The sub-Rs. 30,000 smartphone segment in India seems to be the current sweet spot for many companies, and we’ve had some stand-out launches in the past couple of months. Another recent entry vying for your attention is the
Samsung Galaxy F54 5G main camera sample (tap to see full size)
Samsung Galaxy F54 5G close-up samples (tap to see full size)
Samsung Galaxy F54 5G main camera samples in low light (tap to see full size)
In low light, the main camera is quite impressive as it manages good exposure and details. If you have Scene Optimiser enabled, Night mode is engaged automatically based on ambient lighting. I was surprised to find that Night mode worked even when shooting at the full 108-megapixel resolution.
Daylight shots from the ultra-wide camera were pretty decent. Barrel distortion was tackled well and images had a pleasing colour tone. You have to manually switch to Night mode if you need to use it for the ultra-wide camera, as it doesn’t automatically engage for some reason. There’s a big difference in exposures with and without Night mode, and details are overall much weaker compared to the main camera.
Samsung Galaxy F54 5G ultra-wide camera samples (tap to see full size)
The selfie camera pixel-bins images down to 12-megapixels too, and you can capture a full 32-megapixel image if needed. Image quality is decent in daylight with natural skin tones once you disable the face beautification filters. This camera isn’t the strongest in low light as selfies appear grainy, even when using Night mode.
Samsung Galaxy F54 5G selfie camera samples (tap to see full size)
The Samsung Galaxy F54 5G can record up to 4K resolution videos, but the catch is that there’s no stabilisation. This isn’t an issue if you’re stationary and recording, but the moment you walk about, the footage looks shaky. The quality is pretty decent even in low light. If you want stabilisation, then you’ll have to drop to 1080p 30fps. At this resolution, you can switch between the main and ultra-wide cameras even while recording. Video quality from the ultra-wide camera is quite average and isn’t very good in low light.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy F54 5G is a decent all-rounder of a smartphone but finds itself in a rather sticky situation at the moment. Samsung’s very own Galaxy A34 5G is also available at roughly the same price and offers similar system and battery performance, along with stereo speakers, IP67 rating, and an in-display fingerprint sensor — all of which are missing on the Galaxy F54 5G. If you absolutely need the largest possible battery or a very high-resolution camera, then I can see the merit in going with the F54 5G. For everything else, I think the Galaxy A34 5G offers better value.
As I stated at the start of this review, there’s no shortage of good smartphones in this segment and you can check them all out here, in our latest smartphone guide.
