Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review

A closer look at the now quad-core tablet from Korea

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review
We check out the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

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Look, nobody in their right mind would base their tablet buying decision on the quality of the camera onboard; for a start you'll look like a bit of an idiot if you use a 10-inch slate as a camera when you're out and about and, ultimately, the quality of the image and videos captured - despite what the spec sheet says - is usually pretty atrocious.

Saying that, the quality of the 5-megapixel camera (complete with LED flash) on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is surprisingly good. It's no compact camera replacement, that's for sure, and it's nowhere near on the brilliant level of the top smartphones (such as its Galaxy S3 brethren) but it's a marked improvement on its tablet rivals.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review

The usual noise, grain and blur associated with tablet photography is kept to a minimum on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, and there are plenty of different shooting modes on the custom Samsung camera UI to get excited about. We particularly liked the Cartoon mode.

Focusing is auto or macro, you can mess around with the exposure, alter the white balance, change the ISO, set the scene mode and much more. In short, it's a Samsung smartphone quality setup on a tablet, even if the images aren't quite up to the same level.

It is nice that you can customise the icons that appear on the sidebar as well, making it easy for you to play around with the settings that you like to change the most with ease.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review

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Despite it being a dank day, the image produced was surprisingly sharp.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review

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By tweaking the settings, it is possible to get a decent shot - even with the elements against you.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review

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Not a very well lit room here, and the result is a bit of over exposure and some blurriness.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review

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The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1's flash helps, but it's not ideal.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review

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The macro mode resulted in an incredibly sharp image for a close-up subject.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 review

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There are some funky shooting modes on offer on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, and also the option to directly share using Wi-Fi Direct.