The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the Korean giant's flagship smartphone of the year. Packing a 200MP primary camera, the phone can capture stunning photos regardless of the lighting conditions. But by changing some camera settings, you can improve the experience of taking pictures from the S23 Ultra.

So, if you have gotten your hands on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, check out the camera settings to change.

1. Turn Off the Beauty Filter

Thanks to Samsung's processing, the Galaxy S23 Ultra applies a generous amount of skin smoothening on all photos. If you are not a fan of this look, you can turn off the beauty filter to reduce this effect to a great extent. Here's how to do it:

  1. Open the Camera app on your Galaxy S23 Ultra.
  2. Tap the Effects icon you see in the right corner of the toolbar at the top of the screen.
  3. Switch to the Face tab, then turn the filter's intensity to 0.
  4. To disable the skin smoothening effect entirely, tap the Auto button on the right side above the slider and select Off.

However, this won't affect the skin smoothening effect for photos taken from the front camera. You need to disable its beauty filter separately. The steps remain the same as above, though you must switch to the front camera before following them.

If you love taking pictures from the front camera, check out some tips to take better selfies from your smartphone.

2. Change the Selfie Color Tone

Unlike most Android phones and iPhones, Samsung lets you greatly customize the image processing. Besides tweaking the beauty filter, you can customize the photos from the selfie camera to have a natural or warm look.

A natural look will make selfies captured from your Galaxy S23 Ultra look a lot closer to reality. However, you may not like the look, as the colors and contrast won't be boosted much. To get that pop effect, switch to a warm look for your selfies.

  1. Open the Camera app on your Galaxy S23 Ultra and switch to the front camera.
  2. Tap the Effects icon located in the right corner of the toolbar at the top.
  3. Switch to the Color tone tab and select Natural or Warm based on your preference.

3. Record HDR10+ Videos

The Galaxy S23 Ultra can record videos in up to 8K resolution at 30fps. Thanks to the new 200MP primary camera and the faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, the phone can record notably better videos than its predecessor. That's not it, though. To make the most of the phone's video recording prowess, you must record videos with HDR10+ enabled.

For the unversed, HDR10+ is a High Dynamic Range video format backed by Samsung and Prime Video. It allows you to capture videos with better dynamic range, higher contrast and brightness, and support for 10-bit color depth. By default, HDR10+ recording is disabled on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and you must jump into the camera settings to enable it.

  1. Open the Camera app on your Galaxy S23 Ultra.
  2. Tap the Settings icon in the top-left corner.
  3. Select Advanced video options from the Video section and toggle the HDR10+ videos option.

Do note that HDR10+ videos are saved in the HEVC format, which can cause compatibility issues on older PCs and devices. You must also have an HDR10-supported TV or display to enjoy the videos recorded from the Galaxy S23 Ultra in all their glory. Without that, they will play back in standard quality.

4. Auto Frame Videos

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra green color
Image Credit: Samsung

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra can keep a subject in the frame while recording videos. Auto-framing is a useful feature to have when recording videos with a lot of movement. In this mode, the camera automatically switches between lenses to keep the person in the shot.

  1. Open the stock Camera app on your Galaxy S23 Ultra and switch to the Video mode.
  2. Tap the Auto Frame icon you see near the camera switching buttons. Once you enable auto-framing, you cannot manually switch between lenses.

Now when you record videos, your S23 Ultra will automatically keep the subject in the frame by switching between the lenses. Do note that in this mode, video quality resolution is limited to 1080p at 30fps, so the quality might not be the best. Plus, you can only use the auto-framing feature with the rear camera.

Contrary to what you might think, the Galaxy S23 Ultra's 200MP camera is not a gimmick. Video recording is one of the areas where the camera flexes its muscle to capture detailed videos.

5. Reduce the Shutter Button Lag

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in green

Unlike iPhones, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra won't click a photo as soon as you press the shutter button. Instead, the picture is clicked when you lift your finger off the button.

This odd behavior can annoy anyone switching from an iPhone or Google Pixel, where a photo is shot the instant you press the shutter button. The behavior is present on all Samsung phones and is not just limited to the S23 Ultra.

Samsung lets you tweak this behavior using its Camera Assistant Good Lock module. Enable the Quick Tap shutter option in the app to shorten the lag and make the button feel more responsive. Check out our guide on using Samsung's Camera Assistant app to shoot better photos from your Galaxy S23 Ultra.

6. Use Astro Mode in Expert RAW

Expert RAW debuted as an experimental camera app from Samsung. With the Galaxy S23 Ultra, though, the app now finds a place within the full Samsung Camera app.

As the name indicates, Expert RAW provides granular control over various camera options, including the ability to shoot photos in RAW. Even better, Expert RAW features an Astrophoto mode explicitly aimed at capturing the night sky.

If you are interested in photography or want greater control over the Galaxy S23 Ultra's cameras, check out Expert RAW. You can access the app from the More tab in Samsung Camera.

Do note that the app is not pre-installed on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, so the first time you select the mode, it will download Expert RAW from the Galaxy Store in the background.

There are plenty of other modes in Samsung's Camera app that are also worth exploring.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Is a Camera Beast

If you want an Android smartphone with the best cameras, look no further than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. While the phone packs versatile camera hardware, it is only when coupled with Samsung's excellent suite of software features that its camera performance is elevated.