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

27 November 2020


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  • 29 Nov 2020

Digital photography was itself threat to truthness in photography as each company do their own processing of color and other parameters. So there was great effort to get it near to reality. After so many years also digital photography has not nailed the color accuracy and real details. Only some flagship Camera can do that with some what near to reality. Still digital photography processing is long way to go.

Coming to mobile phone photography I am very disappointed the way the mobile phones camera technology moving. Its full of artificial processing and no one giving any importance to capturing real color or details or depth or orginal shape of the subject.
All camera even flagship which costs above 1000 dollors are just artificial processed photos or some gimmicks added. Now subjects shape are also not correct due to stupid wide lens and more stupid ultra wide lens. Color originality is just not there with highly processed software. Also i can see there is no depth or 3d feel in photos and with just full artificial details. And from this quad byer tech more artificial processing is happening with lot of errors in details and shapes. I think people first have to achieve to capture the truthness then can go for other gimmicks.
Get the good optics with good biggger sensor and less processed photos people will forgive for increased thickness. Nokia pureview was the best step in mobile imaging history took but our badluck every one wants shortcut and quick money...Hope atleast flagship mobiles strive for truthnes and keep alive the true spirit of photography.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • JT5
    • 29 Nov 2020

    Nick Tagataka, 29 Nov 2020I have absolutely no idea what the hell you're talking... moreRX100 vs cellphones

    - lower noise at all iso levels
    - better colours
    - similar sharpness across the whole frame
    - people do not have yellow skin
    - no underexposed faces
    - no oil painting, no wax, no plastic
    - turf is not destroyed by NR.

    Resolution is not excuse. Any real camera with 12MP looks years better on big great screen than any phone using 16, 20 or 27MP.
    Cellphone lenses do not resolve any near of total resolution.
    Why OEMs like Google abuse sharpness to avoid photo with same quality of very old 5MP dslr.


      Daylight: Main camera

      Huawei is absolute best, bar none.
      Samsung is a close second.
      Apple is too soft and blurry.
      Sony looks to be the worst.

      Ultrawide: Huawei > Samsung > Sony > Apple
      Telephoto: Sony > Huawei > Apple -> Samsung
      Low light, main camera: Samsung > Huawei > Apple > Sony
      Portrait: Huawei > Apple > Samsung > Sony
      Video: Samsung > Huawei > Apple > Sony

      In my books: Huawei is the best, Samsung is a close second, Apple is a third, Sony the worst of them all.

      Which is weird considering that Sony produces image sensors and superior mirrorless camers.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • TRF
        • 29 Nov 2020

        geek-a-contra, 29 Nov 2020not, computational photography is not "bad", it i... moreThe sky is never totally black in the city because of light pollution.

          • S
          • Smartphones fan
          • m5u
          • 29 Nov 2020

          RedZone91, 29 Nov 2020Hardware algorythm is the best.These comparisons just gives websites and youtubers advertisements and visit .. It isn't anything about cameras.. All about money .. Comparisons like this should never be made.. Of course images gonna look different every display in these smartphones are different .. Of course colour gonna be different.. Just I want from them to compare 10 or 15 brands of monitors or 4k TVs manufacturers of course all TVs gonna look different.. colours saturation different , contrast different , brightness, sharpness... All display manufacturers the image is different all depends of the settings as well pre-sets ...
          and about details and blurred background or night modes.. That is all about the USER how he is going to use the camera... All smartphone users with all brands and flagship smartphones photos going to be totally acceptable by user ...
          What else they want?? They making not quality images anyway..
          These comparisons are only made for attention of young ppl which they don't understand the technology behind ...

            Anonymous, 29 Nov 2020That's simply not true in any form, all you have to do... moreHardware algorythm is the best.

              • F
              • Fayth
              • tEZ
              • 29 Nov 2020

              the best camera is the one you have

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • CAF
                • 29 Nov 2020

                Samsang is always good when it comes for camera issues

                  geek-a-contra, 29 Nov 2020not, computational photography is not "bad", it i... moreWhat you're referring to is a AI/ML-assisted post processing which is only half the story of the concept of computational photography. You know that many image processing features found on Photoshop, Lightroom and many other photo editing software used by professionals can be also categorised as computational imaging, right? Exposure bracketing with motion compensation, pixel shift stacking, multi-frame noise reduction, etc.. Some phones are even capable of doing all of those processes in-camera then give the uncompressed, stacked DNG files so that you can edit them to your own taste.

                  "in most of the "night mode" pictures the sky is not anymore black but greyish or other way coloured'
                  Personally, I don't think that's unrealistic as I've never seen a completely black sky except at late night, it always has a bit of colour cast even though it's a bit hard to see with my naked eyes. And if I found the look of sky in the photo disturbing, all I would need to do is to turn down the exposures or shadows before/after shooting the photo to darken it.

                    geek-a-contra, 29 Nov 2020not, computational photography is not "bad", it i... moreCompletely disagree with it.
                    PS. I've noticed the night sky of all different colours (purple, brown, bright navy blue) on Xperia 5 which I used to have :). SO Sony isn't any better at this. At least latest Huawei flagship smartphones make the night sky looking clear, free of noise of any kind.

                      Anonymous, 29 Nov 2020Open the module of cellphone camera. All elements have sa... moreI have absolutely no idea what the hell you're talking about.
                      https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9f5dec6be0a2d5fa60ec69e65aa9dfc2
                      https://www.xda-developers.com/files/2019/11/Xiaomi-Mi-CC9-Pro-108MP-Camera_2.jpg
                      All elements are different on ANY camera lenses, regardless of being inside a dedicated camera or a smartphone camera.

                      "JPEG of RX100 is better than jpeg from phones"
                      Define "better". Please don't tell me you're using that word to just say "RX100's JPEG more details than phones", because no s*** what would you expect from a 20.1MP sensor, capture less details than a 12MP sensor?

                      "W830 does not have corner softness"
                      "wax, plastic not oil painting like phones"
                      I just checked the samples on the internet, it definitely suffers from a LOT of corner softness. And on top of that your camera still processes foliage very poorly, its only saving grace is that it uses a high resolution sensor which naturally captures high frequency details better than most 12MP phone cameras in the centre portion of the frame.

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • Ni0
                        • 29 Nov 2020

                        Anonymous, 29 Nov 2020Open the module of cellphone camera. All elements have sa... moreThe S20 ultra sensor with 9 to 1 pixel binning gives same 2.4 micron pixel size as 1" RX100 sensor. So it being bigger argument is already out of the window.
                        And smartphones have the trick of computational photography up their sleeve.

                        RX100 has poor computational photography compared to cellphones.
                        Video is terrible. RX100 is also meant to be point and shoot, so don't bring in the RAW argument. Smartphone with computational photography is outperforming them.

                        These tests have been done.
                        Only thing beating 2020 big sensor smartphone cameras are much bigger sensors like micro 4/3 and above. Certainly not by weak 1" sensor of RX100.

                          Nick Tagataka, 29 Nov 2020Not to mention that Pixel 3-5 and iPhone 12 Pro/Pro Max giv... morenot, computational photography is not "bad", it is simply a form of pre-digested, pre-fabricated sort of mass, consumer good grade photography in which the level balance, shadows, luminosity, sharpening, etc, etc, etc are pre-set by a number of professionals for the quick convenience of the general public. and this, again, is simply not bad. but is not good for those who want to get pictures per their tastes and preferences. personally i always use my xperia 5II (smaller, easer to carry and use, lower cost, improved software, etc vs xperia 1II...) in pro mode, auto or otherwise, as per specific circumstances, subject and intend. the stock pictures from 12 pro, mate pro and note 20, as technically good as they are, in most cases are not what i see, need or want to capture.
                          p.s. have you noticed that in most of the "night mode" pictures the sky is not anymore black but greyish or other way coloured? although in real life, when you capture the image, you see it as almost black. and the night pictures, suddenly, are not anymore night pictures but dusk pictures? minus the specific light of the dusk...

                            vrvly, 29 Nov 2020Really miss refocus and all in focus feature from lumias...... moreIsn't the 64MP camera solely for telephoto and zooming purposes only? I don't think it can ever do that.

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                              • Shui8
                              • KZK
                              • 29 Nov 2020

                              VectorR, 29 Nov 2020You're absolutely right. This is what I was talking ab... moreWe are in the same shoe. Had bunch of Xperia flagship back in the days, now switch to Huawei. Best decision ever made.

                              And yes, as an Xperia ex-user, there are always something that makes me still loving Xperia up until today and hoping the best for their upcoming product. But at the moment? Not enough. There are differences between true fans and blind fans.

                                Nick Tagataka, 29 Nov 202030 seconds of long exposure is actually possible on all pho... morePixel 5 is not just the king of astrophotography. At least it allows you to have high quality low light / night photos (not a blurry mess or details loss) without using a tripod which seems not the case for Xperia 1 II. :)

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                                  • Anonymous2020
                                  • sxr
                                  • 29 Nov 2020

                                  Shui8, 29 Nov 2020Huawei has Pro Mode + RAW support in all camera sensors sin... moreThe raw's a crap in P9 though.

                                    Nick Tagataka, 29 Nov 2020Not to mention that Pixel 3-5 and iPhone 12 Pro/Pro Max giv... moreYou're absolutely right. This is what I was talking about too. And I'm not a Sony hater / basher at all. Quite opposite, I always liked this brand and use few of thier products nearly every day. I wish Sony very best and hope that they will learn from their mistakes and Xperia 1 III / 5 III will finally get proper implementation of computational photography in Auto mode at least.

                                      • S
                                      • Shui8
                                      • KZK
                                      • 29 Nov 2020

                                      Shanti Dope, 28 Nov 2020Not everyone allows unlocking bootloader though. Sometimes ... moreHuawei has Pro Mode + RAW support in all camera sensors since P9, duh! A 2016 camera phone!

                                      When Sony finally introduce RAW support in Xperia 1ii, a 2020 phone, every Sony blind fans looses their mind! 😂😂😂😂😂

                                      * About GCAM issue, refer to my previous comment down below, waiting for your reaction.

                                        Phill88, 28 Nov 2020Lets face it, if they actually used the xperia 1 mk II phot... more30 seconds of long exposure is actually possible on all phones included in this comparison but iPhone 12 Pro Max. With that said, Pixel 5 is still the king when it comes to smartphone astrophotography.

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