The camera system is one area where the phone has made real strides since last year, and it's also an upgrade over the standard Galaxy Z Fold 8. The rear array includes a 200MP main camera (f/1.7, 24mm, OIS), a new 50MP ultrawide with a 120-degree field of view, and a 10MP 3x telephoto (67mm, OIS). There are dual 10MP selfie cameras in hole-punches on both the cover and inner displays — Samsung has skipped the under-display camera this time, which is the right call for image quality.
The big upgrade over the Z Fold 7 is the ultrawide. Even setting aside the resolution, it's a pretty big improvement, delivering noticeably more detail and better dynamic range, particularly in daylight. The main and telephoto hardware, though, is carried over unchanged from last year, so if you were hoping for an all-new camera system to match the Ultra branding, temper your expectations.
In good light, the results are very impressive. The 200MP main sensor produces bright, vibrant, detailed images with the punchy-but-not-cartoonish color processing Samsung has settled into. The 3x telephoto is solid for portraits and moderate zoom, and digital zoom beyond that is usable up to a point, though edges soften quickly past 10x.
Low light is where the camera isn't quite as impressive as some others. The Ultra produces bright, sharp images with effective noise control, and the main sensor's size helps considerably. But it falls short of the Galaxy S26 Ultra in low-light detail — the S-series flagship simply pulls more out of dark scenes, more reliably. The gap in zoom quality is even wider. Without a 5x or 10x periscope, the Z Fold 8 Ultra just can't compete with the S26 Ultra for long-range photography. In fact, the telephoto camera on this device is about the same quality as the short-range telephoto on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which of course coexists with a much better 5x telephoto camera on that device.
As with other foldable devices, the form factor can be helpful when taking photos of yourself. You can use the cover display as a viewfinder while taking selfies with the higher-quality rear cameras, meaning that you don't have to use the lower-quality 10-megapixel front-facing cameras if you don't want.
Against the standard Galaxy Z Fold 8, the Z Fold 8 Ultra has a clear advantage in the camera department. The standard model has a dual 50-megapixel setup, doing away with the telephoto camera altogether. On the Z Fold 8 Ultra, you get better cameras all around, plus that telephoto camera, even if the zoom quality isn't as good as on some other devices.