Samsung Nightography Mode is Brightening Up the Smartphone Camera Game

By Ben McKimm - News

Published: 1 July 2022, Last Updated: 1 Oct 2023

While we’ve had our hands all over the Samsung S22 lineup this year, when given the chance to check out a few features through the lens of Professional Photographer and Samsung Guru Rob Mulally, we couldn’t help ourselves but tag along. Compositional photography isn’t something we practice on a day-to-day basis, but when given the opportunity to shoot at a special location like Sydney’s Cockatoo Island we got the creative juices flowing again and whipped the S22 out of our pocket to once again prove the best camera is often the one you have in your pocket.

Samsung S22 Ultra Camera Hardware

Before we dive headfirst into Nightography we’ll quickly fill you in on the camera layout of the Samsung S22 Ultra.

	Samsung S22 Ultra – Camera
Ultra-wide	12MP, F2.2, FOV 120°
Wide	108MP, Dual Pixel AF, F1.8, FOV 85°
Telephoto 1	10MP, 3x Optical Zoom, F2.4, FOV 36°
Telephoto 2	10MP, 10x Optical Zoom, F4.9, FOV 11°
Front camera	40MP, F2.2, FOV 80°

While we all love the Ultra-wide sensor, moving between the 1x and 3x Optical Zoom lenses yields the most notable results. Using the interactive image above, you can see the importance of composition that only comes by using the correct lens. Both images above are taken from the same position, but there’s a clear difference when using the 3x zoom lens (crane appears close and fills the doorway) vs. using the 1x zoom lens (crane appears very far away) and is close to what you see with the naked eye.

Image: Ben McKimm | Samsung S22 Ultra Unedited (Nightography Off)

What is Samsung Nightography?

Samsung Nightography combines the best of its hardware with targeted AI software to create a brighter, sharper, and all-around better image without ‘noise’. At the heart of Nightography is the Samsung S22 Ultra’s huge 2.4-micron pixel sensor that allows the phone to take in more light than a traditional smartphone camera sensor. Another hardware feature is the anti-reflective nano-coating that reduces glare from city features like streetlights, homes, and vehicles.

AI software comes into play with the Night Solution image optimisation process that shoots multiple images – during the countdown timer – before choosing the best ones and combining them together with the Image Signal Processing (ISP) algorithm. You can even see the process taking place when you load up the image gallery after taking the photo.

Our Experience With Nightography Mode

We had the pleasure of attending a Photowalk on Sydney’s time-frozen Cockatoo Island with Professional Photographer and Samsung Guru Rob Mulally. He took us through some Nightography tips and compositional techniques that even a well-versed and seasoned photographer would find helpful. Ultimately the combination of optical zoom and AI built into the Samsung S22 Ultra helped us take some truly amazing photos that are (in some cases) brighter, sharper, and better than what the naked eye can see – it’s almost cheating.

As mentioned, the Nightography mode is more than just an overexposed image. The advanced camera hardware combines with AI software to sharpen, smooth, and throw out the ‘bad’ photos allowing you to point and shoot at dark spaces and open your eye and mind to compositions you may never have imagined. If anything, it opens the amateur photographer’s eye to light manipulation – one of the most fun aspects of photography – and something they may never have the chance to experience otherwise. Take the examples above and below for example.

Check it out