The Galaxy A37 has a triple camera system on its back that consists of one proper camera (the main wide-angle one), one modest but still real ultrawide, and a third one that they call ‘macro’, which does little more than increase the camera count in marketing materials.
The A57 appeared to be reusing the A56’s camera hardware, but the A37 brings a main camera upgrade over the A36 – while still 50MP in nominal resolution, the sensor is now larger, with a 1/1.56″ optical format in place of the 1/1.95″ unit on the A36. Looking at the specs, it should be the same main camera as on the A57, which is a welcome development towards parity between the two models.
Of course, the A37 can’t have the same-same camera system as the higher-tier model, so it gets a toned-down ultrawide camera with an 8MP sensor (12MP on the A57), though this model outputs 13MP files. It’s not as wide as the A57’s though, with a reported focal length of 16mm (13mm on the A57). Neither of the phones’ ultrawide cameras features autofocus, so there’s some parity there too.
The selfie camera does look like it’s shared between the A37 and A57, with all the published specs seemingly identical. That said, the EXIF data of photos taken on the two phones reveals slightly different actual focal lengths (both are still 25mm equivalent though), so they just might be different modules after all. Neither the A37, nor the A57 reports the exact sensor they’re using – not on the selfie camera, and not on any of the other cameras.
Main camera
The Galaxy A37’s main camera captures very good photos for its class. Detail is good, with some caveats – fine textures do have a bit of a processed, sharpened look and shadows and lower midtones can get soft. None of that is particularly bad and it’s not exclusive to the A37 either. Dynamic range is great, the vivid colors are easy to like, and there were no white balance blunders in our experience. To a great extent (and perhaps predictably), these are the same images as the ones you’d get from the A57’s main camera at 1x.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x)
The A37 does a fine job with human subjects too, capturing good facial detail and likeable skin tones. The background blur in Portrait mode isn’t excessive and subject isolation is not infallible but still pretty good in most cases.
Human subjects, main camera (1x): Photo mode • Portrait mode
As we observed on the A57, the 50MP full-res photos are quite soft, but they still might be able to give you a bit of extra detail compared to the default 12.5MP results.
Daylight samples, main camera (1x), 50MP
2x zoom photos are softer than we’d like, but actually not bad at all for the A37’s class. They’re generally the same as the A57’s, and they’re competitive at that price point, so even better at the A37’s level.
Daylight samples, main camera (2x)
Photos of people at 2x zoom don’t look too hot from a sharpness perspective, though the Photo mode results are still pretty good (the Portrait mode versions were often softer). On the other hand, the tighter framing and/or better perspective you’d get from a longer subject distance may very well be worth the drop in sharpness compared to the 1x results.
Human subjects, main camera (2x): Photo mode • Portrait mode
Ultrawide camera
The results from the ultrawide camera are underwhelming on a few levels. For one, it’s not a particularly wide-angle lens so you won’t be getting too dramatic shots. And the shots you do get will be quite soft, with the 8MP to 13MP upscaling (sensor resolution vs. image dimensions) not necessarily helping. That’s in addition to not having autofocus, so nearby subjects will be soft because of being out of focus, but that’s to be expected from an ultrawide camera at this price point. On a positive note, dynamic range and colors are pretty great.
Daylight samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)
You do get a couple of options for shooting nearby subjects though – the dedicated 5MP ‘macro’ camera, or the main camera with its relatively short 9cm minimum focusing distance. The output from the ‘macro’ camera is usable, but it has a certain cheap quality to it, even though it’s somehow a tiny bit better than what we got out of the A57’s supposedly identical camera. There’s no going around the inherent issues with shooting with such a camera though – the 3.5-5cm working distance means you’ll cast shadows on your subject or just simply poke at it when trying to position the phone.
Close-up samples, ‘macro’ camera
The main camera will keep you at a more reasonable distance from your subject while capturing higher quality shots in most instances, even if it’s not the benchmark for sharpness at 2x zoom.
Close-up samples, main camera, 2x
Main camera
Main camera low-light photos from the Galaxy A37’s are very good. Sharpness and detail are pretty great in better-lit scenes and still quite respectable in darker settings. Dynamic range is excellent and colors are typically on point too. We wouldn’t say the A37 is at all worse than the A57 in these situations – if anything, certain scenes are rendered better, like the mosque or the not-really-neon red A sign.
Low-light samples, main camera (1x)
Night mode processing was often detrimental to the A57’s image quality, but here on the A37 we’re not seeing much of a difference at all.
Low-light samples, main camera (1x), Night mode
2x shots are predictably softer, but still not bad at all, considering the A37’s market position. Sure, high-end phones may do better, but not necessarily all of them, and the A37 is looking pretty good in its context.
Low-light samples, main camera (2x)
Ultrawide camera
Low-light photography isn’t the ultrawide camera’s forte either – the shots are soft and grainy. Dynamic range is decent and colors are generally accurate, you just have to refrain from pixel peeping.
Low-light samples, ultrawide camera (0.6x)
The Galaxy A37’s selfies are quite good, with the results being more or less on par with the A57’s. Detail is very good in well-lit scenes, dynamic range is great, skin tones are looking nice. Where the A37’s output falls apart is low-light scenes – its photos are quite soft and notably softer than on the A57, unfortunately.
Selfie samples
Photo quality verdict
The Galaxy A37 has no major photography aspirations, but will serve you well within its inherent limitations. Its main camera is plenty capable in both good light and at night, the 2x results are decent, and it will do a solid job with portraits as well as closeups. The ultrawide is unremarkable but is better than none, which can’t be said of the pointless ‘macro’ camera. Selfies, meanwhile, are great.
The Galaxy A37’s video recording capabilities are just about as wide-ranging as the A57’s, which is to say not very wide-ranging. The A37 can record video up to 4K resolution with its main rear camera and the front-facing one. The ultrawide is limited to 1080p30 – the A57’s ultrawide can do 4K30 and that’s the only difference, though with the quality you get there, we’re not sure it even counts. The main rear camera can also do 1080p60fps, unlike the other two, which max out at 30fps.
You get to choose between the h.264 and h.265 (HEVC) codecs and there’s no HDR recording capability. Video stabilization is enabled or disabled globally from the camera app settings and it’s there for you in all resolutions and frame rates (not that there’s a whole lot to choose from). There’s no Horizon lock, naturally – you need to get one of the S26s for that.
You can check out the playlist below, which includes a series of multiple video samples, or watch the playlist on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries
The A37’s main camera captures very good 4K videos at 1x, having plenty of pop thanks to their vibrant colors and great contrast, and they have good detail too. 2x zoom footage is on the soft side, despite heavy sharpening, and it’s a notch worse than the A57’s. The ultrawide’s 1080p clips are usable, with good overall properties and adequate detail given the resolution.
Video screengrabs, daylight: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
The main camera’s low-light clips have good dynamic range and colors, while detail is generally alright, unless you focus on the shadows, which are somewhat murky. Detail is pretty soft at 2x. The ultrawide’s results are pretty bad overall – softness, limited dynamic range, loss of saturation.
Video screengrabs, low light: 0.6x • 1x • 2x
The A37’s video stabilization is very good – it pans smoothly and captures steady footage when shooting from a fixed position. There’s some minor shake left over in the end result when shooting while walking, but it’s still a pretty great performance.
Video quality verdict
The Galaxy A37 offers a simple video recording experience, with a 4K30 quality cap and no HDR capability. The main camera produces likeable daylight videos nonetheless and remains okay in the dark, plus it offers competent stabilization. The ultrawide’s 1080p footage is more of a checkmark-level result – yes, it’s there.
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