Galaxy S9 vs. Xperia XZ2 shootout

02 April 2018
Samsung has the Plus, Sony has the Compact, but the two companies see the base size differently. It's these regular versions that we'll now be taking a closer look at - this is the Galaxy S9 versus Xperia XZ2 camera comparison.

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Panino Manino, 02 Apr 2018"Take a look at the clock in the daylight shots and it is c... moreSame way you can use noise reduction on more noisier shot, but detail and sharpness is lost... Its just preference. I find sharpness and detail on looking at a 1:1 or 100% crop photo more important. And also for printing photos.

    Ellio74, 02 Apr 2018Finding the right balance can be difficult I guess, or it i... more"Take a look at the clock in the daylight shots and it is clearly better."

    Like you said, "it is according to preferences." I don't prefer that photo with the clock, the way the Xperia oversharpens there. Sharpening is something that you can add easily, but never remove.
    The Xperia have plenty of compromises. It "works" just in a very feel selected and very special rare cases.

      okcnaline, 02 Apr 2018Funny how everyone talks about the need for bipod for low-l... moreYes. Use it all the time, and there no need for tripods. Flick to manual preset to 1/8 or 1/4 s shutter speed, makes great shots.

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        • Anonymous
        • LQv
        • 02 Apr 2018

        Whackcar, 02 Apr 2018Why is Sony still stuck with F 2.0 Aperture? It's been stuc... moreBecause the aperture f is not only about light that goes inside.
        When you change f you also change DEPTH OF FIELD.

        If you have exactly same camera sensor and focal length , when you change f you change DOF. It is the " distance" between main object of the photo ( a person for example) and everything behind.

        Bigger value of f makes this " distance" bigger. You can see the samples of S9/S9+ when you change from f2.4 to 1.5.

        Did you noticed that all phones with tele lens have f2.4 or 2.6?
        Never 1.8 of bigger...

          Panino Manino, 02 Apr 2018Over processed is bad, but under processed is equally bad. ... moreFinding the right balance can be difficult I guess, or it is according to preferences.

          XZ2 pictures in general have mre texture than the S9 ones. Take a look at the clock in the daylight shots and it is clearly better.
          Or look at the trees in the tripod section and it's again more detailed on the Sony.
          Also don't forget that you're zooming in more with the Sony, because of its higher MP number.

          I get the idea of having RAW, but I've never edited photos even though I had phones capable of shooting in that format.

          Not really I would say, daylight is a matter of taste, low light is for the Samsung when handheld and for the Sony on a tripod and video is a matter of taste again.

            Anonymous, 02 Apr 2018Be sure to carry a tripod around with you if you have the X... moreNope, you can easily shoot at 1/8 s shutter on Xperia by handheld without tripod. And the results will be as seen here.
            I shoot handheld lowlights at 1/8 or 1/4 s all the time, and them are great. On XZ2 even greater.

              vrvly, 02 Apr 2018Actually stacking removes noise without loosing details and... moreSome say the XZ2 uses stacking.
              AIS from Huawei is something close to EIS (SteadyShot) from Sony.
              A test has shown that the feature that would allow the P20 Pro to take long exposure shot handheld is just something like the S9/S9+ do, nothing new here.
              F/2.0 is clearly enough for what it is, and the S9 doesn't have a dual cam too and both take great pics.

                Haha, Too be honest. Sony is just Sony, most likely low quality with everything. Samsung is Samsung good but still not great. Hope Xperia will be better after new CEO changed yesterday.

                  Carl, 02 Apr 2018The low light photos with zoom of the Sony XZ2 looks terrib... moreWell in these days of Instagram and FB compression, do you think that such sharpness is important? yeah right.

                  To be honest, people can go with any camera on their smartphone in their hand. Be the result ugly or not, it doesn't matter, as long as the moment is captured.

                  The point is, sharpness isn't usually the thing people are looking at (maybe for the one who takes photo yes, but nobody else), especially the Social media crowd. But color, composition, dynamic range, etc is readily more apparent in a glance.

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                    • Carl
                    • mkc
                    • 02 Apr 2018

                    The low light photos with zoom of the Sony XZ2 looks terrible with a lot of noise, I would never share photos like those with my friends. The noise and artifacts cover details, so you lose sharpness and image quality.

                      Ellio74, 02 Apr 2018The fact is: Sony's images are less processed than the Sams... moreOver processed is bad, but under processed is equally bad.
                      So, XZ2 lowlight photos have more texture... but stop just looking at the asphalt for example and look at everything else, how everything else gets buried under blobs of artifacts. There's really more detail there in those photos? S9 photos may have a bit too much noise reduction but I still can see what are bellow that filter. On the XZ2? I can see almost nothing.
                      And again, you can't recover details that are bellow those blobs, on the S9 on the contrary you can. Like I said, use the JPEG-RAW dual save option. If there's some photo you think the noise reduction is hurting then process the RAW, you may even do that it a mobile app directly from the phone.
                      The only Xperia advantage? Carry with you a tripod, amazing.

                        Ellio74, 02 Apr 2018The fact is: Sony's images are less processed than the Sams... moreActually stacking removes noise without loosing details and XZ2 should use that also. Maybe its like 12 on galaxy vs. 3 on xperia because of poor stabilization again. In sony would probably love that kind of tech p20 got, AIS and hand-as-tripod like function. Well, they would probably need multiple sensors also. Just hope that that new dual camera will come out better, f2, no ois, no dual cam, 1/5" selfie feels pretty cheap coming from sony that sits on sensors...

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                          • King Alzheimer
                          • m2e
                          • 02 Apr 2018

                          Should've compared it to any iPhone. Iphone would win by a giant margin.

                            Funny how everyone talks about the need for bipod for low-light. Just go manual mode.

                              Panino Manino, 02 Apr 2018I just can't accept Sony processing. Even at the lowest po... moreThe fact is: Sony's images are less processed than the Samsung ones.
                              What you're calling dirt is just noise. Sony doesn't remove all of it to preserve the details. Just look at a S9 pictures. They're cleaner, but it has less details and sometimes it's really noticeable.

                                Why is Sony still stuck with F 2.0 Aperture? It's been stuck there since like 2013. Ugh...

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                                  • MdN8
                                  • ptD
                                  • 02 Apr 2018

                                  Anonymous, 02 Apr 2018Vlogging? Music concerts? Your children playing sports at... moreThanks, good point about concerts although I record a few minutes and take some photos, and then enjoy the show. But I agree it's a consideration for some people. As for vlogging, the less of it the better. :-)

                                    Wow! Impressed!
                                    Sony told us it as improved its software and it's proven here.

                                    Apart from the lack of OIS for low-light shots and the less capable FF camera (though still good), I don't see any flaws. Daylight pictures are plenty of details. It may be noisier than the others but I like it that way, instead of softer images. And colors are natural too.

                                    Night shots is definitely better when using a tripod but still lacking when handheld.

                                    And videos are again better on the Sony as long as it is not 4K, the stabilization works so well!

                                      Now all sony needs is an OIS. I somehow feel that it will feature in soon to arrive XZ2 Premium.

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                                        • Anonymous
                                        • LQv
                                        • 02 Apr 2018

                                        MdN8, 02 Apr 2018Honest question: why would you want to record 5 minutes of ... moreVlogging? Music concerts?
                                        Your children playing sports at school?


                                        Many things can be recorded.