iPhone 11 Pro Max vs. Galaxy S20 Ultra camera comparison By CNET

We know that the galaxy is 20 ultra and the iPhone 11 Pro max have some of the best smartphone cameras, so we're going to compare them and see which is best I've, taken a lot of photos and videos with both of these very capable phones, and I'm, going to share them with you and compare them side-by-side running across every category, including landscapes, the ultra wide-angle camera portraits and selfies video and, of course, night modes. So, let's get started in ideal conditions with good lighting, it's so hard to separate these phones. They both do a great job with color, sharpness and dynamic range. Like all of these comparisons, it comes down to personal preference and the screen you're. Viewing on also does make a difference when looking at them on the phone screens themselves, the s20 ultra photos looked supersaturated compared to the iPhone, but putting them on the same screen. They become much closer overall, though I think the s20 ultra photos have a bit more contrast than the iPhone.

The s20 ultra also has a hundred and eight megapixel sensor, and the level of detail is incredible when you shoot at this resolution, but mostly I, found it useful for when I was wanting to crop in and still have enough resolution to get a usable shot, the iPhone shoots at 12 megapixels, so you are a little more limited when it comes to cropping or reframing pixel winning on the s20. Ultra is also supposed to give you even more detail when you are shooting in just that 12 megapixel resolution, which is on by default, moving to the ultra-wide camera. What I was most surprised about was that the phones both do a perfect job of keeping colors white balance and exposure the same between the ultra-wide and the regular wide camera on this shot. The iPhone does even out the shadows and highlights a little more on the ultra-wide, while the s20 ultra shot has a touch more contrast. It's no secret.

The s20 ultra has some incredible zoom capabilities, so I took both these phones to the top of one of the highest points in San Francisco and set them on a tripod to see what they could do. Here's what it looks like on the s20 ultra zooming into the Golden Gate Bridge at the set increments in the camera interface from one times through five times ten times 30 times, add finally 100 times so once you hit anything greater than 10 times the image quality does start to deteriorate and at a hundred times it's not really usable. The iPhone by comparison only has a two times optical zoom. Then it turns to digital to a maximum of 10 times, and if you compare them side-by-side the ten times from the ultra versus the 10 times from the iPhone, it's not great to look at the iPhone image when it comes to the front-facing camera. I think this selfie looks a little more natural on the iPhone, as the s20 ultra does have some facial smoothing on by defaults, although you can of course turn it off, but for the most part they both look pretty good.

You can also do portrait mode on the front-facing camera and I really made it hard on these cameras to test out the edge detection, as you can see, neither really excel at separating the busy background from my hair and sunglasses, but overall the s20 ultra. Does it a little better moving to the rear camera photos of people on both phones? Looks great. Although there were a few occasions where I was pointing and shooting, when the autofocus on the Siltronic ultra didn't quite get the subject locked in as for portrait mode on the iPhone versus live focus on the s20 ultra, you do get a couple more options like being able to adjust the characteristics of the blur on the s20 ultra, but I do think the iPhone looks more natural in terms of lighting and coloring. That said, I prefer edge detection on the s20 ultra, as it's generally better with fine details like hair, which can get a bit lost on the iPhone now for night mode, both look great, but the Galaxy S 20 ultras photos are a little more blue to my eyes than those from the iPhone 11 Pro Max, which is warmer in a lot of these shots. It really comes down to what you prefer as to what looks better in some shots, I prefer the iPhone and, in others the s20, with a bright light source like in this shot, I prefer the s20 ultras version more than the iPhone, as it just captures his detail a little better and another differentiating feature is.

You can also use the s20 ultras ultra wide-angle camera in night mode, whereas the iPhone doesn't have night mode on the ultra-wide and don't forget. The s20 ultra has a pro mode on it that actually lets you shoot and get more manual controls. So you can get RAW images plus be able to change your exposure all within the default app. The iPhone 11 Pro does support raw capture and, of course, manual controls, although not in the first party after camera app, you do have to have a third-party app to do that. Okay, let's move on to video! This is selfie video from the front of the iPhone 11 Pro Max, and the Galaxy S 20 ultra are both in 4k at 30 frames.

A second no stabilization I'm, just holding it like you would, if you were taking a selfie, video, and I'm in one of the highest points in San Francisco, just to see how the camera deals with lighting my face, backlighting, of course, movements, and what do you? Okay? So this is recording some handheld video on both the iPhone to the s20 ultra in 4k 60 frames, a second something that I really did notice in watching back. Videos from the s20 ultra is the focus hunting from the phase detect autofocus, that's going on in a lot of the videos that I filmed. You can see it a bit in that panning shot that we just saw, but it's most noticeable when you have a fast-moving subject or something that comes in closer to the frame. This is a 1080p 30 frames, a second sample from both to test out stabilization. The iPhone has optical image stabilization, while the s20 ultra also has super steady at this resolution, which I turned on you can see, the s20 is definitely smoother during the fast-moving sections when I'm walking down the stairs or jogging, but there is a little of a jello effect when you are panning fast, but the big calling card for the Siltronic ultra is that it records 8k video.

It does prop in a lot, as the field of view is narrower than when you film, in 4k or 1080 on the wide lens, and you don't have stabilization. Unlike these shots, I definitely suggest you film, using a tripod and a 1-minute. Video is around 600 megabytes. So do expect to fill your storage quickly, but the fact that you can actually film in 8k, and it's a very usable shot is incredible. You'll notice that I didn't really talk much about audio, because, to be honest, the audio on both these phones is great.

I didn't have any complaints with either, as is the case every year. Both these cameras have strengths in different ways, and it really comes down to what you value the most as to which is the best camera for you for zoom. There's, no question that the s20 ultra pulls ahead for ultra-wide and general landscapes. They are both super close for video I prefer the iPhone as the motion is smoother, particularly when it comes to focusing, but the s20 ultra does have future-proofing that is 8k. Samsung is also said to be releasing an update in response to the autofocus issues, but at the time of recording this video, we haven't received the update stay tuned thanks for watching the comparison of the s20 ultra vs.

, iPhone 11 Pro max, of course, you're gonna. Let me know which phone you preferred in the comments below please do and if you have any questions about either of the cameras or how any of the features work that I didn't quite get to. Let me know and I'll answer your question. Schooler.

Source : CNET