The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is one of the best phones you can buy in 2026, and if you already own one, I have some positive news for you: Your phone can take better photos than it does right now.

Samsung added a larger aperture (on two sensors) and upgraded its camera processing to fare better against Apple's iPhone 17 Pro this year. However, if you haven't played around with the settings, you aren't making the most of Samsung's new upgrades.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra has a versatile camera system, but the default settings might not work for everyone. They didn't for me. So I took a deep dive into the buried menus and found ways to improve the shutter speed, reduce compression and trigger the 24-megapixel processing pipeline, among other things. If you aren't satisfied with the image quality on your Samsung phone right now, I recommend taking a look at these options in the Samsung Camera Assistant.

Locate the Camera Assistant settings

The Camera Assistant on Galaxy smartphones is a Good Lock module (essentially like a plugin). It adds additional settings to the default Camera app. For the longest time, Samsung didn't preload these settings on its flagship phones, but things have changed with One UI 8.5 on the latest Samsung flagships. You can now find the Camera Assistant settings within the Camera app.

To find these additional settings:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Tap on the four-dot icon to get the menu.
3. Tap on Settings.
4. Scroll to the Camera Assistant. Tap on it.
5. It'll take you to the Samsung Galaxy Store with a pop-up for Camera Assistant. Tap on Install.

However, if it is not present here, you'll need to install the Good Lock app through the Galaxy Store. Search for Camera Assistant and download the module from there.

Once located, you're now ready to take control over the processing and camera performance. Several of these options aren't objectively better than the other, but here's what I recommend changing and which setting could fit in what scenario.

Use all those megapixels

The Galaxy S26 Ultra has a 200-megapixel main camera, but it defaults to 12-megapixel photos out of the box. While these photos are small in size, you won't get the same amount of detail and clarity as higher-resolution modes. I don't recommend capturing everything in 200-megapixel mode, either – it is slow and will eat up your storage quicker than anything else.

I've found the 24-megapixel mode to be the best of both worlds. It can take quick snaps and get sharp results simultaneously without having a large file size.

The best part is that Samsung upgraded its processing to capture 24-megapixel resolution photos even in digital zoom.

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As a result, you get 24-megapixel shots on three camera sensors, including these zoom ranges: 0.6x to 0.9x for ultrawide, 1x to 1.9x for the main and 5x to 9.9x for the periscope telephoto camera.

The 10-megapixel 3x tele sensor misses out on this feature due to its lower resolution and the main camera defaults everything from 2x to 2.9x in 12 megapixels, despite using a higher resolution mode.

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I suggest you change the default resolution to 24-megapixel mode because it is enough for almost all scenarios. The only time I've noticed a difference was while capturing neon lights in each mode. The former artificially brightens the whole frame, whereas the 50-megapixel mode in 9.2x zoom exposes for the signboards, which results in more natural-looking photos like the example below.

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For most of the other scenarios, 24-megapixel mode remains the sweet spot and here's how you can make it the default resolution for your Galaxy S26 Ultra photos:

1. Go to the Camera Assistant.
2. Scroll down to find the Photos settings.
3. Tap on 24 MP resolution

4. You'll see two settings: 24 MP in Photo mode and Keep 24 MP resolution. Turn on both of them.

While you're at it, these are the settings to change under the Camera Assistant settings if:

You want full control over lenses

You need to disable Auto Lens Switching. By default, the Galaxy S26 Ultra camera system automatically switches between the four rear cameras based on the lighting, the phone's distance from the subject and zoom range.

It isn't the smartest decision to rely on your phone's smarts. For example, when you take the phone close to the subject for a macro shot, it takes a few seconds to land on a usable lens based on your distance. In this time, the moment could be lost.

You can instead decide on the lens you want to use, get close to the subject and take the photo, without any automatic lens switching. All you need to do is turn off the Auto Lens Switching toggle under the Lens and Zoom option.

You need more accurate skin tones

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Samsung phones can oversharpen skin tones, especially under artificial lighting conditions. If you're not a fan of the processed look, you can opt for softer skin tones by going to the Photo Softening option under the Photos menu and setting it to Medium or High.

In the above two shots, you can notice how the left image (with Photo Softening turned off) has a stronger black point and shadows. In comparison, the shot on the right (with Photo Softening turned to High) has a more natural feel to it. My skin and beard still have similar details in both shots, but I prefer the softer, less processed photo on the right.

What else?

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By default, Samsung keeps Distortion Correction turned on and Adaptive Pixel and Upscale Digital Zoom turned off. But you should experiment with these settings according to your photos. Turning them on could result in a better-looking shot. For example, when capturing my watch, the default settings couldn't get the sparkles on the earthphase complication (on the left with Snoopy). However, once I turned on Adaptive Pixel and Upscale Digital Zoom, it was able to give me more details on the dial.

On the other hand, Distortion Correction fixes the bending lines in a photo, which could be caused by lens distortion. So turning it on results in better-looking photos, especially those that involve buildings.

Other than these two settings, I used to recommend turning on Quick Tap Shutter until last year. However, I haven't seen a noticeable difference in photos with this setting turned on or off on my Galaxy S26 Ultra. Samsung has improved the shutter speed on its flagship this year, but moving subjects can still get a halo effect in default settings. You can slightly improve on this by enabling the Prioritize Focus over Speed toggle (located under Focus).

Tinkering around with these settings has helped me make the most of the camera in my pocket. I hope they'll improve your photo-taking experience on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, too. I also suggest exploring the filters present in the viewfinder and trying to create your own, according to your taste. It is fun!

Watch this: Which Phone Takes Better Photos? iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S26 Ultra

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