Samsung Ativ S review

A lack of 4G holds back an otherwise stellar Windows Phone.

Ativ S

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The Ativ S bears a strong resemble to Samsung's Galaxy S3, and the two seem to have the exact same camera. The rear camera is an 8-megapixel snapper with autofocus and an LED flash. While it falls just a little bit behind the lense of Lumia 920, its a wholly adequate camera capable of taking good indoor and outdoor shots.

The camera is complemented by a dedicated camera button, a smart feature that all Windows Phone 8 devices share. Pressing it takes you directly into picture taking mode, when the phone is locked.

Unfortunately, it has one WP8 camera feature we dislike, which a touch to focus and shoot. That means that to take a picture, you touch the focal point of the picture, the focus changes and the picture is taken. That means that if you have a photo focused just the way you like it, it may change when you actually take the picture. This loss of control probably won't bother most, but if you're a dedicated cell phone photographer, you might find it annoying.

Samsung Ativ S review

The Ativ S did well with indoor lighting

Samsung Ativ S review

Samsung Ativ S review

Samsung Ativ S review

It's certainly good enough to capture a plate of food

Samsung Ativ S review

Or even a flash-assisted night shot