Comparison between iPhone 12 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra camera
Daniel Van Boom/CNETThe iPhone 12 is the biggest iterative leapApple has made for its flagship devices in years but, unusually, that leap doesn't largely revolve around...
04/02/2022
Daniel Van Boom/CNET
L'
iPhone 12
is the largest iterative jump
Apple p>
has done for its flagship devices for years but, unusually, that leap doesn't largely revolve around the camera. The iPhone 12 family is
fully 5G
, reverts to an iPhone 5 design, and there's also a
iPhone 12 Mini
< p>for the very first time.But that's not to say there's nothing new about cameras. As CNET's Patrick Holland explains in our
iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro review
, the main camera of both
telephones
has a faster lens that lets in more light, and night mode is now available on the ultra wide-angle and selfie cameras. the
12 Pro also benefits from an improved telephoto lens
, providing better optical zoom.
But how does the 2020 iPhone compare with the
< p>Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, one of the best (and most expensive) Androids of 2020? I took the two around Sydney to find out.
Standard
When it comes to flagship phones in 2020, you'll rarely find a huge gulf in quality in photos taken in well-lit scenes. That's also the case here, as the iPhone and S20 both take vivid and detailed daytime photos.
This sculpt photo represents most of what I've seen comparing the standard photography of the two phones: very similar quality, with slight differences. Here the iPhone photo is a bit better - the additional information it captured on the leaves in the top left, the wood texture at the top of the carving, and the sharpness of the carving itself - but you have to look closely to see the differences.
But if I were paid to nitpick the differences between these two phones — and I am — I'd note that the iPhone's primary lens takes pictures with more shadows than the S20's. Notice the extra shadows in the trees below on the leaves at the top and on both trunks. I'd call it a matter of taste: the photos from the S20 Ultra might look better at a glance, but if you look closely you'll see noise where the iPhone has shadows. The software does a great job of removing shadows, but it costs little.
The S20 Ultra also has two weaknesses compared to the iPhone. Sometimes it can struggle to contain highlights, resulting in white faces. I would put an asterisk next to this review, noting that this is something I only come across occasionally. But I also found the iPhone more consistent for close-up photography. The image below of a flower shows both problems in one.
The S20 Ultra's close-up issues appear to stem from its autofocus issues. In the photo below you can see how difficult it is to find a focal point, resulting in a blurrier photo.
Finally, I want to point out that the iPhone has a habit of warming up the photos while the< /p>
Samsung
comparatively cools things down. It's pictured below, as you can see how both phones pick up artificial light indoors. Also notice the iPhone's excellent job of capturing the condensation on the cold brew mug.
Portraits
The iPhone 12 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra both take outstanding portraits, which mimic depth. field effect of DSLR cameras. I'd salute the iPhone for being slightly more consistent, but that's really too close to say decisively - or at least, objectively.
The portrait above of Rachael shows just how great these phones are. I prefer the iPhone in this case because the edge detection around Rach's hair is a little smoother and it more accurately captures the color and saturation of his hoodie.
In the photo below of Garrett, you will once again see how the Samsung is prone to highlighting issues. The white garage doors in the background are a borderline eyesore on the S20 Ultra and best handled by the iPhone. The iPhone also captured better detail in Garrett's hair and jacket. (That might not seem fair, because Garrett's smile looks so much better in the iPhone photo. I managed to capture an equally genuine smile on the S20, but the background brightness was still harder on the eyes.)
But it's not always the iPhone that comes out on top. In this shot of Jackson, both phones captured an identical level of detail and performed edge detection with the same degree of fluidity. But the heat of the iPhone is a hindrance here, seeming artificial compared to the Samsung.
I wanted to test the pressure of both phones in a difficult lighting situation, so I took this portrait mode shot of Esther against the light of a window. Surprisingly, it was the Samsung that was more balanced and the iPhone that was less able to handle the light.
When it comes to portrait selfies, which both phones can do, the iPhone 12 Pro comes out on top. I have an oddly shaped head and weird ongoing baldness, so edge detection is difficult for me, but the iPhone generally did better than the S20 Ultra in this regard. I also found that the S20 Ultra's selfies looked undersaturated by comparison.
Ultra-wide
The ultra-wide-angle camera is one of the areas that Apple has noticeably improved with the iPhone 12. The camera itself is the same - at least on paper - as the ultra-wide-angle shooter of 12 megapixels from last year, but the software has been improved to reduce the distortion that comes with such lenses.
The above photo, taken in sunny conditions, shows how the two pull off vibrant colors. The S20 Ultra, however, captured more detail, as you can see in the cement texture at the bottom. However, the performance of the two phones diverge much more in different lighting conditions.
The S20 Ultra tends to speed up processing. As a result, there are often more details but also more artificial shots. On an overcast day, the iPhone captured gray clouds and scene lighting more accurately. The S20 Ultra's photo is bluer, with a bit more saturation too. In the photo below you will see this work - in my opinion - in favor of the S20 Ultra.
In this photo, however, the results are more mixed. You'll see the overcast environment overwhelmed the iPhone, while the S20 Ultra used all of its processing power to capture that distracting sky. The result is perhaps a nicer image, but one that looks noticeably more artificial. Note in particular how the sky fades from blue to a streak of white just above the foliage.
This theme continues through the night. The iPhone can now capture ultra wide-angle photos in night mode, with excellent results. But as you can see below, the Samsung S20 Ultra's ultra-wide-angle night mode captures a lot more light and detail. But there's a big asterisk here, as the iPhone's night mode will by default take 1-3 seconds to capture an image, while the S20 Ultra takes 7-8 seconds.
It's a matter of pros and cons. one more time. Pound for pound, the iPhone's night mode is more powerful. (That is, 3 seconds on the iPhone gives you more than 3 seconds on the S20 Ultra.) But the iPhone doesn't have the ability to capture 8 seconds of exposure like the S20 does, meaning the S20 Ultra is ultimately more capable. But - last but, I promise - the S20 Ultra's long exposure time means you can only really shoot inanimate objects in still scenes.
night view
It's the same story for low-light photography on the prime lens, with the iPhone being better in some circumstances and the Samsung in others. Generally speaking, the S20 Ultra deals more with low-light photos. This usually pays off when there is very little light, but it also means there can be too much light if there is already light in the shot.
This photo illustrates the compromises. The concrete wall on both sides is brighter on the S20 Ultra, but there's also a lot more noise. The same is true in some places of the green beam at the top of the mural. That said, colors are more vibrant in the S20 Ultra.
The trend is more evident with Night Mode enabled. The photo below was taken on the iPhone 12 Pro without night mode. As you can see, it's a dark scene.
Enlarge image
And here are the two phones with night mode enabled. The S20 Ultra does a much better job here, thriving in a scene with minimal light. As well as being a more balanced shot, you'll also notice the definition of the leaves at the top that the iPhone 12 Pro shot lacks.
(Note: If you have a tripod handy, you may be able to take Night Mode photos with an exposure of up to 30 seconds on the iPhone 12 Pro, which uses accelerometers to enable this feature.)
But once you start taking photos that aren't nearly entirely dark, the S20 Ultra can struggle. Check out these photos, taken without night mode.
Then when you add night mode, you see how the iPhone improves it with more detail in the tree and atmospheric light in the sky. The S20 Ultra, on the other hand, artificially floods it with light, resulting in noisy skies and an overly warm photo.
Personally, I prefer the low-light photography of the iPhone 12 Pro. I prefer its versatility and the ability to use night mode in low to medium light scenarios. But it will depend on the taste and the type of photos you take at night.
Zoom
It's no surprise that the zoom capability of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra is greater than the iPhone 12 Pro. While Apple's flagship offers 2.5x optical zoom,
Samsung Shows 100x Space Zoom
.
Still, it's not quite a clean win for Samsung. I found the iPhone 12 Pro to perform similarly, and sometimes better, up to about 5x magnification, which shocked me, since the S20 Ultra has 4x optical zoom. But beyond that, it was Samsung's game, with the difference getting bigger as the zoom magnification increased.
Start with this 2x zoom comparison. If you look closer, like really close, you'll see that the text on the spines of the books is slightly sharper on the iPhone. Similarly, Apple's device captured more detail of the flowers in the upper right. And if you squint, you'll also see that the iPhone photo has some texture detail on the wall that the Samsung photo is missing. You can thank Apple's Deep Fusion photo processing for these differences. These may be small differences, but they are there.
A note here that I found the low light performance of the iPhone at 2x zoom to be better than the S20 Ultra, often drastically. Check out the massive quality chasm in the photo below. It's not representative - there wasn't such a big difference in every night shot at 2x zoom - but it does demonstrate the kind of difference I've often seen.
But the more the iPhone deviates from its 2.5x optical zoom, the more you can see its software straining to make a difference. In the photo below, at 4x zoom, it accentuates the detail of this flower, while the S20 Ultra manages it much more easily.
Sometimes this same software does the trick. This Nelson Mandela fresco, at 5x magnification, is on the razor's edge for me. The colors in the iPhone photo are more vivid and the brick texture is more pronounced. At the same time, looking at the details, the iPhone shows slight signs of artificial sharpening. Still, you could argue that the iPhone is the winner.
But that's definitely where it ends. This blackboard from the local cafe was shot at 10x zoom, and the difference in clarity is huge.
Another shot with 10x zoom, another resounding victory for the S20 Ultra.
Feature-rich
That's where the iPhone 12 Pro leverages - with 10x zoom - while the S20 Ultra can go up to 100x. There's the perfectly legitimate question of whether the 100x zoom is useful because you need a tripod to stabilize and the photo quality is super grainy, but the option to shoot at 20-50x with pretty decent resolution is definitely nice to have.
Extra zoom isn't the S20 Ultra's only capability over the iPhone 12 Pro, either. There's also Ultra HD mode, which takes advantage of the S20 Ultra's 108-megapixel primary shooter. It's basically like having the ability to zoom in on a photo once it's already been taken --
check out our guide here
.
One more consideration to take into account: the iPhone's camera software is much easier to use than the S20 Ultra's. On the iPhone, portrait mode is at your fingertips and night mode turns on automatically. On the S20 Ultra, you'll need to navigate a menu to enable either mode. It sounds like a small thing, but it's almost confusing to have such powerful features hidden away in a menu.
Ultimately, I personally prefer the iPhone 12 Pro's camera. Its photography is generally more consistent, and I prefer its more natural approach to photography over the S20 Ultra's enthusiasm for artificially razing photos. That said, the S20 Ultra's zoom capability is incredible, and its ultra-wide-angle shots are ahead of those of the iPhone as well.
Which one do you prefer? Are you impressed with the iPhone 12 Pro's cameras or are you disappointed? Let us know in the comments.
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