Samsung Video Settings for Better Galaxy Footage

As it stands, current Galaxy phones record video in Video mode by default at 1080p at 30fps. While this may be enough for sharing quick videos over messaging apps, it does look a little soft on a big screen. In this guide, we’ll show you which resolutions are available on which Galaxy phones, the best video settings for most people, and where to find these settings in One UI 9 and previous versions. For footage you plan to colour-grade, our Samsung Log guide goes further.

Video settings by situation

The default video settings as seen on Samsung’s S26 guide are FHD 30 fps, but you can change the resolution and frame rate by tapping the resolution icon at the top when in Video mode.

Most other video-related settings can be found under Camera settings > Videos, but some have migrated to Camera Assistant with One UI 9.

Resolution and frame rate by phone

Frame rate determines how natural movement appears in a video, with 24fps and 30fps offering a subtle blur effect that complements most content. Meanwhile, shooting at 60fps produces smoother footage for fast-paced action and offers the flexibility of halving the speed later on. For anything slower you'd use Slow motion, which shoots at higher fps, and our slow motion guide has what fps and what lighting flicker you get indoors on each phone. 30fps is a safe default if you plan on playing your videos back at full speed.

As for resolution, shooting in 8K will only prove useful if you plan on cropping or extracting stills from your clips. Footage shot at this resolution produces sizeable video files and requires very steady hands or a tripod, as Tom's Guide discovered that stabilised video recording is limited to QHD on the Galaxy S26. 4K should be plenty detailed enough for most viewing purposes.

Stabilisation: standard, Super Steady and Horizontal lock

Tap the icon (described by Samsung as a moving figure) at the top of Video mode to use Super Steady mode, which is even more effective than regular Video stabilization (which should stay enabled in Camera settings > Videos for handheld videos) if you’re walking or running while filming.

Super Steady uses the ultra-wide camera (according to GSMArena’s listings), and Tom’s Guide says that on the S26 it limits video recording to QHD at up to 60fps and zooming to 2x. The S26’s Super Steady also includes Horizontal lock to keep the horizon level when rotating the device. According to SamMobile, the Galaxy S25 received Horizontal lock with One UI 9, but the Galaxy S24’s Super Steady doesn’t have Horizontal lock. Our video stabilisation guide compares each option by model and shows how to switch them all off for a tripod or gimbal.

There’s also an Optical image stabilization (OIS) option for Videos in Camera Assistant on the Galaxy S25 Ultra with One UI 9, and we’d recommend keeping this enabled for handheld video.

Low light and Auto FPS

For casual shooting in the evening, we suggest turning on Auto FPS. Located under Camera settings > Videos, Auto FPS automatically changes the frame rate to capture brighter videos in dim lighting, Samsung says (currently for 30fps videos only in One UI 9). However, if you need videos with a consistent frame rate (e.g. for editing with other videos), turn off Auto FPS.

Stick to the 1x camera whenever possible in dim situations, as Samsung’s Galaxy S26 guide points out that optical zoom may not work in low-light conditions. Not only that, but the larger sensor in the main camera helps minimise noise. Our shutter speed guide explains why the light you add matters more than any setting.

HDR, HEVC and bitrate

HDR video shooting captures 10-bit colour and supports a broader range of brightness. To access it on One UI 9 and One UI 8.5, head to Camera settings > Videos > Video format and flip on HDR. You’ll then see an HDR button in the camera viewfinder. On the Galaxy S25 running One UI 7, HDR is buried in Advanced video options.

On the Galaxy S25 Ultra running One UI 9, you’ll also find an HDR10+ toggle buried in Camera Assistant under Videos. Samsung describes this feature as an option to “use HDR10+ instead of normal HDR”, but it’s not available unless you’ve already enabled HDR under Video format, so don’t expect HDR by itself to give you HDR10+.

If you want to share videos with as many people as possible, it’s probably best to stick with standard video formats, as Samsung says you’ll need a compatible display to play HDR content properly.

High-efficiency video coding (HEVC) and H.264 (most compatible) are the two video codec choices offered in the Video format menu. Files recorded using HEVC will be smaller than those recorded using H.264. Samsung cautions that videos recorded using HEVC may not be viewable on other devices or shareable online. In addition, HEVC video recording may not be available when using certain recording modes.

Turning on High bitrate videos means better video quality, but also larger file sizes. If you plan on editing your videos, you might want to select a higher bitrate.

Pro Video for consistent footage

Auto video will try to compensate for brightness and colour changes as you move around, and this can result in ‘pumping’ exposure and colour changes if you pan from, say, a window to a dark corner of a room.

You can manually set the exposure, white balance and focus from the Pro Video options (under More) so each frame is consistent.

For natural motion blur, a good shutter speed to use would be about twice your frame rate, so 1/50s if you’re recording at 24 or 25fps, or 1/60s if you’re recording at 30fps. In terms of white balance, this can be set using a Kelvin temperature, so try 5500K outdoors in daylight, and 3200K indoors under warm colour temperature bulbs. Try not to keep changing it during a shot. Our white balance guide has more starting values.

Pro Video’s exposure monitor highlights under- and over-exposed areas of a shot using a coloured or patterned overlay. The S26 series also unlocks a few more Pro Video frame rates, although it’s worth noting that it could do these before One UI 9 rolled out. According to SamMobile, the S26 Ultra can shoot at 25, 48, 50 and 100fps in both FHD and 4K, as well as 25fps in 8K. Neither the S24 nor S25 series can do this. Those extra 25 and 50fps options could come in handy for reducing flicker in certain lighting conditions (particularly artificial lighting powered by a 50Hz mains supply). Log recording is supported by the S24, S25 and S26 series, as well as Samsung’s more recent foldable phones. On One UI 9-equipped phones it’s listed as a Pro Video feature. APV-encoded video is only supported by the S26 Ultra, and can be recorded at up to 8K at 24 to 30fps.

Sound

You can often tell if a video was filmed on a phone just by the audio, so make use of all the options available to you.

360 audio recording will make use of Bluetooth headphones (if they’re compatible), Audio playback will allow music to continue playing during the video, and if you enable Zoom-in mic (under Camera settings > Audio options) in Video mode, the microphone will pick up sound from the direction you’re zoomed in on more loudly.

Pro Video will let you use a USB or Bluetooth mic and will also let you specify which direction you want to increase the volume from (handy for interviews etc.). Again for interviews/speeches, the best improvement you can get for sound would be a small clip-on mic that goes near the person talking. On supported phones, you can also use Gallery’s Audio eraser to reduce background noise from videos (see our video editing guide to find it in the video editor).

Before you press record

• Just like with photos, wipe the lens before shooting video to avoid dulling the image with smudges and fingerprints.
• Make sure there’s enough storage space available before shooting, as 8K and high bitrate video can use a lot of space in a hurry. For uninterrupted APV video recording, Samsung says you need a minimum of 10% of internal storage available.
• Enable Composition guide (located in Camera settings > General) to display a handy set of grid lines and a level while shooting video.
• Videos recorded in portrait orientation are perfect for vertical video apps, while landscape orientation is best for TV and YouTube. Our Instagram video guide covers the upload setting that keeps Reels sharp.
• Mount the phone on a tripod for long or slow shots, and our tripod guide compares options.