The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (2026) supports Expert RAW in DNG format and has no mechanical shutter — the image counter stored in each DNG file records total electronic captures. Drop an Expert RAW DNG to read it instantly.
Check Image Counter →The Galaxy S26 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 and features a quad-camera system: a 200 MP ISOCELL main sensor (f/1.7, OIS), a 50 MP ultrawide (f/2.0), a 50 MP 5× periscope telephoto (f/2.8, OIS), and a 10 MP 3× telephoto (f/2.4, OIS). The integrated S Pen continues the Note line heritage, with refined low-latency tip response and updated Galaxy AI-powered note features. Samsung’s second-generation Galaxy AI enhancements deliver improved scene recognition, Zoom Anywhere processing, and Nightography mode refinements.
Like all modern Samsung Galaxy smartphones, the S26 Ultra uses CMOS electronic readout only. There is no mechanical focal-plane shutter. Every image increments the persistent electronic image counter embedded in Expert RAW DNG files.
| Model | Release | Main Sensor | Shutter Type | RAW Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S26 Ultra | 2026 | 200 MP ISOCELL (f/1.7) | Electronic only | Expert RAW (DNG) |
| Galaxy S25 Ultra | 2025 | 200 MP ISOCELL HP9 (f/1.7) | Electronic only | Expert RAW (DNG) |
| Galaxy S24 Ultra | 2024 | 200 MP ISOCELL HP2 (f/1.7) | Electronic only | Expert RAW (DNG) |
| Nikon Z8 | 2023 | 45.7 MP stacked BSI | Mechanical + Electronic | NEF |
.dng extension.The image counter is a useful indicator of how intensively the device was used, but it carries no mechanical wear significance. These are the meaningful factors to evaluate:
| What to Check | How |
|---|---|
| Battery health | Settings → Battery and device care → Battery. Samsung reports charge cycle count and health %; below 80% warrants replacement consideration |
| S Pen condition | Test S Pen writing latency and tip responsiveness; a worn or damaged tip indicates heavy note-taking use. Check the silo mechanism for smooth insertion |
| Display condition | Inspect the 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED for burn-in (especially status bar and navigation areas on heavy users) and edge delamination |
| Camera lenses | Inspect all four lenses (200 MP main, ultrawide, 5× periscope, 3×) for chips, fogging, or scratches; test optical zoom at each focal length |
| Titanium frame | Inspect the titanium frame edges and corners for dents or structural damage around USB-C, speaker grilles, and S Pen silo |
| Image counter | High count (>50,000) indicates intensive use — useful context, not a hardware failure indicator |
Expert RAW on the S26 Ultra is Samsung’s professional DNG capture app, available as a separate Galaxy Store download. It merges the raw sensor output with Samsung’s multi-frame processing pipeline, offering histogram display, multi-frame composite RAW for low-light shots, and per-lens manual controls. The resulting DNG is fully compatible with Lightroom, Capture One, darktable, and any DNG-capable editor.
The image counter is stored in the DNG EXIF metadata under the ImageNumber field within Samsung’s MakerNote IFD. This counter increments with every capture across all camera modes and lens positions and cannot be reset by a factory reset or software update.
No. All Galaxy S smartphones use CMOS electronic readout. There is no focal-plane shutter mechanism and no rated mechanical lifespan.
Open the Galaxy Store app, search for Expert RAW, and install it. It is free and exclusive to Samsung Galaxy devices. After installation it appears as a standalone app and is also accessible from the Camera app’s more modes menu.
No. The image counter is stored in persistent hardware memory and cannot be reset by a factory reset, software update, or any user action.
A casual user accumulates roughly 5,000–20,000 captures per year; an active photographer or social media user may exceed 50,000 per year. There is no mechanical wear threshold — a high count indicates heavy use, not proximity to failure.
The S26 Ultra upgrades the processor to Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, refines the Galaxy AI camera features with improved scene recognition and Zoom Anywhere, and updates the S Pen tip latency. The core quad-camera hardware (200 MP main, 50 MP ultrawide, dual telephoto) is an evolution of the S25 Ultra system. The Expert RAW DNG counter works identically on both generations.