Camera test: iPhone 12 Pro Max vs. Mate 40 Pro vs. Xperia 1 II vs. Galaxy Note20 Ultra

27 November 2020


Sort by:

  • H
  • Hossien
  • cSx
  • 28 Apr 2023

No phone in the world can take pictures as well as a camera, a phone is something that is always available. The camera is not always available, but the phone is everywhere. If a random scene happens, the camera is not available to you, you have to use your phone. Here, the camera of the phone is important for you, I can boldly say that Sony phones have the best camera, but it is not as good as photography, it really has the strongest camera among other phones.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • fD9
    • 03 May 2022

    Cobra, 04 Jun 2021https://youtu.be/18cAPhfjTzs Please watch this link. I wat... moreimma tell you what, i know a thing or two about taking photos and i would take a proper camera over this

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • Y7I
      • 06 Mar 2022

      flagshipper, 07 Mar 2021"but is it worth to spend so much money for phone ever... moreThat's why I have a Sony RX100 VI for trips and outings when I want better pictures than with my phone. I can zoom in optically a lot and it has a nice picture quality. No need for a DSLR unless you are a paid photographer or need it for work or your own collection.

        Cobra, 04 Jun 2021https://youtu.be/18cAPhfjTzs Please watch this link. I wat... moreThis is just Sony's stupid idea impregnated into the Sony fanboys brain leftovers. No serious photographer will ever consider a smartphone for serious photography. It's all Sony's bluff, propaganda and excuse for inability to implement proper computational photography.

          • C
          • Cobra
          • MqE
          • 04 Jun 2021

          VectorR, 21 May 2021Completely agreed with it. I'd keep Xperia 1 II just f... morehttps://youtu.be/18cAPhfjTzs
          Please watch this link. I watched this review. And to be honest I think on this site reviews are made by amateurs. Obviously Xperia is for the people who know about photography.

            AnonD-923722, 14 Dec 2020What a bothersome Sony fanboy guy. Go find a girlfriend and... moreCompletely agreed with it. I'd keep Xperia 1 II just for design and sound quality. Everything else is mediocre or worse than that.

              • m
              • muzi
              • f3f
              • 04 Apr 2021

              Expensive photos

                • f
                • flagshipper
                • xe9
                • 07 Mar 2021

                Anonymous, 29 Dec 2020After reading this test and seeing these photos, I can say,... more"but is it worth to spend so much money for phone every 3 years? "
                well i spend it every 3 months. but still couldn't swallow Xperia price, so inappropriate price for mediocre device with slow charging, slow refreshing eyehurting screen and poor camera in auto mode (which is the only mode that matters, no matter what people say).
                I totally agree that DSLR is a better investment, however noone wants to have bulky device with them and me neither.. I sold DSLR years ago after I saw flagships make good pictures and don't plan to use it. Let's be honest, DSLR is for occasional use, therefore you MISS tons of important moments because mostly you won't have the device. DSLR is dead as a matter of fact and all focus is on mobile photography.

                  • z
                  • zed
                  • L1D
                  • 04 Mar 2021

                  SanaullahRegi , 10 Jan 2021Surprised! To see there is no Huawei P40 line smartphone ex... morecuz there was mate 40

                    Anonymous, 29 Dec 2020After reading this test and seeing these photos, I can say,... moreSo true, for this amount of money you can get a decent phone and a camera. Other than a DSLR there are some nice compact cameras as well, like Sony RX100 model 3 or model 5 (their prices have fallen significantly over the years, and they should rival, if not beat, camera phone quality when viewed on PC or a large screen).

                      • S
                      • SanaullahRegi
                      • X}$
                      • 10 Jan 2021

                      Surprised! To see there is no Huawei P40 line smartphone exist in the list? Eventually the world largest image sensor smartphone in this era infect when camera discussion going on.. And I would prefer P40 P40 plus pro to use for video and images after dslrs mirrorless Cameras.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • AKj
                        • 29 Dec 2020

                        After reading this test and seeing these photos, I can say, I prefer iPhone, but I miss an important detail about this phones - price (source: amazon.de):
                        - iPhone 12 pro max -> 1330 €
                        - mate 40 pro -> 1200 €
                        - note 20 ultra -> 1100 €
                        - xperia 1 II -> 1000 €

                        That is way too much money for any of them and these photos are not comparable to DSLR, specially in dark areas. I do not know for you, but instead of any of these, I would buy a cheaper phone for 500 € and mirrorless camera for 800 €. I think that is better deal, and keep in mind, you can use good DSLR for 10 years, meanwhile you will probably change your phone in 3-4 years.

                        Yes, I know, mirrorless camera is not so "handy", but is it worth to spend so much money for phone every 3 years?

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • 7tn
                          • 19 Dec 2020

                          Hmm, 15 Dec 2020 I'm thinking the best camera is what you have with yo... moreWell, if you three the potato at your friend, they could see stars. I suppose that might make a potato like a camera?

                          Anyway, when a stock android camera app in a phone, has less features and produces worse picture, than a cheap pocket video camera, it's hard to argue that the phone has sufficient quality, and that it shouldn't be compared.

                            • W
                            • Wayne Morellini
                            • 7tn
                            • 19 Dec 2020

                            It's, the most accurate, and ability to get most accurate, and ease of use to get the most accurate, are three performance metrics you could use, as well as the ability to get the best look for each of these. The third performance axis, is the pro like: ability to push the image to get more accurate and the ease to do so, and the ability to push for best look and ease to do so. This measures the excess performance that is useful in skilled hands to push the image. It's not about modern phones dumb dumb video features. The best look is subjective, but the cinema industry, in films, often shot on Alexa cameras, are considered the best look. The last Guardians of the galaxy film was shot on an 8k Red camera, and that particular film could be considered an alternative best look, compared to the Alexa camera. The 108mp Samsung can produce a look a little similar to Alexa, and the Red produces images a bit similar to Sony sensors. The Alexa tends to be thicker colour, and the Red, more delicate, but due to its great performance, it can be very colourfully tonally.

                            It's absurd to say that it's absurd to compare images between the cameras. Get a good camera app, and use it properly, and you can get more out of it. Sure, stills are more cooked, but video camera control, performance datarates and features, have a long way to go. The scores on DXOM are rather low for video camera functionality on phones. Sure dumb, dimb, camera apps hide and limit performance, but there is a lot more performance to be had in phone sensors. Once we get beyond visually normal 16 stops + of dynamic range, we get into an area where skilled software or person, can rearrange the image more. It also gives an bit surreal look of tonality to it.

                            Now, as much as the Samsung and Sony are close together (though my Samsung sensors phone looks better than my Sony, from better dynamic range etc) there are still a lot of poorer sensors out there. Maybe next year Sony can effectively lineup with Samsung. Last year's Sony promo flagship video sensor video looked good, but was a false hope, but both companies are trying to shore up the technological weaknesses of their sensors. But, the rendering to the compression codec, and it's datarates, are two areas for improvements.

                            Now. I have an original SE phone here, which has a simple way to usefully control picture levels unlike what I've seen on standard stock android camera apps. That makes things very simpler to narrow look. I have another smaller ultra mini android phone which I aim to test, but unlike many android phones, it seems to have contrast, sharpness and colour saturation settings in the stock camera app, a few changes to these settings, simply gave a much better picture, a usable looking image. I don't know which sensor it has yet, but aim to test filmic pro on it.

                            So, you could review stuff like this. The industry needs to be guided to better performance. I'm sick of all the still performance concentration rubbish, which protect the expensive video camera market, because of giving low performance dumb, dumb, camera features. Even the stock apps that buck the trend, are lacking. The storage systems and IO also lacks, with microSD corrupting and loosing your footage in a year or so. We have interface standards that could be used to store even compressed 16k into an external mini ssd drive, and transfer into a more durable harddrive. There is big room for improvements in professional phones, rather than $2000 toy phones

                              • H
                              • Hmm
                              • 3ay
                              • 15 Dec 2020

                              I'm thinking the best camera is what you have with you. A potato, top notch phone or kickass DSRL. No need to argue over this subject.

                                • D
                                • AnonD-923722
                                • tDP
                                • 14 Dec 2020

                                Photopro, 11 Dec 2020Xperia 1 II kick every single ass in photo department, they... moreWhat a bothersome Sony fanboy guy. Go find a girlfriend and give her 3 phones (sony xperia 1 ii in pro mode, iphone in auto mode, huawei in auto mode).
                                Take her to many places to take the pictures and ask her to select the best experiences and best shot of the bunch.

                                Xperia will just be thrown to the sea after that, it is rubbish in auto mode, overs saturated colours, no HDR, dark shadows, clipped highlights, weird White balance, watercoloury effect, so many noise, no detail

                                  Anonymous, 28 Nov 2020“ With the ever-increasing complexity of modern smartphone ... moreu right!

                                    Photopro, 11 Dec 2020Xperia 1 II kick every single ass in photo department, they... morer-e-l-a-x

                                      Photopro, 11 Dec 2020Xperia 1 II kick every single ass in photo department, they... moreAgree

                                        • P
                                        • Photopro
                                        • nnG
                                        • 11 Dec 2020

                                        Xperia 1 II kick every single ass in photo department, they are just to lazy to test it or thwy dont know anything about photography, auto mode just got an update and it looks so much better for those newbies.. Iphone and Samsung sucks, they are just oversaturated unrealistic color good for fantasy photography... They dont know how to squeeze a camera sensor. I have compare all cameras 2020 phones and Sony will be able to beat every single one. 4k 120 fps. 20fps, eye and face auto focus, full manual control,etc. Xperia 1 II best phone 2020.

                                          1 of 19