and face effects turned off.
Expert RAW picks my ISO but won't switch my lens
Zoom in, and it crops into the lens I'm already on
When you're using the camera, and you zoom into a subject, the camera app automatically selects the best lens for the zoom you choose.
For example, if you zoom to 3x on a Samsung Galaxy S22+, the app automatically switches from the main 1x lens to the 3x Telephoto. This makes the picture clearer than what you get from cropping into the view of the main lens.
Expert RAW doesn't offer this automatic switching. When you pick a lens and zoom mid-shot, the camera remains on the lens you selected at the beginning, even if the resulting photo becomes blurry and unclear.
For me, this is an inconvenience. I don't want to have to remember to switch lenses when in the middle of trying to take a good photo.
Expert RAW doesn't take RAW photos
Over-sharpened studio shots send me to Pro mode
You would think that an app with "RAW" in its name would produce raw, unprocessed photos. But that's not what Expert RAW does.
The app processes its photos so much that what you see when taking a photo is usually very different from what you get in your Gallery.
For regular photos, this is a good thing. It helps sharpen washed-out photos and fixes poor lighting.
However, for well-lit, studio-like pictures, this sharpening becomes a serious problem. The default camera app's Pro mode already offers a solution.
On the few occasions when I get in my photography mood, I turn to the default camera's Pro mode to get the unprocessed pictures I desire.
When shooting in overly bright places, turn down your camera's EV. It reduces exposure and gives your photo a better look. For me, I usually set the EV to -1.4 or -1.2 when taking studio-like shots.
A camera app without video can never be my default
My first instinct with any camera is to hit record
As rarely as I take photos, I record videos much more often. When I see a camera, my brain immediately thinks video.
If Expert RAW is going to become my default camera, it must shoot videos. And not just any video, but a clear, stable, well-focused video that preserves the look and complexion of faces.
You don't have to be a photographer to get more out of Expert RAW
Many Samsung users have never tried Expert RAW. They think the app is for professionals who want to tweak every camera setting manually.
However, that belief is wrong. Even with Expert RAW on default settings, you can still produce decent photos.
You just need to keep in mind that the results will depend on your phone's hardware and the version of One UI you're running. For me, I'm using a Galaxy S22+ on One UI 8.