HTC U11 vs. Samsung Galaxy S8+: Pixel Duel

24 May 2017
In this follow-up to the pick-a-flagship shootout from the weekend we take a close look at how the prominent absentee in that three-way contest - the HTC U11 - stacks up to the Galaxy S8+ camera.

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  • AnonD-186803
  • 3ad
  • 24 May 2017

Anonymous, 24 May 2017"capturing a precious memory" Lol. You make it sound like a... more"More Noise" - actually in some sky shots the XZP had less noise. Don't mistake edge dappling for noise: that's the sharpening algorythm.

I, and many others, will take a little more noise (that disappears at anything other then pixel level) for more detail. "Oil painting like" is not a selling point.

The point of a camera is to capture the scene as it is, not how Sammy wants it to be. On this front the S8 camera is an abject failure.

And don't dismiss "precious memories" as if it doesn't matter: when you have kids you'll understand: I want pictures of my family to look like the scene I saw so that I can remember that time. The Samsung steals that choice and the Sony gives me that choice. If I want to take a beauty shot of plants or landscapes to blow up and print THEN I'll run it through a quick colour enhance tool, if they need more punch. But I don't want, and NO photographer worth his/her salt wants, to have EVERY picture run through a filter in advance. That's not a good Camera.

On colour, detail, white balance and dynamic range, the XZP is a better performer than the Samsung in all but low light handheld. And you can tweak a few settings on the Sony to adjust for that. One those settings are changed they will be saved for the next time you use the camera in Manual.

Sure: you don't want the faff,... but you're getting objectively worse photography in most cases in return for your convenience.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • NHr
    • 24 May 2017

    AnonD-186803, 24 May 2017And?? That doesn't make it better objectively, it just mea... more"capturing a precious memory" Lol. You make it sound like a love story. Selfie much??? If I really want to capture a brilliant scene or subject, then I use my SLR. I use my phones camera only when I know it's not a photo I'm going to keep or print later on. By the way, you missed one aspect of the Sony images, and that is more noise, removing that noise in post will decrease details. It's so easy to increase and decrease saturation, so that is not a "selling point" to me. Clearly, by votes, most people don't like noisy or "oil-painting-like" images. Neither will they bother with manual settings or make use of a tripod when taking pictures with a phone.

      AnonD-77443, 24 May 2017Ok, lets pretend your right (funny that sony fans have neve... moreAnd let's be honest, most of our photos will be taken in daylight.
      If I were to take a photo in low light, I'd use the flash - it won't be there for no reason, right?

      No I'm not making excuses, this is just practicality, okay?

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        • AnonD-77443
        • v6J
        • 24 May 2017

        AnonD-661543, 24 May 2017don't fool yourself.That blind test was absolute jock.cropp... moreOk, lets pretend your right (funny that sony fans have never had issues with blind tests till now).

        How do you explain the poor result in the gsma low light studio test (28 lux is still ok lighting)?
        Basically the XZP camera is poor in anything but good light. http://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=5&idPhone1=8161&idPhone2=8593

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          • AnonD-186803
          • 3ad
          • 24 May 2017

          Anonymous, 24 May 2017And??? The S8 is still the gsma reviewer and reader choice.And?? That doesn't make it better objectively, it just means that the images it produces are sugar coated just enough to make people go "Ahhhh". It's not doing a better job than the Sony in most scenarios - over saturating the colours and over sharpening edges doesn't change this fact.

          If you want a camera that makes you go "ahhh", get an S8. But if you want one that actually takes a better picture in most cases, and can be made to make you go "Ahhhh" with one toggle on Windows, then you're better off with the Sony. But I want the choice: I want the more detailed, more accurate picture that I have the choice to saturate or leave alone if I'm capturing a precious memory. Removing that choice from me does not make the Samsung better, it makes it worse.

            AnonD-523334, 24 May 2017U11 wins, by a hair. BTW, I'm getting U11. firstly was un... moreAgree. Difference is a hair. Images are great. Overall the U11 wins for me as overall package and you can use headphones via adaptor including for USB where legendary sound will be rich.

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • NHr
              • 24 May 2017

              AnonD-186803, 24 May 2017Using that tool only damages your arguement. Hit the slide... moreAnd??? The S8 is still the gsma reviewer and reader choice.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • 0Ef
                • 24 May 2017

                HTC U11 is the best!

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                  • AnonD-186803
                  • 3ad
                  • 24 May 2017

                  ithehappy, 24 May 2017He's not smoking anything, give the man, and other Sony use... moreUsing that tool only damages your arguement. Hit the slider to 12mp to even up the FOV and take a look at the Tenner on the colour chart: both the pixel AND the S8 get the details either muddy (Pixel) or just plain wrong (S8).

                  On the ISO chart the S8 repeatedly has halos around many of the details due to over-eager sharpening, where the XZP does not. It goes on and on. For ever issue the S8 wins on those charts, the XZP wins 3 or 4.

                  The Pixel is doing a better job than the S8 on those charts, I'll give you that.

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                    • AnonD-632062
                    • J7S
                    • 24 May 2017

                    I think the review title should have been "Duel Pixel"... Get it?! :P

                    But seriously, two awesome snappers on both these phones (atleast for images....video-wise S8 looks slightly ahead). Maybe a Pixel should have been thrown in too as a reference.

                    But I feel when the differences are so minute, the photos from both the phones must be taken at the exact same moment using the same stand, so that any shaking, movement & lighting are exactly the same for both. In this review, that was not the case judging by the photos.

                      AnonD-442781, 24 May 2017Nobody carries a tripod with them, and it isn't like the s8... moreYeah I get that nobody carries a tripod everywhere, but it's still a thing we take thing about.
                      G6 and S8 won't be able to crush the XZP in handheld low light if it wasn't for the lack of OIS.

                      Don't worry, Sony's getting there soon. Generation by generation, Sony's been solving all problems on their cameras. Compare the XZP's camera to the Z5 series, and you'll understand what I'm pointing out.

                        AnonD-186803, 24 May 2017Um,... no. They did that (take a look at the article yours... moreAnd there is absolutely nothing wrong even with handheld pictures. They are great on their own too.

                          • D
                          • AnonD-186803
                          • 3ad
                          • 24 May 2017

                          AnonD-77443, 24 May 2017I'll have what he is smoking... clearly you didn't see the ... moreAnd clearly you didn't read the 3 way overall head to head they published the day afterwards that showed the XZP doing a better job in all scenarios apart from handheld night.

                          The blind shootout didn't take any account of the lens and focal lengths of the three, only leaving a tiny pixel peep to judge on. When you take the full images and compare, and account for the wildly different FOV of each phone, the Xperia very clearly comes out on top in daylight, video and stabilised night time.

                          The blind test put the Sony at an automatic disadvantage by the parametres used. When you look at the full images the Sony wins. The only place that Sony fell behind (and a long way, I'm not denying that) is handheld night. But GSMA themselves demonstrated that stabilising the thing and changing a couple of settings pulled it equal. Go read the article yourself.

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                            • AnonD-442781
                            • H5W
                            • 24 May 2017

                            [deleted post]Nobody carries a tripod with them, and it isn't like the s8 did badly with a tripod, it just did worse. The noise on the XZP even with good light conditions is actually bad, like the sort of thing you'd expect in 2012. The XZP isn't really up to snuff and shouldn't be compared with the U11 or the S8 for camera performance.

                              AnonD-77443, 24 May 2017I'll have what he is smoking... clearly you didn't see the ... moreHe's not smoking anything, give the man, and other Sony users some space. They have lost their way, after the terribly poor show from the XZP. It's disappointing to a level where you actually feel pity for it. Ah same old Sony.

                              http://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=1&idPhone1=8161&idPhone2=8345&idPhone3=8593

                              In any case, just keep your poor Sony discussions in Sony section, cause this is about U11 and S8 only, where no one bothers about any sub standard phone, if attention is badly needed then go to something like a OnePlus 3 section, where XZP will be matched for a much wiser comparison to its own level.

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                                • AnonD-661543
                                • auB
                                • 24 May 2017

                                AnonD-77443, 24 May 2017I'll have what he is smoking... clearly you didn't see the ... moredon't fool yourself.That blind test was absolute jock.cropped and changed the size of images.gsmarena could make thumbnail to showing full size images.

                                  If you telling me that overexposed images of HTC are better... well you have issues...

                                  Beside nice reproduction of flat places(eg, look at sky, galaxy have lots of noise there) HTC is a bit worst than S8, mostly because exposure issues and weird contrast

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                                    • AnonD-77443
                                    • v6J
                                    • 24 May 2017

                                    AnonD-661543, 24 May 2017In low light and night xzp is much better than S8 and U11. ... moreI'll have what he is smoking... clearly you didn't see the terrible blind test (as far as the XZP goes anyway).... S8 first, G6 second then the XZP a llloooonnnnnggg way back.

                                      • D
                                      • AnonD-186803
                                      • 3ad
                                      • 24 May 2017

                                      Anonymous, 24 May 2017Not having OIS is not an excuse. Sony thought it was wise t... moreUm,... no. They did that (take a look at the article yourself) and the S8 actually came last by quite a margin, well behind the XZP and the G6. Tripod stabilising an S8 seems to actually make it worse. How, I don't know. But the evidence is right there in the article.