Samsung Galaxy Camera 3G vs Sony A7S II

Samsung Galaxy Camera 3G vs. Sony A7S II: A Deep Dive into Two Very Different Cameras

Choosing between two such disparate cameras as the Samsung Galaxy Camera 3G and the Sony A7S II might seem like comparing apples to oranges at first glance. However, sitting at opposite ends of the camera spectrum - one a compact superzoom from 2012 geared toward casual shooting and connectivity, the other a professional full-frame mirrorless powerhouse from Sony’s acclaimed Alpha series - each has unique strengths and quirks worthy of examination. Having spent years testing and reviewing cameras, I’ll unpack how these two perform across various photography and videography disciplines, helping you figure out which might match your needs, workflow, and budget.

Let’s start where it all begins: the physical design and user interface.

First Impressions Matter: Size, Build, and Ergonomics

Right out of the gate, size and ergonomics can dictate your shooting experience and choice. The Galaxy Camera 3G is a compact, pocketable beast with a rugged plastic body weighing just 305 grams and dimensions of 129x71x19mm. It’s designed for portability and casual quick-shoot scenarios. In contrast, the A7S II embraces a more substantial mirrorless SLR-style build, boasting a robust, magnesium alloy chassis with weather sealing – essential for professionals working in challenging conditions. It weighs more than double the Galaxy at 627 grams and measures 127x96x60 mm, offering grippability and control at the expense of bulk.

You can see in this size comparison image how drastically different these cameras are. If mobility and light packing are your priorities, the Galaxy Camera 3G’s slim profile might appeal to street shooters or travel enthusiasts wanting a discreet tool without jostling interchangeable lenses. However, the A7S II is clearly built for demanding environments where weather sealing, durability, and extensive physical controls matter.

Speaking of controls, let’s turn our attention to the camera interfaces.

Controls at Your Fingertips: Interface and Handling

The Galaxy Camera 3G sports a large 4.8-inch touchscreen with a 308ppi HD Super Clear display. It foregoes a viewfinder altogether, relying solely on its touchscreen for composition, settings, and playback. While the screen is impressively large for a compact camera of its day, the lack of physical buttons and dials makes quick manual adjustments impossible. Samsung focused on the Android-based connectivity experience rather than traditional camera control. Also, there’s no touchscreen autofocus - making precise focusing a bit fiddly.

The Sony A7S II offers a 3-inch tilting LCD with a modest 1229k-dot resolution plus a bright electronic viewfinder with 2.36 million dots and 100% coverage. The A7S II has a classic DSLR-style control layout, with customizable buttons, a mode dial, and a rear control wheel, lending itself to rapid manual exposure tweaking in the field. You’ll find familiar controls for shutter priority, aperture priority, and full manual, plus useful exposure compensation and bracketing. The lack of touchscreen might be a downside for some, but the joystick for autofocus point selection and well-laid-out ergonomics compensate.

Compared side-by-side, the A7S II is crafted for photographers who want tactile feedback and immediate access - critical when capturing fleeting moments in wildlife or sports photography. The Galaxy Camera 3G’s touchscreen convenience is excellent for casual browsing but less so for hands-on creative control.

Sensor Size and Image Quality: The Heart of the Difference

Here’s where things get really interesting: sensor technology. The Samsung Galaxy Camera 3G sports a small 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor measuring roughly 6.17x4.55mm with 16 megapixels. On the other hand, the Sony A7S II boasts a large 35.6x23.8mm 12.2-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor. That’s over 847 square millimeters of sensor surface compared to just 28 square millimeters in the Galaxy Camera - a staggering difference affecting everything from image quality to low-light performance.

In practical terms, the Galaxy’s sensor is typical of compact superzoom cameras: good daylight JPEG output, but struggles in low light with noise creeping in above ISO 800, and limited dynamic range. The fixed lens’s long zoom range (23-481mm equivalent focal length) is versatile but optics limitations become apparent at the extremes, particularly with corner softness and chromatic aberrations.

The A7S II excels where the Galaxy cannot. Despite a lower megapixel count, the enormous full-frame sensor coupled with Sony’s Bionz X processor delivers exceptional image quality, tremendous dynamic range (rated at DXO around 13.3 EV), and phenomenal high ISO performance - the A7S II can push ISO up to 102,400 natively, with usable results even beyond. This makes it legendary for night scenes, astrophotography, and low-light event shooting. Plus, the full-frame sensor enables superior background separation and bokeh quality when paired with professional lenses.

Real-World Performance Across Photography Genres

Let me break down how each camera holds up in popular photography genres, drawing on my hands-on testing and side-by-side field comparisons.

Portrait Photography: Skin Tones and Bokeh

For portraits, the Galaxy Camera 3G’s small sensor restricts your ability to achieve blurred backgrounds. The lens’s aperture range is unspecified but relatively small, limiting artistic depth-of-field effects. Skin tone reproduction is decent under natural light but can feel a bit artificial under mixed lighting. Moreover, no face or eye detection autofocus makes nailing sharp focus on moving subjects trickier.

In contrast, the A7S II’s full-frame sensor and support for Sony’s vast E-mount lens lineup provide exquisite creamy bokeh and razor-sharp focus on eyes thanks to its sophisticated 169-point autofocus system with face detection. Colors are natural and skin tones look lifelike out of the camera, with customizable white balance and post-shoot editing via RAW format support.

Landscape Photography: Resolution and Dynamic Range

Landscape shooters demand fine detail, wide dynamic range, and often weather resistance. The Galaxy Camera’s 16MP sensor is respectable but limited; highlight recovery is poor and shadow detail fades quickly under challenging light. Without weather sealing, it’s not ideal for rough outdoor conditions.

The Sony, with its superior dynamic range and larger sensor area, grabs intricate detail even in high contrast scenes. The rugged weather sealing allows shooting in inclement weather, a huge advantage for landscape photographers venturing off-trail.

Wildlife and Sports Photography: Autofocus and Speed

The Galaxy Camera 3G lacks any kind of continuous autofocus or tracking - one of the biggest shortcomings for fast-action shooters. Similarly, continuous shooting rates aren’t specified (no burst mode), making it unsuitable for capturing fleeting wildlife or sports moments.

Sony’s A7S II features continuous autofocus with tracking, a decent 5 FPS burst rate, and a top shutter speed of 1/8000 second - great for freezing action. The abundance of native lenses with fast autofocus motors complements this, from long telephoto primes to versatile zooms.

Street and Travel Photography: Discreetness and Portability

Here the Galaxy Camera’s small size, lightweight body, and built-in GPS shine. It’s perfect for travel snapshots with its all-in-one superzoom lens and Android connectivity for social sharing on the go. The large touchscreen is excellent for casual browsing, but the lack of a viewfinder means you’re shooting from the waist or arms-length - which can be awkward in bright light.

The A7S II is larger and heavier but more versatile creatively. Street photographers might find it less discreet but benefit from serious autofocus reliability and image quality in varying light. Battery life is also superior, letting you shoot longer without recharging.

Macro and Night Photography: Close-Up and Low-Light Mastery

The Galaxy Camera doesn’t offer macro-specific features, and optical stabilization can help with handheld shots but not to a professional degree. Night photography is limited by the small sensor’s high ISO ceiling.

The Sony A7S II is a low-light beast. Its ISO performance, combined with in-body 5-axis stabilization, allows handheld night shots that many cameras couldn’t dream of. You’ll find it ideal for astrophotography and indoor low-light scenes. Macro shots depend mostly on lens choice, but the Sony ecosystem covers this thoroughly.

Video Capabilities: 1080p vs. 4K Powerhouse

Video remains an important consideration. The Galaxy Camera 3G offers 1080p Full HD video in MPEG-4 or H.264 - adequate for casual videography but with no advanced controls, microphone input, or 4K capabilities.

The A7S II, by contrast, introduces 4K UHD video at 30p with superior bit rates via XAVC S codecs, alongside high frame rate Full HD options. There’s also in-camera 5-axis stabilization, mic and headphone ports for audio monitoring - features critical for professional video shooters.

Display and Viewfinder: Composing and Reviewing Images

The Galaxy Camera’s large 4.8-inch LCD is a joy for casual review and touch operation but lacks resolution specs - passing up finesse for size. The absence of any kind of viewfinder is a dealbreaker for many serious shooters.

The Sony’s 3-inch tilting screen is excellent, if a bit smaller than today’s trends, offering good resolution and viewing angles. The superb electronic viewfinder replicates an optical experience with real-time exposure preview and complete framing coverage.

Battery Life and Storage: Staying Powered in the Field

Battery endurance from the Galaxy Camera isn’t specified officially, likely averaging a day’s casual use given its smartphone-like architecture. The device uses microSD cards for storage, easy to swap and widely available.

Sony’s A7S II pushes 370 shots per charge, respectable for a full-frame mirrorless camera, but heavy video users should plan for extra batteries. Storage is flexible with SD cards and Sony Memory Sticks, fitting professional workflows.

Connectivity and Additional Features: Staying in the Loop

Bluetooth and NFC are absent in both cameras; however, the Galaxy Camera emphasizes built-in wireless connectivity and GPS - ideal for geotagging and sharing on the fly, reflecting its smartphone-influenced design.

The Sony A7S II offers NFC and Wi-Fi for image transfer and remote control apps but lacks GPS, which isn’t unusual in a professional body where external GPS modules or smartphone tethering is common.

Price and Value: Budget vs. Professional Investment

Let’s talk dollars. The Samsung Galaxy Camera 3G, priced around $600, markets to enthusiasts desiring an all-in-one compact with connectivity - great for casual photography and travel documentation. It offers ease of use and respectable zoom reach.

Meanwhile, the Sony A7S II commands nearly $2,800 at launch, clearly positioned for serious photographers and filmmakers. It justifies this premium with unmatched low-light capabilities, build quality, and video performance.

Samsung Galaxy Camera 3G front Samsung Galaxy Camera 3G screen back Sony A7S II front Sony A7S II screen back

Looking at image samples from both cameras side by side shows the quality disparity - A7S II’s images are sharper, more detailed, and maintain color fidelity across lighting conditions compared to the softer, noisier images from the Galaxy Camera 3G.

Quantifying the Differences: Performance Scores and Genre Specialization

To distill things further, below is an overall performance rating summary based on image quality, features, ergonomics, and versatility. These grades reflect both lab measurements and practical usage.

Breaking down by photography types:

You can see the Galaxy Camera scores best at casual travel and street photography, whereas the Sony A7S II dominates in professional work, night photography, portraits, and video.

Final Thoughts and Recommendations

If you’re a casual photographer or travel enthusiast needing a lightweight, all-in-one compact with impressive zoom and easy sharing, the Samsung Galaxy Camera 3G still serves its niche well - especially if you value a smartphone-like touchscreen experience. Keep in mind its limits in image quality and manual control, which make it unsuitable for anything demanding.

If you’re a professional or serious enthusiast seeking uncompromising image quality, exceptional low-light capability, and strong video features in a durable, full-frame mirrorless system, the Sony A7S II is a powerhouse worth the investment. Its versatility across genres, particularly portraits, night, and video, will satisfy advanced shooters and hybrid creators.

Remember, choosing between these cameras is really about matching your workflow, shooting style, and budget to the strengths I’ve outlined here. If you want a quick user-friendly shooter, Galaxy Camera fits; if you want to push creative boundaries and deliver pro-level results, the Sony A7S II is the obvious choice.

I hope this detailed breakdown empowers you to make a confident decision. If you have specific shooting scenarios or further questions, feel free to ask - I’m always happy to help photographers find their perfect gear match!