Galaxy S20 Ultra vs Pixel 4: Which phone camera is better
The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and the Pixel 4 XL.
Ian Knighton/CNET
the
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
is an incredibly expensive phone. Starting at $1,399 (£1,199, AU$1,999), it offers luxuries like a 6.9-inch screen, 120Hz and 5G connectivity. But the phone is mainly sold around its camera. The phones
S20
and
S20 Plus
give you more for your money but, if you
are
ready to splash out on four figures, the S20 Ultra has a
hell
of a camera setup - at least on paper. p>
A 108-megapixel main shooter, a 48-megapixel telephoto lens, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a time-of-flight sensor for depth perception. Yes, that's a lot of megapixels.
But as extravagant as this family of four cameras is,
has continually proven that more cameras and megapixels don't automatically mean better photos. the
Pixel 4
was the first phone from the tech giant to rock two cameras - a 12.2-megapixel and 16-megapixel telephoto combo - yet Pixel devices stand out each year for photography. .
There is no doubt:
Samsung
S20 Ultra has a more feature-rich camera. He has
a 108 megapixel mode
and at this point the Pixel's lack of an ultra-wide-angle camera is outrageous. But what about standard photography, zooming, low-light shots and portraits?
The Pixel4, which starts at $799, does an admirable job of keeping up with a newer phone that's almost double the price. And despite its hefty price tag, the S20 Ultra suffers from autofocus issues that Samsung is trying to fix with software updates. (I don't have this update, but CNET's Lexy Savvides did - and notes that it may have only exacerbated autofocus issues).
But despite all that, the S20 Ultra wins this race. While the Pixel is more consistent, it's ultimately the S20 Ultra that takes better photos.
Comparison between Galaxy S20 Ultra and Pixel 4
Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
Google Pixel4
Main camera
108MP, f/1.8
12.2 megapixels, f/1.7
Telephoto
48 megapixel periscope
16megapixels
Ultra wide angle
12megapixels
N / A
Time of flight sensor
0.3 megapixels
N / A
Front camera
40megapixels
12.2 megapixels
Front telephoto
N / A
16megapixels
Special features
108 megapixel mode, 100x zoom
astral photography
Portraits
Let's start with bokeh style portraits. Which Phone Will Make You a Better Facebook Profile Picture? Basically, it's a tie. What you prefer will depend on your personal preferences. The S20 Ultra implements light beautification, even with the “skin smoothing” feature turned off. As a result, the "live focus" portraits he takes end up looking slightly brushed. The Pixel 4s retain more detail, but can sometimes look harsh in comparison.
Take this photo of Ian, one of CNET's video assistants. As you will see, both phones worked flawlessly. The differences are visible up close, but they are there. The softening effect of the S20 Ultra makes Ian's stubble less prickly and his skin smoother. But there is also a loss of detail, as you can clearly see in her hair to the left of her bangs.
Enlarge image
S20 Ultra (L) versus Pixel 4.< /p>
Daniel Van Boom/CNET
You can see a similar effect in these pictures of my roommate. Esther herself preferred the photo taken on the S20 Ultra and the Pixel almost looks unusually detailed by comparison - like it's been passed through Instagram with the "structure" slider pushed up. You will see that the line between the foreground and the background is also a bit jarring in the Pixel shot by her hair. But the Pixel also has more accurate white balance, with the S20 Ultra photo having an artificially cold tint.
Still, I'd give the portrait advantage to the Pixel. While you might prefer the portrait shots taken by the S20 Ultra above, the phone struggles more in less than ideal lighting conditions. Admittedly, the Pixel portrait of Hugh here compensates for the low light with additional contrast and shadows. But it does a better job than the S20 Ultra's Live Focus shot, which looks flatter and more washed out.
S20 Ultra (L) vs. Pixel 4 (R)
Daniel Van Boom/CNET
This difference is compounded in low light conditions. In these shots by Rachael, the portrait of the S20 Ultra has a lot more visible noise and grain than that of the Pixel 4.
This trend extends to the front camera. In the first photo below with decent light, where I was standing in my kitchen facing a window, the two selfies look quite alike. The Pixel's shot is sharper, but the S20 Ultra's colors are better. But take a look at the selfie below
who
and you'll see that the S20 Ultra is way overexposed. This was a reliable issue when taking selfies in imperfect lighting conditions.
bread and butter
In previous camera comparisons I have taken
Huawei
light it up
P30 Pro
and
Mate 30 Pro
-- and compared them to p>
iPhone 11 Pro
. The constant theme was that Huawei phones shoot more vividly, but at the expense of detail. The Samsung S20 Ultra has a remarkable ability to avoid this pitfall: its photos are generally richer and more vivid than those of the Pixel, but rarely at the expense of detail.
Enlarge image
S20 Ultra (L) vs. Pixel 4 (R)
Daniel Van Boom/CNET
You'll see above that the quality of photos is similar, but upon review, images captured by the S20 Ultra pop more reliably. Pixel4 photos can look relatively undersaturated. But there are still occasions when Google's phone gets an edge.
Due to autofocus issues with the S20 Ultra, which Samsung is in the process of fixing, the Pixel tends to take more consistent shots. I often needed to wrangle the S20 Ultra to get the focus right, but the Pixel's consistency also bleeds into features like white balance. You'll see in the photo below of the pots that the S20 Ultra has an off-putting heat. Below you'll see a close-up of a flower where the Pixel 4, while less vibrant, pulled out more detail.
It's another close, but the S20 Ultra is slightly ahead of the Pixel for standard photography.
night king
The area where the two phones are closest is after dark. Both phones offer excellent low-light photography, bolstered by the S20 Ultra's Night Mode and the Pixel's Night Sight setting.
Every phone has advantages. It's a bit the reverse of standard photography, because here it's the Pixel that takes more striking shots, but the S20 Ultra that often retains more detail. All in all, it's too close to definitely call either device stronger than the other here.
In the photo above, you'll see that the greens captured by the Pixel are much richer. But the S20 Ultra's night shot is also slightly more detailed - see the bushes in the bottom center - and has a more natural tint. Also note, however, that with Night Mode and Night Sight disabled, the S20 Ultra performed much better.
In the photo below of an ominous tree, with both devices' night modes enabled, the S20 Ultra captured more detail, as you can see by looking closely at the leaves on the left side, which are more blurred and noisy on the Pixel4.
The two phones handle nighttime white balance differently. The S20 Ultra tends to be warmer and the Pixel 4 cooler. You can see it more clearly in the photo above (the difference was usually not as noticeable as here).
In this case - and unlike the first photo in this section - it's the Pixel that looks more natural, as the S20 Ultra heat looks artificial on the leaves. Look at the background and the Pixel photo looks too blue. The S20 Ultra's shot is sharper, though.
The Pixel, however, scores a clear victory in this image below of Garrett. The S20 Ultra's shot is flatter and duller. The Pixel is sharper and, thanks to better contrast, more vivid.
This one is a tie. The Pixel 4 is more consistent, but the S20 Ultra often captures more detail and its non-Night Sight photography is better than the Pixel 4's non-Night Sight photography.
Zoom
So far the two phones have been paired fairly well. But when it comes to zoom, Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra is the clear winner. Makes sense. One of the most marketed features of the phone is "Space Zoom" - its ability to achieve 100x magnification. It's technically impressive, but more novel than useful. What's more convenient is its 4x optical zoom, which means you can shoot up to 4x with minimal loss of detail.
The Pixel is no slouch here. When it launched, Google praised its telephoto lens. Like the iPhone 11 Pro phones, it can perform 2x optical zoom. The Pixel can zoom up to 8x, which is less than a tenth the capacity of the S20 Ultra but probably as much as you'll need. In practice, what matters most is how those magnification levels look on each phone. This is the specialty of the S20 Ultra.
At 3x zoom, above, you'll see the S20 Ultra's shot is more saturated (a bit too saturated perhaps), but also sharper. Not a huge sinkhole, but still impressive. The difference between the phones gets bigger as you zoom in.
Below is a 5x zoom image of the main hall of the University of Sydney, famous for being the only decent building in Sydney. The Pixel 4 photo certainly doesn't look bad. But the more you compare the two photos - the texture of the bricks, the deeper blue of the windows, and the overall clarity - the more you'll appreciate the S20 Ultra's prowess.
Then here's an 8x Zoom of Sydney University of Technology, a decidedly more depressing building and also the one I did my graduate school in. Good time. Below is another 8x zoom of some street art on top of a neighborhood store. Either way, the S20 Ultra retains the richness of color and detail beautifully, while the Pixel's products look dull in comparison.
S20 Ultra (left) versus Pixel 4
Daniel Van Boom/ CNET
The S20 Ultra is feature-rich
Below are some photos taken with the S20 Ultra's ultra-wide-angle lens. I can't compare them to the Pixel 4 because Google's phone doesn't have an ultra-wide-angle camera. It was a painful omission when it launched last October and it hurts more every flagship a competitor releases. (Even many budget and midrange phones have them.)
An ultra-wide shot on the S20 Ultra.
Daniel Van Boom/CNET
And another. The Pixel 4 doesn't have an ultra-wide-angle lens.
Daniel Van Boom/CNET
Then there's the 108-megapixel mode. It's a sensational feature, but it's more of a nice touch than an innovation. The benefit of the 108-megapixel mode isn't that photos become more detailed at a glance. It's rather that zooming in on a photo after it's taken greatly reduces the loss of detail. here is a
in-depth review of the 108-megapixel mode
.
Between more vivid photos and a deeper photographic toolbox, it's fair to say that the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra has a better camera than the Google Pixel 4. With such a price difference, you'd expect this either the case.
The Pixel 4 still performs admirably; it's still a fantastic camera. But between its lack of an ultra-wide-angle lens and the S20 Ultra's exceptional zoom capabilities, the Pixel can no longer claim to be Android's camera king.
See the best Galaxy S20 tips and tricks
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