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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Nick Tagataka, 28 Nov 2020I mean Pixel 5 would do a decent job in most scenes, but ob... moreNot to forget the Snapdragon 765 chip which isn't ideal for fast hdr image processing compared to Snapdragon 865 ISP.

    ithehappy, 28 Nov 2020It's not even a photo shootout without a Pixel, cannot be.Pixel is lagging behind all 2020 flagships except iPhone 12 series (Both win or lose and exchange blows depending on upon different scenarios)
    Stop viewing Youtubers who go GA GA over pixel blindly.

      Regedit, 28 Nov 2020Sometimes its good they have not included in comparisons. E... moreThose Chinese flagships have way better quality than Xperia or iPhone which are included in this comparison, especially when one takes into consideration Ultrawide and telephoto cameras.
      There isn't even a dedicated 50mm Potrait lens on those phones. Have you ever used it?
      Nobody wants fake artificial looking Potrait images from iPhones.

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        • Blue Eyez0916
        • IbG
        • 28 Nov 2020

        Jj, 28 Nov 2020I phone 12 pro max abosulity the greatest device in the wor... moreIphone 12 Pro Max released 8 months after the Sony which gave it time to try to find a better camera system. Be realistic and compare to the Xperia dropping in Feb 2021 to get a much more valid comparison on funtionality. But in the mean time I hope you enjoy your miniscule default cloud storage, lack of SD expansion, overpriced Apple peripheral devices, infamous prone to shatter screen, battery throttling (just to name a few known qualities) Apple device.

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          • Fkoff
          • StU
          • 28 Nov 2020

          Jj, 28 Nov 2020I phone 12 pro max abosulity the greatest device in the wor... moreIn your dreams iphone is the best, it is the least innovative

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            • Jj
            • rU3
            • 28 Nov 2020

            I phone 12 pro max abosulity the greatest device in the world no won does there homework like apple when they put a device on the market it is the greatest thing ever no android phone device can even come close to a apple product buy I phone 12 pro max you won’t regret your desion

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              • Anonymous
              • JT5
              • 28 Nov 2020

              Sifat, 28 Nov 2020I just want too see a proper review of the Xperia 1ii camer... moreYoutube = Art of Photography

              He is photographer

                JDK, 28 Nov 2020wait, so the pro didn't get the free-form lens? Tha... moreChange is in basic resolution(for regular Bayer) and in processing of details and colors. So overall performance is better. They probably cannot use big enough quad Bayer sensor to get such wide field of view and low light performance. Same with tele lens.

                  Sifat, 28 Nov 2020I just want too see a proper review of the Xperia 1ii camer... moreIt's how many people won't understand audio quality of wired, much less hi res audio, if they use Bluetooth. The same they won't understand what it means to shoot horizontally, much less with raw files.
                  But it's also brands teaching them with loss of jack and inability to have a say in image processing.
                  They "say": this is the best... But it's not.
                  Pro grade cameras are compared in raw, because processing vary with every app and device, it won't show the best that hw can do, just what stock app is capable of.
                  Could as well use Gcam on Sony and can imagine it being the best.
                  Still, it's all about if you care enough or are you just point&share shooter. Sad is, we got to witness those shared "enhanced" colorful vertical stills and videos.
                  Won't say xperia is perfect, like auto mode could be better and mic recording quality sucks. Unlike Huawei mics and ones on old lumias.

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                    • gLs
                    • 28 Nov 2020

                    The truth is they're Not worth the high prices

                      Anonymous, 28 Nov 2020Feels like an incomplete comparison. Real comparison for ... moreXiaomi's phones are at higher level ...maybe they mean by « flagship » the most expensive not the most advanced... damn the mi 10 ultra how it is gooooood

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                        • Mannie
                        • san
                        • 28 Nov 2020

                        Anonymous, 28 Nov 2020Feels like an incomplete comparison. Real comparison for ... moreThe comparison is for Fall 2020, not the entire year.

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                          • Sivasai
                          • 7tV
                          • 28 Nov 2020

                          Finally sony Xperia in the play.....🙂. It really gave a great competition

                            Sifat, 28 Nov 2020I just want too see a proper review of the Xperia 1ii camer... morehttps://youtu.be/UarJ3PnyXyQ
                            Here's how great an edited RAW on Xperia is.
                            If you want to know how to operate the Sony Photo Pro app, you can just watch video tutorials of basic photography, as it would just be the same as on this Xperia, just that the quality won't be as good as dedicated cameras.

                              Phill88, 28 Nov 2020Lets face it, if they actually used the xperia 1 mk II phot... moreTo be fair, others can also do the same thing, but Sony allows you to do it on all three sensors instead of just on the main like the others.
                              Also, the 12 Pro Max and 1 II would do best here since their native pixel sizes on the main sensor are the largest, which is great at capturing more light with less noise.
                              The best part about manually adjusting the settings is that you are in full control of how the final image would turn out to be, because even the processing style will also depend on how the user manipulates the final JPEG, unlike dedicated Night Modes that are adjusted based on how the phone decided to make the picture look like.

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                                • Sifat
                                • XVk
                                • 28 Nov 2020

                                I just want too see a proper review of the Xperia 1ii camera using the PhotoPro app... There is no need to compare it with anything else if there are no other phone that can give such manual control....

                                Under the pile of all these comparisons, many people are missing a proper review of a genuine professional grade smartphone camera setup... It would be really nice to see a GSMArena article dedicated to the Pro mode of the Xperia 1ii...

                                It will help people like me using the phone to get the grip of the knowhow of using the camera properly and others to see what this device is really capable of....

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                                  • Phill88
                                  • 3DR
                                  • 28 Nov 2020

                                  Lets face it, if they actually used the xperia 1 mk II photo pro app this would be a completely different shoot out, 30 second exposure to shoot the night stars. no other phone can do that, this test was completely biased

                                    VectorR, 28 Nov 2020Considering the current prices for all these phone, Xperia ... moreDepends on what you are judging a camera's capabilities for.
                                    If it's those super aggressive HDR processing that's good for you, then surely you have no idea how true photography truly works.
                                    Besides, this is the Xperia working in standard Auto mode, where no major enhancements were made, and it still kept up really well against the other three that greatly depend on automatically modifying images.
                                    Sony's approach to their camera system in the Xperias is that you are supposed to be in control of everything - from how the camera should expose to the scene all the way to how the final JPEG output would look like.
                                    This is NOT possible on the other phones; either they only allow RAW capturing on the main camera or they require you to pay extra cash for apps that allow those functionalities.

                                    I know you'll reply back "But I'm not interested in adjusting camera functions. I simply want to be able to shoot in full Auto and immediately post images on social media sites."
                                    In such case, there exists GCAM ports for you. It would work well since all sensors of the Xperia allow you to shoot in RAW anyway.
                                    Now that is surely the best of both worlds for you. You get the ability to shoot the same type of images as you do on, say Pixels or iPhones, but you also have the ability to shoot natural-looking photos that are widely open for you to edit all you want. Sony is all about options, and you just have to find them out for yourself.

                                    In case you were wondering how much better it is to take photos in RAW in Photo Pro app, just take a look at this: https://youtu.be/UarJ3PnyXyQ


                                    Sony calls their Xperia 1 II and 5 II the "Alpha camera phones" because they function nearly the same as their Alpha cameras, and as we all know, Alpha cameras and basically every other mirrorless cameras are always set to shoot in RAW and get edited afterwards.
                                    Whether you agree or disagree with such approach is up to you, but it's definitely unfair for you to judge it based on an entirely different criteria. You're comparing the maximized hardware output of the other phones to the standard outputs of the Xperia here. But that's for another discussion, and it would be a very broad one.

                                      Nick Tagataka, 28 Nov 2020It would been even better if Samsung would straight up ditc... moreTrue. Plus the 50MP sensor uses information from the dual pixel to create a 50MP upressed to 100MP photo. That would have been interesting.
                                      Having said that, the capabilities of the 108MP are stilo mostly unused, mostly because it requires so much processing power, and because the lens cannot even resolve a small fraction of the 108MP in actual terms. Plus Samsung should have a dual ISO version of this sensors with the higher ISO set much higher.

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                                        • JDK
                                        • ybx
                                        • 28 Nov 2020

                                        vrvly, 28 Nov 2020Not, + got free-form ultrawide lens, so ultrawide is "... morewait, so the pro didn't get the free-form lens?

                                        That means that the mate 40 pro's ultrawide is a straight downgrade from the mate 30 pro's(20MP vs. 40MP).

                                        I'm not sure if the better ultrawide is going to help in the comparison, as the mate was already the best of the bunch(in GSMA's terms).