Camera Comparison: iPhone 11 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

[44267547]

Anyone in this thread can nitpick the smallest indifferences/features about these cameras, let’s look at it like this, they both take amazing photos/videos. General consumers are never going to be able to differentiate the differences between Samsung/Apples top-of-the-line smart phones.

I’m always stunned that people (On this site) that just can’t appreciate technology from both sides of the competition versus slandering one over the other, when both of these smart phones have amazing cameras.

 

[The Barron]

These pictures say nothing without an SLR image as a reference.
Which one (of the above) is better....????...as in closest to reality.

Edit: And then there's this, on what monitor are we looking at these pictures, varies enormously.

SLR image has nothing to do with these phones as they are being compared against each other NOT an SLR! That' slike comparing a Honda compact car and a Toyota compact car against a Ford F25O pickup with 560 HP turbo diesel.

 

[incoherent_1]

Both look great — we’re lucky to have so many awesome options.

That said, the 108 megapixel thing is just a gimmick number. Anyone who knows cameras knows that megapixels are only one small factor in determining a camera’s quality.

 

[pweicks]

My opinion is mostly opposite of the reviewer. The iPhone did slightly better in portrait and way better in low light but the Samsung absolutely killed it with HDR images and zooming

 

[Bandaman]

I love how the newest Android tech is now compared to Apple's older tech. Apple used to play catch up ... it's nice to see that's not the case anymore.

 

[vmistery]

Will that ultra really sell at that price? Or is that just a number they plucked out the air list price like cat manufacturers give you?

 

[Ramchi]

Sammobile reported yesterday that Samsung just rolled out 2nd Galaxy S20 firmware update which improves camera and gestures. I assume that MR's phone has older version of firmware.

Absolutely, I own two iPhones XS Max & 11 Pro Max(both 512 GB), I love the cameras of iPhones with their closer to reality, naturally looking images but S20 cameras really cut and above the rest for sure but the real problem is their camera software and their new camera hardware needs to be fine tuned based on various user experience and feedback to take it further! I have tested S20+ cameras and the details captured are really amazing. Generally iPhones struggle in low light conditions but Samsung mobiles are slightly offer better results in such lighting conditions.
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Apples overly aggressive noise reduction algorithm has been ruining pictures since the 5S. Very obvious in the zoomed pics.

You mean water colour?

 

[The Game 161]

Will that ultra really sell at that price? Or is that just a number they plucked out the air list price like cat manufacturers give you?

Of course not, the S10 and note 10 didn’t sell well and this won’t at this price. Samsung are pricing their flagships all wrong. Having them priced more or around the same as iPhones is a mistake

 

[Ramchi]

Of course not, the S10 and note 10 didn’t sell well and this won’t at this price. Samsung are pricing their flagships all wrong. Having them priced more or around the same as iPhones is a mistake

The real problem is that because of bad pricing (Apple somehow preserve its value for its relatively lower end mobiles) their value products like S20 are getting knocked off by consumers thinking that they are cheap and low tech! While Applehas convinced its customers that their lower priced phones are not low value instead they have consumers to feel they are indeed high value. In reality S20 has better specs and very low priced compared to iPhone 11 in comparison but in terms of sales volume I doubt whether It can match iPhone 11!

 

[Notanapplefanboy]

"there's no crystal clear winner."
- yes there is in zoomed images and wide angle. Also Samsung has more options to choose from.

 

[MacModMachine]

SLR image has nothing to do with these phones as they are being compared against each other NOT an SLR! That' slike comparing a Honda compact car and a Toyota compact car against a Ford F25O pickup with 560 HP turbo diesel.

depends on what you use your SLR for. if printing larger pictures is it than this fits the bill.

ill be selling my SLR once I get my ultra. the best camera is the one in my pocket. not a clunky camera I have to carry around and fiddle with.

 

[Piggie]

It's not pointless. Extra resolution is a big bonus for computational photography.

Oh yes, I fully agree.
Given a small amount of data and a larger amount of data, it can only be better to give computers more data to process to create the better final result.

As long as that data is not bad/corrupt of course.

Then it's all down to how you process it.
This seems to be where most of the differences lie.

I'm just amazed at my Pixel camera and how I can take photo pointing my camera directly into the sun, and I can get a usable photo out of it, as it's cut down the sun, and brought up the surroundings.
It creates an image I was not able to even see with my eye's due to being blinded by the sun.

Such a shot was virtually impossible just a few years ago, by even ultra expensive photography.
We are so lucky to live in such amazing times

 

[Hntopper]

I was a an iPhone fanboy from 2007 until late 2017. I switched over to Android and a Samsung phone and love the operating system much more than I ever did iOS. There is much more that one can do with Android than iOS and it's much more customizeable and believe it or not, stable contrary to what Apple may want people to believe. Plus I am not stuck to the Apple ecosystem.

So regardless of the photo quality of one phone to the next, I do not see myself going back to Apple.

But with that said looking through these image comparisons, the Samsung quality is better in most of them.

 

[I7guy]

...ill be selling my SLR once I get my ultra. the best camera is the one in my pocket. not a clunky camera I have to carry around and fiddle with.

You’ll wind up by lowering the bar on your photography.

 

[GtrDude]

Goes to show that Apple is not inventing any more.
They just copy stuff that others do.
This is why they buy abut 12-15 startup companies every year that are trying to do new things.
So Apple just comes in and buys the whole company and their technology along with them.
They just can't invent anything on their own any more.
Done.

 

[MacModMachine]

You’ll wind up by lowering the bar on your photography.

when did I say I was a photographer ? did you read what I even wrote?

I want to print pictures of my family , so not having to take a dslr and getting good large photos I can print is what this provides for me. I can take 30mp+ photos if I want and print canvas or framed pictures with great quality.

 

[I7guy]

Goes to show that Apple is not inventing any more.
They just copy stuff that others do.
This is why they buy abut 12-15 startup companies every year that are trying to do new things.
So Apple just comes in and buys the whole company and their technology along with them.
They just can't invent anything on their own any more.
Done.

How does that follow? Tech companies acquiring tech companies is not a new strategy. I’m sure pre-Cook Apple may have bought a tech company or two.

 

[MacModMachine]

Goes to show that Apple is not inventing any more.
They just copy stuff that others do.
This is why they buy abut 12-15 startup companies every year that are trying to do new things.
So Apple just comes in and buys the whole company and their technology along with them.
They just can't invent anything on their own any more.
Done.

this has been the case for a long time. Samsung has surpassed both integration and os for a long time. updates are slow for sure but I don't mind waiting when the os as it is , is great.

 

[I7guy]

when did I say I was a photographer ? did you read what I even wrote?

I want to print pictures of my family , so not having to take a dslr and getting good large photos I can print is what this provides for me. I can take 30mp+ photos if I want and print canvas or framed pictures with great quality.

Did you read what you wrote?

It’s true the best camera is what you have with you. But for me when I want to take “pro” shots I take out my SLR with red rings. All mega pixels are not created equal. But that’s me.

 

[Winni]

It's still not worth $1,400

Both products are ridiculously over-priced and I question anybody's sanity who willingly pays that much money for a phone. For 200 bucks, you can buy a Chinese smartphone that has more than enough horse power for everything you could actually want to do with a phone.

Anyway: Yes, it's amazing what both products can do with their tiny cameras, but if I really care about photography, I use an SLR with a good lense attached to it, not some Apple or Samsung gadget.

But that is the whole point. These gadgets cost so much that you can buy an actual tool for getting a job done, you don't have to use a phone for it. I'm pretty sure that when you go to a doctor, you also wouldn't want him to use an Apple Watch to measure your heart beats. Something tells me you'd rather want him to use something more serious and reliable.
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Yeah, 8k on a smartphone, let alone a camera is kinda pointless right now. Especially with the crop factor & lack of stabilzation.

Yeah, sure. Try using a 300mm lens without a tripod. That's gonna be useless as well unless you have the ability to hold your breath indefinitely and stand like a rock.

 

[torana355]

Anyone in this thread can nitpick the smallest indifferences/features about these cameras, let’s look at it like this, they both take amazing photos/videos. General consumers are never going to be able to differentiate the differences between Samsung/Apples top-of-the-line smart phones.

I’m always stunned that people (On this site) that just can’t appreciate technology from both sides of the competition versus slandering one over the other, when both of these smart phones have amazing cameras.

As an Android user and a person who loves technology I agree, and to be honest I think the 11 pro Max takes the best photos. It's one area that Samsung needs to improve imo.

 

[I7guy]

..Yeah, sure. Try using a 300mm lens without a tripod. That's gonna be useless as well unless you have the ability to hold your breath indefinitely and stand like a rock.

8k is a beta feature right now. It’s coming and camera technology related to supporting 8k is coming.

 

[Christy Embach]

Thanks for the straightforward side by side comparison of the two phones. Very helpful?

 

[calzon65]

Both products are ridiculously over-priced and I question anybody's sanity who willingly pays that much money for a phone. For 200 bucks, you can buy a Chinese smartphone that has more than enough horse power for everything you could actually want to do with a phone.

You are correct about ridiculously over-priced smartphones, however, those decent Chinese smartphones you refer too are actually even lower than $200.

My company sources Android smartphones, from China, with 5" screens, a 2-year warranty, nice box, charger and cable, LTE chipset, decent camera (sorry I forgot the camera specs), 8GB storage with a micro SD card slot (yes I know 8GB is not a lot), but we are only paying $43/phone.

Before someone says those phone are not even in the same league as an iPhone or Samsung and you are purchasing at wholesale prices, you are correct they are not in the same league, which is why I use an iPhone personally, but for $43 (retail price about $80) it still makes me think smartphones from the leading brands are way over priced.

 

[mngdew]

Should do S20+ vs. Max Pro.
I heard S20+ currently does much better job than Ultra.