Camera Shootouts
Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Apple iPhone 7 Plus: Camera Shootout
After pitting the Galaxy S8 against the best single-lens camera phone of 2016, we’re now reviving Samsung’s fierce rivalry with the one, the only… iPhone 7 Plus!
Yes, we’re aware the iPhone 7 Plus has two camera lenses in its arsenal — one for regular, wide-angle shots and another for zoomed-in photos, while the Galaxy S8 has only one. To make this a fair fight, we’re excluding the iPhone’s extra lens and relying solely on both phone’s Auto settings.
In addition, we’re sticking to each phone’s default camera app. Remember, this comparison is based purely on what we see directly out of the handsets’ unedited JPEG files on a single computer monitor.
Check ‘em out:
Like in our previous shootout, this scenario is perfect for testing each camera’s dynamic range. While neither stand a chance against the Pixel’s strong HDR game, the Galaxy S8 is clearly more capable than the iPhone 7 Plus when it comes to balancing a scene’s highlights and shadows. The iPhone’s shot looks bland, especially on the building’s reflections and the exhaust in the foreground.
Here’s a classic example of how a Samsung phones tends to oversaturate scenes while the iPhone leans toward cooler, more realistic colors. For this particular setup, we prefer the Galaxy S8’s version, as it breathes more life into the couple’s sweet moment. The iPhone 7 Plus also seemed to have difficulty rendering the grass, losing nearly all the details.
The Galaxy S8 once again emphasizes strong colors on Chay’s face, but becomes slightly underexposed in the process. While the iPhone went for color accuracy and a brighter subject, we have to commend the entries for giving a sweet amount of background blur in both cases.
This is a point we have to give to #TeamApple. Even though the Galaxy S8 did a great job of putting all the focus on the flower’s bright yellow hue, the iPhone 7 Plus pulled it off more subtly and even produced a more pleasant level of sharpness on the surrounding leaves.
Speaking of background blur, we checked to see how each handset manages a shallow depth of field. Ignoring the usual over and undersaturation, we love how accurate the two phones are in locking onto the subject — the flowers, in this case — and giving us the artistic aesthetic we were after.
Let’s turn things up a notch. For nighttime landscape shots, we have to side with Samsung. The Galaxy S8 intelligently exposes the entire area without blown highlights, while the iPhone takes the safer route by simply keeping all the noise and grain in check.
Both cameras did a commendable job in this tricky instance; a crappy camera wouldn’t be able to make the “2017” legible with its illumination. The Galaxy S8’s output happens to be a little warmer, but this is something you can adjust if you choose to go beyond Auto settings.
Similar to the dark landscape test earlier, the Galaxy S8 has an edge over its iPhone rival when it comes to exposing all spots just right. What’s more glaring, however, is the red tint over the iPhone’s photo, which seems to darken the scene and provide unrealistic colors for once.
Now we test the front-facing cameras, each of which has a single lens. Our selfie on the left produced much smoother skin and slightly brighter faces, whereas the other selfie turned out grainier and darker. To the iPhone’s credit, hair and clothing details are a lot sharper.
We’ll once again end this with a solo daytime selfie. Quality-wise, we’d call this a tie, since they outputted the same level of colors and sharpness. The iPhone’s shot looks less lit, but that can be blamed on the tighter angle it provided us.
This shootout wasn’t as close as the one between the Galaxy S8 and Pixel. Samsung’s flagship phone is a clearer winner here, having delivered excellent images across the board. Even in the few instances we preferred the iPhone’s pictures, the Galaxy S8’s was nearly as good and it could’ve done either way.
Then again, we can’t end this without mentioning the iPhone 7 Plus’ extra telephoto lens. It opens up more creative possibilities, and enables you to capture faraway subjects without having to move closer. Those are things a Galaxy can’t do until Samsung decides to jump on the dual-camera bandwagon. (On the Galaxy Note 8, perhaps?)
And, that’s it! Tell us which camera phone you think won this shootout. Leave a comment below and let your opinions be heard.
SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Google Pixel: Camera Shootout
[irp posts=”12004" name=”Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Google Pixel: Camera Shootout”]
Camera Shootouts
Samsung Galaxy S10+ vs Huawei P30 Pro: Camera shootout
2019’s early flagship Androids
Now that Samsung and Huawei have released their respective flagships for the early part of 2019, it’s time to compare them in the funnest way we know how: a blind camera shootout.
Both brands make it clear that they’re proud of what their premium phones can achieve in the imaging department. While the Galaxy S10+ is incredibly versatile with its triple-camera setup and host of software tricks ranging from Live Focus to intelligent scene detection, the P30 Pro boosts its hybrid zoom and night mode game with a total of four rear cameras.
They rightfully deserve their scores at the top of DxOMark’s rankings, but what does the general public think about their camera output? With this shootout, you have your chance to analyze each photo and pick the better of the two without bias.
As always, every photo is shot in auto mode with default settings unless a category needs specific options applied. No post-processing was done except for resizing to keep the file sizes down. You may find the answer sheet at the end of this comparison.
#1 — Architecture
#2 — Building facade
#3 — Flower macro
#4 — Low-light indoor
#5 — Food close-up
#6 — Landscape
#7 — Ultra-wide landscape
#8 — Portrait
#9 — Colors
#10 — Food
#11 — Selfie
#12 — Dynamic range
#13 — Details
#14 — Nighttime outdoor
#15 — Nighttime indoor
Results
Galaxy S10+: 1B, 2A, 3B, 4A, 5A, 6B, 7A, 8B, 9A, 10A, 11B, 12A, 13B, 14A, 15B
P30 Pro: 1A, 2B, 3A, 4B, 5B, 6A, 7B, 8A, 9B, 10B, 11A, 12B, 13A, 14B, 15A
Like past premium shootouts, the results here can often go either way. The Galaxy S10+ seems to shoot a little wider with its ultra-wide lens and tends to raise exposure more in certain situations; the P30 Pro, meanwhile, is slightly better at retaining detail in daytime and controlling light in dark areas.
What matters more, however, is how you feel about these results. Connect with us on our social media channels and join our growing community of fellow Matchketeers to let your opinions be heard!
We love pitting premium phones against one another to see which ones rule the mobile camera space, but every now and then, we need to see how well the budget options perform with their entry-level shooters.
For this installment of our long-running series, we’re comparing the Redmi Note 7 and Realme 3, which are undeniably the most popular phones in the sub-US$ 200 segment. Being affordable doesn’t mean performing cheap, however; they have surprisingly good image sensors on them as proven in our reviews.
To make this interesting, we’re presenting yet another blind shootout so you can play along with us. Everything is shot on auto mode and no post-processing was applied except for resizing to keep the file sizes bearable.
You can find the results at the end of this article. Let’s begin:
#1 — Detail
#2 — Moving animals
#3 — Macro
#4 — Portrait mode
#5 — Selfie
#6 — Food
#7 — Landscape
Results
Redmi Note 7: 1A, 2A, 3B, 4A, 5B, 6A, 7A
Realme 3: 1B, 2B, 3A, 4B, 5A, 6B, 7B
There’s no doubt that both phones shoot well at their price points, and some of the rounds could go either way depending on individual taste.
If we were to nitpick, we’d say that the Realme 3 provides more detail and produces better dynamic range, while the Redmi Note 7 is smarter when it comes to background blur and has more realistic colors on subjects.
What do you think? Connect with us on our social media channels and let us know which phones you’d like us to compare next.
Camera Shootouts
Samsung Galaxy S10+ vs Huawei Mate 20 Pro: Camera shootout
Wide, regular, and zoom!
We’ve come to a point wherein three rear cameras on a smartphone are becoming the norm and all three must serve an individual purpose.
That’s the case with the Galaxy S10+ and Mate 20 Pro, which are Samsung and Huawei’s most versatile camera phones to date. They both have the ability to go wide and zoomed in, on top of their regular high-resolution shooters.
Before more worthy flagships come out this year, let’s see how 2018’s best smartphone shooter matches up against Samsung’s top phone for the first half of 2019.
As always, we’re turning this into a blind shootout so you can play along. The order of each round is random, and everything has been shot using auto settings to give both phones a fair chance to shine. The results are found at the end of this article.
#1 — Flower
#2 — Building
#3 — Graffiti
#4 — Ultra-wide
#5 — Regular
#6 — Zoom
#7 — Background blur
#8 — Backlit
#9 — Bright sky
#10 — Moving subject
#11 — Macro
#12 — Landscape
#13 — Dynamic range
#14 — Portrait
#15 — Sunset
#16 — Artwork
#17 — Twilight
#18 — Food
#19 — Vegetation
#20 — Nighttime
#21 — Total darkness
Results:
Galaxy S10+: 1B, 2B, 3A, 4B, 5A, 6A, 7B, 8A, 9A, 10A, 11B, 12B, 13A, 14A, 15B, 16B, 17A, 18A, 19B, 20A, 21B
Mate 20 Pro: 1A, 2A, 3B, 4A, 5B, 6B, 7A, 8B, 9B, 10B, 11A, 12A, 13B, 14B, 15A, 16A, 17B, 18B, 19A, 20B, 21A
How do you feel about the results?
Truth be told, it’s as close as you’d expect from the two top mobile camera performers on DxOMark (for now, of course). Each round could go either way, and it ultimately comes down to personal preference — like if you prefer warmer tones or greater contrast in your photos.
Let us know which smartphone you think won in the comments section below.
The Range Rover Evoque is a luxury SUV to beat
Google Pixel 4 spotted in the wild, new camera layout confirmed
Huawei’s foldable phone is delayed to make sure it won’t be like Samsung’s
A Father’s Day drive up north
6 best smartphones of 2019 (so far)
Best Budget Smartphones in the Philippines below P10,000
Best Midrange Smartphones in the Philippines from P10,000 to P20,000
Best Midrange Smartphones from $200 to $400
Best Upper-Midrange Smartphones in the Philippines from P20,000 to P30,000
Best Premium Smartphones in the Philippines above P30,000
-
Enterprise2 weeks agoASUS is banned from using ‘ZenFone’ branding in India
-
Deals4 days agoPocophone F1’s cheaper price makes it an even better flagship-specced phone
-
Apps1 week agoGoogle: Cutting off Huawei is an even bigger threat
-
India6 days agoSamsung Galaxy M40 is a budget phone with triple rear cameras
-
News2 weeks agoXiaomi Mi 9T unboxed ahead of official launch, has midrange specs
-
News2 weeks agoSamsung updates two-year-old Galaxy J7 Pro with Android Pie
-
Computers6 days agoOne man’s trash is another man’s treasure: Dell embraces a circular economy
-
News1 week agoHuawei and Apple make the strongest phones, research says