The other day, I received an interesting challenge: to test the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 and play as much as possible with its camera system. The goal is to understand and then share with you details of what it has to offer. So, in addition to my usual, sometimes very technical and tedious tests, I had this phone with me on several special occasions. For example, I used it during an evening spent at a unique event celebrating the dance experience. Here’s how it was and what the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 gave me:

NOTE: All the photos in this article are taken with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, except, obviously, the ones showing the device itself. I haven’t edited any of the photos, just resized them to a smaller size to make them fit in this article.

The cover screen helps you take the fastest and most unique selfies

As soon as you start using a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 and compare it to the previous Flip4 model, it’s obvious what Samsung focused on in building the new phone: the cover screen is extended from 1.9 inches to 3.4, and it looks gorgeous. Its size now makes it more useful, especially when it comes to photo/video experiences. For example, holding the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 in your hand and pressing the Power button twice automatically activates the camera. You can also turn it on using the dedicated icon on the front screen. Swipe across the screen to switch between Portrait, Photo, and Video modes.

The cover screen is great for taking photos

I don’t usually take many selfies, and one of the reasons is that they tend to require quite a few steps on traditional phones. By the time I actually take the picture, it feels like the magic of the moment is lost and the portraits captured don’t always look natural.

Compared to the standard experience, I like that taking a selfie on the Galaxy Z Flip5 is quick and easy. You don’t have to flip open your phone, and applying one of the available filters takes just a few taps on the screen. Furthermore, you can see yourself very well on the 3.4 inches available, and you can hold the phone at the most unusual angles with maximum convenience. This way, you can probably capture the most candid shots without opening the phone. Using it this way allows you to capture the moment you’re experiencing more quickly. When you like what you see on the cover screen, you can take a quick picture with a tap of the screen or by pressing the Volume button. It doesn’t get easier than that.

Night photography gets an upgrade on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5

While the camera and lens system on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 is unchanged from the Flip 4, the new phone brings improvements to the photo/video experience when it comes to videos and photos taken at night and in low light conditions. The improvements are brought about by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip used in this phone, as well as improved AI algorithms that do a better job of correcting noise in nighttime images and allow for more efficient capture of detail and color in every frame. To test out Samsung’s promises, I took the Galaxy Z Flip5 to Dance Night, an event held on Calea Victoriei in Bucharest on August 26. Before anything else, I started the evening with a selfie 🙂 I hope you can see in my face the curiosity and excitement of experiencing such an event.

A selfie shot with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5

Calea Victoriei was full of colors, smells, and people of all ages, listening to music and dancing merrily in the street. The event brought together around forty dance schools, fifteen dance styles, lots of music, and thousands of people enjoying the whole experience. There was salsa, bachata, hip-hop, tango, swing, lindy hop, contemporary dance and even k-pop. 🙂 Isn’t it great to see so many people together, dancing and having a good time?

Well, let's enjoy the dance!

And while photos can provide a great perspective, I think a video captures the mood even better.

I then continued my journey on Calea Victoriei and met the Swing and Lindy Hop community. Music from another era, with a special vibe and energetic movement. And at the end, a very pleasant surprise: a very talented little girl entertained us all with a ballet act. Her elegance moved all those present, and her dance received standing ovations.

When did you last enjoy a ballet performance?

When the dancing performance ended, I continued my stroll and had the pleasure of listening to a sidewalk violin concert. Now that’s a memorable evening on the weekend.🙂

A mini violin concert on the street

During my experience at Dance Night, I really appreciated how easy it was to take photos and videos with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5. Its flexible format is complemented by the easy-to-use Camera app. Yes, you get Pro options, with detailed settings for photo experts. But this phone’s audience is more interested in ease of use, not advanced settings. I liked that the standard Photo mode managed to correctly identify that I was taking photos at night and apply the right settings. And if that somehow doesn’t happen, it’s easy to activate night mode: scroll to More and tap Night.

Photo settings available on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5

The resulting pictures tend to be of good quality, with vivid colors and a good level of detail. I found no signs of excessive post-processing, and the photos and videos recorded captured the general atmosphere of Dance Night very well.

Feel free to set the phone down in an L shape

From my experience using it, I think the coolest feature of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 is that you can open it up and use it in an L-shape. Feel free to open it up this way and put it on a table or even on the floor. Suddenly, you have a tripod at your disposal, allowing you to take very stable, quality photos or videos from angles that are impossible for a regular phone. Even when you’re on the street, it’s worth putting it on the curb, carefully adjusting the angle at which you want to take the photo or video, and turning it on.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 is great in an L-shape

It also helps that you have all the necessary adjustments at the bottom of the screen, always easily accessible. Adjust the photo/video settings in seconds and then you can take the photos you want, in very original ways.

Another positive for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5’s audience is that it’s set to create short videos with the optimal aspect ratio for social media. So you can quickly create a story on Instagram or Facebook, or a video for TikTok.

What do you think about the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5?

So much for my experience with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 at Dance Night. It was a successful evening where I had fun and enjoyed using it as a photo/video companion. I’ll continue testing it and, in the coming days, I’ll be back with a detailed review and a more complete photo gallery. Until then, here are 5 new features of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5. Read them and tell me your opinion about this smartphone. Do you like what it has to offer? Would you make the switch from a regular smartphone to a foldable one? Comment using the options below and let’s chat.