If you happen to’re a discerning cellular photographer available in the market for a brand new shooter, our greatest digital camera telephone roundup must be your first port of name, however, when you’re taken with how the very best of the very best truly carry out, learn on. I made a decision to pit the newest iPhone 15 Professional Max, Google Pixel 8 Professional and Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely towards each other in an intensive shootout to see how these top-ranking photographic champs evaluate.
For these not so aware of this trio of cellular titans, listed below are among the highlights. The Pixel 8 Professional – Google’s newest and best – delivers the corporate’s finest AI smarts but, due to its in-house Tensor G3 chip. This helps with the whole lot from screening calls to making sure everybody’s smiling and searching on the digital camera in that picture out of your auntie’s sixtieth birthday (a function generally known as Greatest Take).
The place images is worried, the 8 Professional’s {hardware} falls to a 50MP foremost sensor – boasting superior low mild in comparison with the Pixel 7 Professional’s main digital camera, a 48MP ultra-wide with a tuned macro mode and a 48MP telephoto that provides 5x optical zoom and helps facilitate the telephone’s max 30x Tremendous Res Zoom.
Apple, by comparability, hasn’t but gone onerous on branding each function beneath the solar with AI, however that doesn’t make the iPhone 15 Professional Max any much less of a cutting-edge powerhouse. It has some of the succesful cellular chips in the marketplace within the firm’s personal A17 Professional SoC, alongside the primary periscopic telephoto digital camera ever on an iPhone, with a singular tetraprism 5x optical zoom.
iPhone 15 Professional Max | Pixel 8 Professional | Galaxy S24 Extremely | |
---|---|---|---|
Worth (at launch): | $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,199 | $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 | $1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,199 |
Chipset: | Apple A17 Professional | Google Tensor G3 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy |
Foremost digital camera: | 48MP, 24mm, ƒ/1.78, sensor‑shift OIS | 50MP, 1.2μm pixels, ƒ/1.68, 82° FoV, 1/1.31-inch sensor measurement, LDAF (laser detect auto-focus), OIS | 200MP, f/1.7, 24mm, 1/1.3-inch, 0.6µm pixels, multi-directional PDAF, laser AF, OIS |
Extremely-wide digital camera: | 12MP, 13mm, ƒ/2.2, 120° FoV | 48MP, 0.8μm pixels, ƒ/1.95, 125.5° FoV, auto-focus | 12MP, f/2.2, 13mm, 120˚ FoV, 1/2.55-inch, 1.4µm pixels, twin pixel PDAF |
Telephoto digital camera: | 12MP, 120mm, ƒ/2.8, 3D sensor‑shift OIS, auto-focus, 5x optical zoom by way of tetraprism | 48MP, 0.7μm pixels, ƒ/2.8, 21.8° FoV, 5x optical zoom, Tremendous Res Zoom as much as 30x, OIS | 10MP, f/2.4, 67mm, 1/3.52-inch, 1.12µm pixels, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom |
Secondary telephoto digital camera: | N/A | N/A | 50MP, f/3.4, 111mm, 1/2.52-inch, 0.7µm pixels, PDAF, OIS, 5x periscope optical zoom |
Entrance digital camera: | 12MP, f/1.9, TrueDepth system | 10.5MP, 1.22μm pixels, ƒ/2.2, 95° FoV 1/3.1-inch sensor measurement | 12MP f/2.2, 1/3.2-inch, 1.12µm pixels, 26mm, twin pixel PDAF |
Key imaging expertise: | Sapphire crystal lens cowl, Adaptive True Tone flash, Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Sensible HDR 5, LiDAR scanner, Apple ProRAW, Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR recording at as much as 4K 60fps, LOG video recording, Academy Coloration Encoding System, Cinematic video recording | Professional controls, Extremely HDR, Magic Editor, Greatest Take, Picture Unblur, Movement Mode, Actual Tone, Night time Sight, Astrophotography, Prime Shot, Dwell HDR+, Video Enhance | ProVisual Engine, Reflection removing, Generative fill, Astrophotography, Professional Mode, Twin Recording, Nightography, Prompt Gradual-mo, Picture Help, Tremendous HDR, Tremendous Regular video |
Then we’ve the Galaxy S24 Extremely. It seems like its predecessors however boasts the very best efficiency of any Android telephone at the moment in the marketplace, due to a custom-tuned Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, a really beautiful 6.8-inch 120Hz show, a killer quad rear digital camera and, for a singular contact, Samsung’s iconic S Pen stylus.
Galaxy AI options may be discovered all around the Extremely expertise, translating telephone calls in real-time and letting you reframe photographs with generative fill. Nonetheless, just like the final Extremely, digital camera versatility stays one in all its greatest strengths.
In step with its rivals, there’s now a 5x optical zoom to work with however by means of some intelligent sensor cropping, the Extremely truly affords you six lossless focal lengths, from 0.6 to 10x zoom, in addition to nonetheless seize at as much as 200MP, due to its foremost sensor (to not point out as much as 8K 30fps video seize too).
So with the specs and options detailed, let’s get on with testing these cameras in the actual world.
Notice: the digital camera getting used is famous within the backside left nook of every digital camera pattern.
Foremost sensor
Beginning with commonplace photographs, shot utilizing every telephone’s foremost snapper. These are the outcomes from merely opening the digital camera app and hitting the shutter button – no settings tweaks and no lenses or modes modified first.
Tower Bridge & Millennium Bridge
We shot on a characteristically shiny and cloudy day in London City; beginning with these pictures of Vic towards Tower Bridge (above) and later Millennium Bridge (under).
The Pixel adopted maybe probably the most hanging outcomes on this well-lit scene, with robust distinction and colours. It additionally served up probably the most true-to-life colours for Vic’s pores and skin and hair. Nonetheless, the remainder of the scene adopted a slight magenta tinge that seemed unnatural compared to the opposite two telephones.
The iPhone captured a nicer, brighter picture – with softer distinction and a cooler total look – and probably the most balanced dynamic vary processing, citing the darkest elements of the picture with out making the complete scene seem flat.
The S24 Extremely – just like the Pixel – miscolored the general scene, with a slight inexperienced tint this time, however in any other case utilized good colour and distinction to Vic herself. The telephone’s giant sensor and lens resulted in a barely wider shot with shallower depth, making use of a satisfying, pure softness to the background. The tip outcome does, nevertheless, seemed a bit washed out.
So whereas all three have particular strengths, I’d give this one to the iPhone.
Sneakers
Subsequent up, Vic’s blue suede footwear, captured outdoors with a strip of shiny, cloudy sky immediately above between buildings that rose excessive on both facet.
Right here, the Pixel clinches it for mixing the excessive distinction and nice element seize – additionally seen on the iPhone, however with extra correct colours.
Uplighting
Eradicating pure mild from the scene and counting on what was predominantly this robust uplighting, just like the Tower Bridge shot, the Pixel spit out probably the most hanging and high-contrast picture, with lots of shadow element on the brickwork.
With Samsung’s transfer away from its former heavily-processed method to images, I feel it managed probably the most true-to-life and visually pleasing results of the three telephones right here. That mentioned, I want it had utilized the iPhone’s processing when it got here to dynamic vary. Apple’s telephone was the one one of many three to keep away from blowing out the pores and skin on Vic’s hand, even when the shot was comparatively too cool total.
Excessive distinction
One of many first pattern pictures taken on the day was this high-contrast scene, as I believed it might be an effective way to evaluate how these telephones deal with metering and dynamic vary processing. Certain sufficient, the outcomes offered lots of variation.
The Pixel’s desire for distinction is exacerbated right here, with its makes an attempt to cease down the scene with a view to seize something past the arch. This left the shot underexposed, total, whereas the sunshine sources nonetheless appeared blown out. It made for probably the most dramatic ultimate picture however the weakest of the three.
The iPhone took second place, serving up nice colours and distinction, and managing to rescue among the brightest elements of the shot behind the scene. Not fairly in addition to the S24 Extremely, although, which produced an analogous outcome however did a tremendous job extra accurately exposing the complete scene. It saved all of the element past the arch, in addition to all of the lit brickwork within the foreground.
Zoom
Now let’s speak zoom. Whereas all three of those telephones have giant foremost sensors and periscopic 5x telephoto cameras, all of them deal with zoom a bit in another way.
Samsung (above), unsurprisingly, served up the best versatility. Its mixture of a secondary devoted 3x telephoto sensor and sensor cropping provides you lossless pictures at 0.6x, 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x and 10x magnification. As well as, that insane 100x House Zoom function, which could appear ineffective on first impressions, means you’ve bought extra headroom at distances between that 10x and 100x that the opposite telephones battle to match.
As for consistency and total high quality, I feel the iPhone (above) deserves a pat on the again, because it doesn’t overextend just like the Samsung. Even at its most zoom vary, 25x lossy pictures nonetheless held a formidable quantity of element and knowledge that is wholly usable.
The Pixel (above) did not disappoint on this take a look at however it simply obtained a participation award right here. It served up constant and usable pictures however they don’t flip heads like the opposite two.
Additionally, don’t fall for Apple’s 24mm, 28mm, 35mm lens advertising and marketing (above), it’s simply cropping on the principle sensor, which I’d advise you do in submit as a substitute, for higher management.
Low mild
Whereas all three telephones can ship in standard low mild taking pictures situations, like nights out and at nightfall, I wished to see what work the picture processing and sensors should do when the lights get low. As such, we shot in a windowless room with the door nearly utterly shut – to the purpose the place I may solely simply make out the vegetation on the wall with the bare eye.
First, here is the scene with the lights on, to function a baseline for what every telephone’s low mild and Night time modes are striving for.
Night time mode off
Low mild seize with out Night time mode proved (unsurprisingly) difficult for all three telephones. The iPhone cranked the ISO as much as retain probably the most sharpness and element, on the expense of exhibiting probably the most sensor noise.
With Google’s well-established prowess with Night time Sight, the Pixel didn’t even strive right here; making a type of pink sludgy shot with such underwhelming element and colour data that it seemed prefer it was shot utilizing infrared.
The S24 Extremely made the very best of a foul scenario, providing sharper element than the Pixel and fewer noise than the iPhone in alternate for its attribute inexperienced tint throughout the scene.
Night time mode on
Flipping to Night time mode, the Samsung confirmed the least enchancment; struggling to get well a lot colour element or enhance publicity a lot over the usual low mild pattern.
The iPhone boasted the quickest Night time mode seize time and produced a usable shot with good element however poor dynamic vary. To not point out it added a yellow hue to the scene.
The Pixel, in the meantime, moved from the again to the entrance of the pack, by having the ability to render a shot that seemed prefer it was taken in a lit room. It’s nonetheless dim, positive, however there’s clear definition within the topic, tangible element within the shadows and you may inform that the leaves on the vegetation are, actually, inexperienced.
Portrait mode
Portrait mode utilizing the principle cameras on every telephone yielded some attention-grabbing outcomes. Each Android telephones struggled to section Vic from the background cleanly, whereas the iPhone over-softened her barely in each situations.
In all three telephones’ photographs, the extent of bokeh seemed too excessive as commonplace, with the iPhone providing the simplest adjustment over this attribute after seize. The Pixel gained the award for topic element, whereas the S24 Extremely managed probably the most correct colours.
Whereas all three telephones crop in by default, the Pixel locks you right into a 1.5x zoom as commonplace. You’ll be able to punch a lot additional out with the Galaxy and iPhone.
Selfies
All these pictures are taken utilizing every telephone’s entrance digital camera, with a mixture of Portrait mode enabled or disabled, relying on the pattern.
The Pixel’s tendency to extend distinction and under-expose in shiny situations carried throughout to its entrance 10.5MP digital camera. The iPhone and Galaxy’s 12MP selfie snappers have been brighter and retained extra face element in direct comparability.
The S24 captured the narrowest subject of view and had that attribute inexperienced tint however supplied the very best total composition – masking colour, distinction and element seize. The iPhone as soon as once more gained for edge detection round difficult components like hair and providing probably the most natural-looking bokeh, even when pictures erred on the cooler facet as soon as extra.
Video
Ending with video seize, our 4K 60fps take a look at footage revealed that, whereas shut, the iPhone’s stabilization and autofocus monitoring dominated supreme, however that colour and distinction take a nosedive in comparison with the nonetheless pictures the telephone can produce.
The S24 Extremely over-exposed and over-sharpened footage however did the very best job at filtering out wind noise. The Pixel got here out on high, even with out leaning on its AI-enhanced Video Enhance function.
Not solely did footage extra intently match nonetheless picture high quality and constancy, however supplied you’re proud of the diploma to which it punches in, you get a hotter and extra filmic picture total, with engaging depth of subject from that foremost 50MP sensor.
It’s value noting that when you’re in search of a brand new telephone to fit right into a content material seize workflow, the iPhone arguably has the very best codecs and toolset, with Samsung’s flagship providing has the very best diploma of management at seize.
Conclusion
So with these titans completely examined, we won’t say there is a clear-cut champ however slightly the winner relies on which photographic qualities matter most to you. Are you a fan of the Pixel’s Night time mode images, or extra a lover of the iPhone’s bokeh? Maybe the sheer breadth of options and flexibility supplied by the S24 Extremely will get your vote.
Whichever gadget made probably the most convincing argument, simply know that you simply’re getting one of many business’s finest proper now.
You might also like
The iPhone 15 Professional Max used on this evaluate was equipped by Vodafone UK. Click on right here for Vodafone’s newest iPhone offers.