The brand new Motorola Edge 50 Ultra flagship is a very promising phone that aims to go all-in with the big boys. It is packing some pretty solid camera hardware that sounds impressive on paper, but can this help it rank high on the PhoneArena Camera honorary podium? Let's explore what this new Motorola flagship is all about.
In comparison with last year's Motorola Edge 50 Ultra predecessor, the Edge 40 Pro, the new phone has scored a pretty solid upgrade in the zooming department. Gone is the "measly" 12MP telephoto with merely 2X zoom; instead, we get a much higher-res 64MP camera that boasts 3X optical zoom. Thanks to it, you can zoom farther and get much better image quality.
At the same time, we also have some hardware improvements on the rest of the cameras, too! For example, the main one has scored a slightly larger sensor and wider aperture, as well as laser autofocus, while the ultra-wide has also been equipped with a wider aperture.
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra
PhoneArena Camera Score
BEST 157
138
PhoneArena Photo Score
BEST 162
153
Main (wide)
BEST 85
82
Zoom
BEST 28
25
Ultra-wide
BEST 25
20
Selfie
BEST 30
26
PhoneArena Video Score
BEST 153
123
Main (wide)
BEST 80
61
Zoom
BEST 27
19
Ultra-wide
BEST 23
18
Selfie
BEST 28
26
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra Camera Score compared to its rivals
Phone
PhoneArena Camera Score
Photo Score
Video Score
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra
136.5
149.6
123.5
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
153.5
159.5
147.4
Google Pixel 8 Pro
148.2
155.5
140.9
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
152.1
156.7
147.5
As evident in the table above, the Edge 50 Ultra successfully holds its own against its more popular rivals in terms of photo quality, though it still loses to all of them. Still, it's not overwhelmingly bad in any way, it's just not that exceptional.
However, where the Motorola flagship loses the most ground is in the video department, where it delivers disappointing results that are not on par with other flagship phones in the same tier.
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Pros
Excellent color rendition
Very decent zoom image quality
Very capable main camera
Cons
Oversharpening issues
Inconsistent details in ultra-wide and video modes
No HDR and high-res image preview
Lackluster video stabilization
Main Camera
The main camera of the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra is pretty well-equipped: it has a 50MP camera with a fairly large sensor and very wide aperture. The phone uses pixel-binning by default, so you usually end up with a 12MP image, which strikes a perfect balance between quality and image size.
As per our tests, the Moto Edge 50 Ultra is pretty much on par with its rivals. From a color reproduction and overall quality perspective, the flagship is on par with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the Pixel 8 Pro. Where it loses a bit is in the sharpness: the Motorola phone fails to deliver some of the finer details that make photos taken with its rivals a level above.
The Motorola Edge Ultra lacks an HDR and high-resolution previews in the viewfinder, whereas its rivals do.
Zoom Quality
When it comes to zoom, the dedicated telephoto deliver 3X optical zoom, and as per our tests, it delivers excellent image quality.
Although a bit shorter than the dedicated telephoto cameras of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Galaxy S24 Ultra, it has superb detail at its native optical zoom. Colors and exposure are mostly on par with its rivals. Overall, a pleasant surprise from the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra!
Ultra-wide Camera
The 50MP ultra-wide camera of the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra is perfectly capable of capturing lovely photos.
It's on par with its more popular rivals, though it has some serious oversharpening issues. Detail is lacking in comparison with the rivals.
Front Camera
The selfie camera is a 50MP one, but it fails to resolve detail as good as its primary rivals. That said, exposure and color accuracies are both on point.
We doubt it that you'll ever be disappointed with how your selfies will turn out.
Main Camera - Video
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra video frame
Video taken with the Moto Edge 50 Ultra generally look great, with excellent exposure and colors, but detail is lacking and the image stabilization isn't that good. What's more, in order to compensate for the lack of detail, the phone tends to oversharpen videos, which is not ideal.
Zoom Quality - Video
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra telephoto video frame
Videos taken with the telephoto camera are pretty decent, on par with what the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Galaxy S24 Ultra, and the Pixel 8 Pro. Stabilization is, once again, slightly more disappointing than what we'd like to see, Detail, on the other hand, is superb.
Ultra-wide Quality - Video
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra ultra-wide video frame
The ultra-wide camera is good, but suffers from some terrible oversharpening in both the center and the corners of the frame.
Front-facing Quality - Video
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra selfie video frame
Videos taken with the front-facing camera are decent, with lots of detail and great exposure. Still, the Edge 50 Ultra's rivals fare better in this test.
Conclusion
Motorola Edge 50 Ultra (Image by PhoneArena)
Overall, the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra has a very decent camera that can definitely rival more popular devices like the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Pixel 8 Pro, and Galaxy S24 Ultra. However, it suffers from oversharpening issues which mar the overall experience.
We certainly like the images that the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra delivers. Although it compromises in some areas, it's a phone that's more affordable than the rest of its rivals, so you just have to know what you are getting into.
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Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.
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