Galaxy Z Fold 8: How to Make Lens Switching Smoother in Video

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a surprisingly capable camera system for a foldable. With a 50MP wide camera, 50MP ultrawide and Samsung’s ProVisual Engine, it can capture detailed video in a wide range of situations. But there’s one thing you may notice when recording: switching perspectives can sometimes feel more abrupt than you’d expect.

That becomes especially noticeable when you’re moving from the main camera to the ultrawide camera, changing your framing while walking, or filming a subject that’s moving around the scene.

The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to live with the default camera behavior.

Samsung’s Camera Assistant includes autofocus controls that let you change how quickly autofocus shifts and how sensitive the camera is to changes in the scene. Those controls are available for video on supported Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Here’s how to use them to get more controlled-looking footage.

Why lens switching can look abrupt on the Galaxy Z Fold 8

Samsung generally tunes its camera system to react quickly.

That makes sense for everyday photography. If your subject suddenly moves, you want autofocus to react rather than sit there searching for focus.

Video is a little different.

When you’re recording continuously, an instant change in focus or framing can be surprisingly distracting. Instead of looking like a deliberate camera movement, the transition can feel as if the phone suddenly changed its mind.

The effect is particularly noticeable when you’re:

• Recording someone walking toward you
• Panning across a scene
• Moving from a wide shot to a closer composition
• Switching between the Fold 8’s rear cameras
• Recording subjects at different distances
• Shooting handheld while moving around

The hardware isn’t necessarily the problem.

It’s often the way the camera responds to changes in the scene.

And that’s exactly where Camera Assistant becomes useful.

The Camera Assistant settings that can make a difference

Samsung’s Camera Assistant includes an option called Auto focus speed and sensitivity.

Inside it, you’ll find two controls:

• Transition speed
• Shift sensitivity

Samsung explains that these controls determine how quickly autofocus changes and how sensitive the camera is to changes in the subject while shooting. They work across several camera modes, including Video and Pro Video.

That gives Fold 8 owners considerably more control than the standard Camera app settings might suggest.

Transition speed

This controls how quickly autofocus moves from one focus point to another.

A faster setting allows the camera to react almost immediately.

That’s useful when you’re filming fast-moving subjects, but it can also make focus changes look abrupt.

A slower setting gives the camera more time to move between focus points.

For video, a slower transition can produce a more natural-looking change, particularly when you’re deliberately moving between subjects at different distances.

Shift sensitivity

Shift sensitivity determines how readily the camera decides that it needs to change focus.

Higher sensitivity means the camera reacts more readily when something changes in the frame.

Lower sensitivity makes the camera less eager to change focus.

That’s useful when you’re recording a relatively stable scene and don’t want the autofocus system constantly reacting to small movements in the background.

How to access the settings

Before changing anything, make sure Camera Assistant is installed and updated.

Samsung provides Camera Assistant through the Galaxy Store and through Good Lock on supported devices. Samsung’s current Camera Assistant documentation lists the Galaxy Z Fold 8 among supported Fold-series devices.

Then:

1. Open Camera Assistant.
2. Find Auto focus speed and sensitivity.
3. Open the setting.
4. Adjust Transition speed.
5. Adjust Shift sensitivity.
6. Open the Camera app and test the result in Video mode.

The exact menu appearance can change slightly depending on your One UI and Camera Assistant versions, so don’t worry if the screen doesn’t look identical to screenshots from another Galaxy phone.

A good starting setup for smoother video

There isn’t one setting that’s perfect for everyone.

That’s because the ideal autofocus behavior depends on what you’re recording.

For normal video, however, I’d start by slowing down the transition speed rather than immediately changing every camera setting.

Record the same scene twice.

First, use Samsung’s default settings.

Then slow the transition speed and repeat the shot.

Watch both clips back-to-back.

The difference is often easier to recognize in playback than while you’re holding the phone.

If the camera still keeps jumping between subjects, experiment with lower shift sensitivity.

This gives the autofocus system fewer reasons to immediately change focus every time something briefly crosses the frame.

Don’t make autofocus too slow

There’s a temptation to turn everything down after seeing how much smoother a slow transition can look.

I wouldn’t do that.

If you’re recording children playing, sports, pets or someone walking quickly toward the camera, excessively slow autofocus can actually make your footage worse.

You might get a beautiful transition when the subject changes slowly, but then miss focus when the subject suddenly moves.

That’s why I’d treat the settings as a starting point rather than a magic combination.

Smooth video is about controlled reactions, not slow reactions at all costs.

The Fold 8’s camera system is a little different

It’s also important to understand what you’re actually switching between on the Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Samsung equips the Fold 8 with a 50MP wide camera and 50MP ultrawide camera, while the system provides up to 10x digital zoom and 2x optical-quality zoom from the wide camera.

So you shouldn’t expect the exact same behavior as a Galaxy Ultra model with several dedicated rear focal lengths.

The Fold 8 is built around a simpler dual-camera setup.

That doesn’t make it bad for video.

In fact, Samsung specifically highlights the ProVisual Engine’s ability to improve video quality, including noise reduction and processing across the wide and ultrawide cameras.

It simply means that what looks like “lens switching” isn’t always a straightforward physical camera change.

Depending on the zoom level and scene, Samsung’s processing and camera algorithms also play a role.

Try this when recording while walking

Here’s a simple test that’s worth doing.

Hold your Galaxy Z Fold 8 at a comfortable distance and start recording.

Then slowly walk toward your subject.

Instead of constantly changing zoom levels, make one deliberate framing adjustment and watch how the camera responds.

Now repeat the same shot after reducing the autofocus transition speed.

The second clip should feel less reactive.

You may still notice exposure changes or a difference in perspective when the phone changes cameras. That’s normal.

The goal isn’t to completely eliminate those changes. The goal is to make the camera’s response feel intentional rather than sudden.

Use the Fold 8’s Dual Recording when you don’t need lens switching

There’s another feature worth remembering.

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 supports Dual Recording, allowing you to use the front and rear cameras simultaneously. Samsung says the resulting vertical split view can be displayed on both the cover and main screens.

This can be particularly useful for interviews, reactions and creator-style videos.

Instead of repeatedly switching between cameras during a recording, you can capture both perspectives at once.

That’s not a replacement for traditional lens switching, but for certain types of content it can make the recording process much simpler.

My FanCam can help after you finish recording

Samsung has also introduced My FanCam on the Fold 8.

It uses Galaxy AI to identify a person in an existing video and create a subject-focused version of the footage. You can select a person and choose an aspect ratio, such as 9:16, before creating the edited clip.

That means you don’t always need to get the framing absolutely perfect while recording.

If you’re filming a group of people, for example, you can capture a wider shot and decide later which person should remain the focus.

It’s a different approach to solving the same problem.

Instead of forcing the camera to follow every movement perfectly, you can capture more of the scene and refine the framing afterward.

What about photos?

I’d be much less aggressive with these settings when taking still photos.

Photography benefits from quick autofocus.

If someone suddenly moves into your frame, you generally want the Fold 8 to respond quickly rather than deliberately taking its time.

That’s why I wouldn’t copy a video-focused setup and use it blindly for every shooting situation.

A better approach is to adjust the settings based on what you’re doing.

For video

Try:

• A slower Transition speed
• Moderate Shift sensitivity
• Adjust sensitivity lower if autofocus keeps jumping
• Test changes with the same scene

For fast-moving subjects

Try:

• Faster Transition speed
• Higher Shift sensitivity
• Keep autofocus responsive

For portraits or talking-head videos

Try:

• Slower transition
• Moderate or lower sensitivity
• Keep the camera relatively stable
• Avoid constantly changing zoom

The idea is simple: give the camera enough time to make a smooth decision without making it too slow to react.

Don’t forget stabilization

Autofocus isn’t the only thing that can make Fold 8 footage look less smooth.

Your physical movement matters just as much.

If you’re walking while recording, try to keep your movements controlled. Avoid suddenly changing direction or rapidly moving the phone from side to side.

Samsung also incorporates stabilization and image processing into the Fold 8’s video system, particularly for challenging conditions.

A combination of steady movement and sensible autofocus settings will generally produce a bigger improvement than changing autofocus alone.

Low-light video needs a different approach

Low-light scenes can make autofocus behavior more noticeable.

When there’s less light, the camera has less information to work with, and focus transitions can become more obvious.

Samsung says the Fold 8’s ProVisual Engine uses noise reduction, stabilization and image processing to improve low-light video.

So if you’re recording at night, don’t judge the autofocus settings using only one short clip.

Try recording a few seconds before and after the subject moves.

That will give you a much better idea of whether your settings are actually helping.

The important thing is consistency

There’s one mistake I would avoid: constantly changing the settings before every recording.

Pick a setup that works for the type of videos you normally make.

Then stick with it for a while.

If you’re mostly recording talking-head videos, your ideal configuration will probably be different from someone filming sports or street scenes.

And if you frequently switch between the two, that’s when saving different workflows or simply remembering your preferred settings becomes useful.

Final verdict

The Galaxy Z Fold 8 already has a capable camera system, but getting good video isn’t only about having high-resolution sensors.

The way the camera reacts matters just as much.

Samsung’s Camera Assistant gives Fold 8 users control over autofocus transition speed and shift sensitivity, including in Video and Pro Video modes.

If your footage feels too reactive, start by slowing down the autofocus transition.

If the camera keeps changing focus when it shouldn’t, experiment with lower shift sensitivity.

But don’t go too far.

A camera that takes forever to change focus isn’t necessarily producing better video. The sweet spot is somewhere between instant reactions and overly slow transitions.

And that’s really the advantage of these controls: you can tune the Fold 8’s camera behavior to match the kind of video you’re actually shooting.

With the Fold 8’s dual 50MP rear cameras, ProVisual Engine, Dual Recording and AI-powered My FanCam tools, there’s already plenty of flexibility built into Samsung’s latest foldable.

A few sensible Camera Assistant adjustments can help you get more out of it — without needing to buy another camera or install complicated third-party software.

Galaxy Z Fold 8 Video Autofocus FAQ

Does Galaxy Z Fold 8 have Camera Assistant?
Yes. Samsung’s current Camera Assistant documentation lists the Galaxy Z Fold 8 as a supported device.

Can I change autofocus speed on the Galaxy Z Fold 8?
Yes. Camera Assistant includes Auto focus speed and sensitivity, with controls for transition speed and shift sensitivity.

Can these settings be used for video?
Yes. Samsung lists Video and Pro Video among the supported modes for the autofocus speed and sensitivity controls.

Does the Galaxy Z Fold 8 have a telephoto camera?
The regular Fold 8 uses a 50MP wide and 50MP ultrawide rear camera system. It offers up to 10x digital zoom and 2x optical-quality zoom.

Does Galaxy Z Fold 8 support 8K video?
Samsung’s product information highlights video capture and ProVisual Engine improvements, including processing across wide and ultrawide cameras; available recording modes can vary by camera mode and software version.