Sony Xperia 1 ii (Android 11) vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Camera Comparison

[@eastboydei]

Sony 🔥💪🏽💯

[@MrBoFka]

Во всех тестах хуже

[@draganvasiljevic4932]

Sonyyyyyy kinggg

[@lionelb8227]

The Xperia surprised me with the bikes shots taken with the rear camera. As usual, I also like the Xperia more in daylight. In low light, it's more natural looking than the Samsung (I find its pictures overprocessed), but I understand the appeal of the Samsung pictures. For video, in daylight they're both on the same level in my opinion, though the Samsung is easier to manage thanks to it's ability to switch lenses. But in low light, that's a clear win for the Sony. I don't know how, but the image stabilization is still unmatched in this case. The front facing camera, well, I don't need to talk about that. Lol

[@captainr5725]

Zeiss T* is really helping in Contrast and I like it.

[@pixels_per_inch]

That was a great comparison. I didn't expect the Xperia 1 ii to be anywhere close to the S21 Ultra based on other reviews and considering it's much cheaper. This video proved me wrong.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Photo performance on the Xperia is solid for sure.

[@cuddles6938]

It's weird how Sony sensors used on non Sony phones seem to look better then Sony's own phones. I'm sure it's a software thing.

[@JuanRivera_zolrak]

I think Sony goes more with the "true to life" thing, and that's the reason for Sony to have darker shots at night, if you take a look at the signs on the low light videos, you are able to read what they say, not in the Samsung

[@The-Heart-Will-Testify]

@@cuddles6938 samsung just raises the saturation and colors high lol, is like instagram lol

[@nilascocaguimbal1882]

@@cuddles6938 on the technical side, Xperia's camera is not bad at all, in fact, it's way better than those oem which has sony as sensor maker. It's just not the most pleasing compared to samsung and iphone.

[@JA-dp7zm]

i like the Xperia 1 ii, the colors look much natural

[@Asimkhan-vs9rd]

True dude

[@Sey357]

WOW 👑 SONY GOD FOREVER#1 ✌️ 👑

[@robp3431]

Great comparison, thanks ! I'm trying to hold out for a new Pixel with zoom, but S21 Ultra is really enticing.....

[@GrantLikesTech]

If you wait in tech, you'll always be waiting. 😉

[@nilascocaguimbal1882]

S21 is sharper, almost everytime, it's over sharpen. Xperia can get blurry in low light but I reckon the stabilization in 1080p and 4k in sony is a bit better, although Sony is much too dark when it comes to video.

[@AlexA-ts8sq]

12:49 12:58 13:38 Xperia, like always cannot work good with highlights

[@leonardodavinci7425]

S21 ultra received a very mediocre score on Dxomark, another overpriced phone from Samsung.

[@namelesssnitchy]

at 7:13 you say sony is more darker in the shadows but you dont say which one is more true to life

[@pauL3gend]

Point and shoot excuse is a bit of a cop out imo. The Xperia is marketed toward the more pro (more effort) market. To be able to get the Best of what it offers and to give a fair comparison, u as the reviewer have to understand this and learn new things yourself without assuming US consumers arent willing or capable to learn. Sony wants us to be creators, we have to give the phone the best chance, even if its not the same demographics they are marketing to as Samsung. Its their prerogative to market to the niche, not yours.

[@Samosayummyyay]

14:27 Big oof for Sony. Sony much darker, bad dynamic range. :/

[@BrbZrk_2]

I subrcribed for the Xperia coverage

[@mgermelckumyn3688]

So what is better overall ? Well in terms of photography da Samsung is generally better than ,But think Sony as a whole is not much worse than

[@KobraToldYa]

Nice comparison. I’m really impressed with the s21’s cameras. That autofocus, zoom, and overall software does really well.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thank you sir! Agreed, Samsung put in the work and it shows.

[@leonardodavinci7425]

S21 ultra received a very mediocre score on Dxomark.

[@akio-n5o]

@@leonardodavinci7425 well, everyone has a preferences

[@leonardodavinci7425]

@@akio-n5o That's true

[@yen2022tw]

Love the color of Sony. Would the color be more natural when turning off the scene optimizer of S21? It's over saturated for me.

[@deepakparakode947parakode2]

Sony 👌

[@jacepalermo6053]

Samsungs HDR technology and general dynamic range is very impressive compared to modern phone cameras, I noticed that was one of the biggest differences between them where Sony struggled with the lights and darks

[@jyo5464]

In my opinion the xperia has true to life colours. Bokeh is pretty natural also

[@GrantLikesTech]

Agreed

[@deadlyalliance8281]

Sony absolutely blows. The quality of it is equivalent or so to an s8 at best. Zoom, low light video, portrait mode, dynamic range in video, detail rendition, ultrawide-all awful on the Xperia. I'd be embaressed to call that my daily driver. I'd take an s9 plus over that thing lol oh... And the selfie cam is like a 3+ year old sensor-awful.

[@dom_toredo]

@@deadlyalliance8281 you blow

[@deadlyalliance8281]

@@dom_toredo nah bro, this particular Sony blows lol. Sorry you bought one?

[@dom_toredo]

@@deadlyalliance8281 yes i have been buying since sony Ericsson W550 days

[@jezcbell]

Very good video! Nice to see the Samsung flagship compared to the Xperia using Photo Pro, as even in auto mode I've found the results better than the basic camera app. Definitely prefer the Sony in good light, photos often don't have the smartphone look.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thanks, agree as that's pretty much my final thoughts as well.

[@Samosayummyyay]

@@GrantLikesTech What if you disable HDR on the Samsung? It should look similar to the Sony then. At least it does so for me on my Xiaomi. No HDR=blown out highlights like the Sony and sometimes it looks more 'natural' despite it being fake since nothing is blown out to my actual eyes.

[@FWild-eb1rd]

Mannn Xperia is hot. But which ones colors looks more realistic? Because samsung is much brighter than Xperia

[@GrantLikesTech]

Answered in my final thoughts. 😉

[@machsta14]

Great video, very thorough and detailed giving the xperia a chance but the s21 ultra as a complete package is very good.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thanks, definitely tough to beat the overall package from the S21. Xperia definitely held its own.

[@deadlyalliance8281]

Dxo is out of their mind. This camera is one of the best out there(I have 888,they tested exynos) . Right up there with the p40 pro, sometimes even better than the 12 pro max! Autofocus is amazing unless it's a super high contrast scene or really low light. Dual pixel will win everytime. But in terms of everything else, this thing is amazing, selfie camera too!! Best overall phone out there. Easily.

[@GrantLikesTech]

I don't put much stock in those scores. Samsung has come a long way, especially in the selfie camera.

[@deadlyalliance8281]

@@GrantLikesTech your not kidding. This is, no lie, (which isn't the most important thing out there) probably the best selfie cam out there right now, or very close to it. 40mp mode in good to great lighting captures a stupid amount of detail. Its over sharpened, sure, but the actual detail you get from that 1/2.8 sensor is ridiculous. When the light goes low, 10mp is great. I just wished they gave you the option to use the whole sensor when video recording, but since it doesn't have OIS, they did that for EIS purposes.

[@DeepteshLovesTECH]

A generational gap between the two in front facing video and low light photos.

[@baronofgreymatter14]

I think i missed it but did you use the pro apps? Even in auto mode in the pro apps the pictures are far better.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Yes, mentioned in the intro I used Photo Pro.

[@lawrencev.athill7502]

Very in-depth comparison, and very functional editing.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thank you, much appreciated.

[@123PSPs]

Samsung is impressive but don't looks more true to life

[@chottozumi]

Great video. I do have older XZ & XZ II Premiums. Footnote, it is, but, I just love Sony's own photo editor app. I don't know if anyone else has as versatile an app.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thanks, those were solid phones

[@msprincessangel12]

Awesome review! If you have the Sony at hand, could you possibly do a review on all the features of the front facing camera? Including filters, portrait mode, beauty mode, or whichever else there is. I haven't found a single indebt review of the selfie camera anywhere on the Internet..

[@GrantLikesTech]

Sadly, the front camera isn't very good to me as they haven't updated it over the last few generations.

[@vadergrd]

you take xperia image , apply sharpness and increase contrast => samsung s image! ;)

[@killuazenitsu]

Hmm.... Wondering how come the comparison wasn't against S20 Ultra. X1ii is 2020 phone while S21U is 2021 phone.

[@Samosayummyyay]

Auto-mode was just an afterthought. It's too poor compared to pro-mode. Really, much too poor. Damn Sony :/

[@LB-yx4yw]

Please compare sony experia 1 iii with s21 ultra (once it's released)

[@GrantLikesTech]

Would love to, hopefully I can get my hands on it.

[@Tfrank22]

Great video as usual, Grant. Both cameras perform well. Btw, love all of the GSW shirts, and hats.

[@GrantLikesTech]

You know #dubnation

[@nguyentrananhnguyen7900]

i know this is an old video but did you mixed up the night shots? i have watched a few comparison and it usually that: the sony is darker but less noise the samsung have more detail and is brighter but have that purple tint on the dark background

[@scp-2681]

Why do I think Samsung’s is weird, just like fake？

[@LeakBox]

4:50 bro wth that digital zoom on the Xperia...

[@danidarklord666]

Samsung overall is a lot better, but sony colors is actually very impressive on daylights,and that's it.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Agreed

[@leoevs441]

Not if the Sony's camera features used correctly, then it's a different story, all these videos are done on automatic setting, the Sony is the only smartphone on the market that gives a true professional camera feeling, if you were a true photographer you would go with the Sony every time.....

[@bakaXY]

@@leoevs441 the Pro mode in LGs V-series is great, too. Oh and when it comes to pet photography the Sony is miles ahead of any other phone, with the tracking which they took from their cameras

[@leoevs441]

@@bakaXY yes agree, I've had a few LG's and loved them, had the G4 and G6, the G4 camera was crazy at the time but I decided to try Huawei and went with the P30 Pro, good phone but not great, time to go back to Sony I think, maybe LG after that then....

[@abdullahmubarak6840]

Nice comparison Grant. Mostly as we expected, will be won by the S21, but I do think the 4K is somehow better on the 1ii.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thanks, depends on what you mean by "better". I personally don't care for the video from the stock camera app over the S21. Maybe dialing it in in Cinema pro, but then it's limited to 21:9 and you're forced to post process. S21 also has pro video if you need to dial back colors, etc.

[@abdullahmubarak6840]

@@GrantLikesTech yeah, I don't think it matter too much to as the difference in 4K between the 2 is not that significant. The S21 is quite a jump from the S20 series in my opinion.

[@ChrisTian-lf2oh]

Great comparision - Samsung has the edge once again.

[@КонанСаф]

Sony 👍🏻🤘👍🏻🤘Sony 👍🏻🤘Sony 👍🏻🤘Sony 👍🏻🤘Sony 👍🏻🤘👍🏻

[@Barncore]

Wow looks like the selfie camera in the Xperia got improved in the new update. I'm really curious to see a comparison between Xperia 1ii and 5ii camera results, particularly as it pertains to the ToF sensor, autofocus and microphone. I'm about toe buy one of these, and those are the deciding factors

[@GrantLikesTech]

I've been eyeing the 5 ii, but it's still too expensive right now and I doubt the camera results would be much different.

[@Barncore]

@@GrantLikesTech I bought the Xperia 1ii last night. Wish me luck!

[@GrantLikesTech]

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@VTheGuerrilla]

Love your content and appreciate the hard work. Keep them coming 👍

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thanks, really appreciate that. 👊🏼

[@fuadardianto4863]

S21 crushed the xperia in all aspects, not even a question, thanks for this review can't wait my phantom black arrived!

[@sasorishino]

Oh really, I saw some wiggling action on the 4k video sample of S21. I reckon that's not good.

[@петрберезняк]

firstly, you need to compare it with the mark iii. secondly, s21 ultra has oversized colors, and makes day out of night. This is not correct. thirdly, mark ii uses PhotoPro to take better pictures than ultra. Sony is great. you only need to change the front-end.

[@GrantLikesTech]

If only the 1 iii was actually released and available.

[@kannansmartkannan9869]

Xperia legend Samsung kid😂😂

[@bee4you253]

Sony wins Big fan of Sony xperia😍

[@giedmich]

No matter what phone, but i just don't understand why in the world someone sane would use that horrible portrait mode in real life? It is just rubbish on all phones.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Lol I can see that, but I actually really like the Pixel portrait mode and I feel Samsung has come a long way with theirs.

[@kapilbusawah7169]

The colours of the SONY are much better imo. The blue in Samsung is too cartoony but I much prefer it's skin rendition. In daylight I'd really go with SONY tbh. Apart from that it seems like Samsung took one step backwards, this is their new phone but the mic isn't very good. I think you might've swapped the mics between the phones

[@GrantLikesTech]

No surprise if you prefer more true to life colors, Sony is the way to go. Audio was definitely correctly labeled.

[@kapilbusawah7169]

@@GrantLikesTech if the audio is true, Samsung really cheaped out on their mics compared to last year's. I wouldn't have discovered this without your video, great stuff Grant !

[@michelejp69]

I actually liked the Sony. Although, I did own one at launch and found it extremely complicated in pro mode. You seem to have very good composition in the way you capture all the images. I genuinely believe, the person behind the tool ultimately makes a positive impact.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Agreed, tools can be limited by their owner. The Xperia definitely takes more work to get similar results other phones can deliver with simple point and shoot.

[@gustavomendes4192]

Great video my friend! You uses Xperia in Auto mode, or Pro mode? The photos ar great, much better than other videos or dxomark review!

[@GrantLikesTech]

Lol, not tough to beat dxomark. Used photo pro for the photos.

[@gustavomendes4192]

@@GrantLikesTech Thank you bro, this great phone! In your opnion, the Mate 40 Pro, is the best phone camera today this huawei? Or P40 Pro

[@joaobaptista9398]

Great comparison! Keep up the good work!

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thanks, appreciate you checking it out!

[@rusirubatuwatta8731]

S21 ultra ❤️.. i really surprise why it has low score in dxomark 💔

[@GrantLikesTech]

Lol, this is why I don't take those ratings seriously. Seeing for myself is more important.

[@rusirubatuwatta8731]

@@GrantLikesTech Iol yah.. And i overall prefer snapdragon version in every year..

[@GrantLikesTech]

I remember when Exynos > Snapdragon

[@leonardodavinci7425]

Samsung cameras are mediocre and over priced.

[@jdaniels4898]

They have a record of some nonsense scores, which turn out to be "inaccurate". Their methodology is questionable at points, and is fairly easy to manipulate in favor of certain phones. Like, from their S21U review, S21U zoom capabilities are mediocre. For some unknown reason, it has been compared at x4, while S21U zoom is good at x3 and x10 particularly. x10 was not mentioned at all, probably, because the phones S21U been compared to doesn't have as strong zoom. Great approach, in ZOOM (!!!) section, ignore zooming capabilities, like it doesn't exist, because competitors can't match. And there were several nuances like that. DxOmark surely is not a credible resource anymore.

[@a0ch]

Hi, thank you for the great comparison! Have the photos shot with the Xperia been also edited in post? Or is this just the photo pro app processing? Also, did you use the "auto" mode (I believe "P") in the photo pro app or were you shooting in manual mode?

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thanks, used Photo Pro app in auto.

[@a0ch]

@@GrantLikesTech thank you for the response!

[@Faithful-Preservation]

I would love to see an xperia 1 III with their new 1 inch sensor and S-Cinetone.

[@victorrumyantsev3718]

It's not gonna happen. Sony is always opted to cut corners and put inferior, cheaper Samsung sensors instead of their own ones. They did it with Xperia 1 II / 5 II so no reason to do it again. Sony fans won't mind.

[@Faithful-Preservation]

@@victorrumyantsev3718 The telephoto was a Samsung sensor. Their main wide was a Sony IMX 557. Their new 1 inch IMX 800 is a main wide aswell.

[@The-Heart-Will-Testify]

@@Faithful-Preservation they don't want to out shine their expensive pro cameras

[@Faithful-Preservation]

@@The-Heart-Will-Testify And they never will. It is still a smartphone camera, keep that in mind.

[@emehnemz]

Lol just improve there front cam first.

[@ademx37adad]

Imparator Sony

[@Samosayummyyay]

I like the Sony color-pallette but damn what a pity of the extremely poor HDR! Sony colors with good HDR would make it perfect!

[@masterofgames6754]

sony is better for sure

[@doobedi]

The optical and focus are fantastic on the samsung but i don't like how that devise its so popular. Hopefully LG release the LG V70 with zoom and focus like that.

[@RennieAsh]

The Samsung is a more versatile package. I like Sony's more true to life representation, thought they could do with better dynamic range in auto mode - maybe some sort of auto sensing for it. And they really need to do something about that silly video limitation of not being able to switch lenses on the go

[@The-Heart-Will-Testify]

Photo pro or the garbage stock camera ? Sony should just get rid of the stock app and use the photo pro app while having auto mode settings....

[@مصطفىناصر-ث1س]

We want to shoot in the dark, video of the Huawei P40 Pro Plus, Mate 40 Plus, S21 as fast as you can.

[@kasukulu18]

One thing about Sony is that it learns everyone else's move. They make the sensors for everyone and then work out how they can make theirs better. Ask LG and apple they know. Samsung and the rest focus on brightness because they're made for everyday users and youth who want to Snapchat on the go, want to take photos of their meals on the go, want to make a tiktok video and post it. But Sony focuses on reality, there's no way that you should have a night picture looking like daytime because it means you've taken the magic of the moment out. I am a videographer and I understand what mood, ton of an image and the message means and it should be felt. Something many phone companies are parting away from

[@kylebelle246]

Great vid man. Really nice and detailed photo comparison. This is weird cause in this video the sony did much better than in another video and the kicker is the channel's name is Sony365. I agree with you pretty much word for word. Sony did excellent in day time photos but in literally everything else Samsung kicked ass. Especially love the zoom capabilities of the s21. I find 2-3 times zoom so useless don't even know why companies include them. My overall pick is definitely the s21. Yes I do prefer the sony daylight photos but it's not like the s21 was horrible at that, meanwhile the sony was actually horrible at certain things which I find unacceptable for a phone demanding this much money in this current year

[@peacelove8395]

Did you chose to use the manual mode on the Sony and rather than doing the same on the S21 to keep things fair you left that on Auto? S21 Ultra can produce natural colours in manual mode when you dial in the White Balance and exposure levels correctly which to me looks like has not been done here. Furthermore it looks like you left the scene optimisation on which everyone knows is not the thing to do for natural colours on the Samsung. Sony Auto mode vs Samsung auto mode and then the same with Manual vs Manual is a proper comparison. This just looks like one has been handicapped whilst the other was allowed to use its full potential.

[@mgermelckumyn3688]

I don't know, but there's something. Camera xperia something special. well not the best camera yes, zoom so so so well whole night photos but sometimes turns out as

[@DeepteshLovesTECH]

18:56 Sony's video hurts me. Terrible!

[@scottkevin5844]

6:10 what's happening with the auto-focus... i guess it might be a software issue?

[@sundarjeeva4101]

Samsung vs Sony Xperia which is best tell me

[@caredragen9631]

Sony best👍

[@reynardcleofe5076]

xperia win

[@mgermelckumyn3688]

in the first picture where the portrait of the phones,

[@blezc1498]

Nice video. ✌🏿

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thanks! 🙏🏼

[@seaver542]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@daveangeloobico7028]

As a non professional. I think most people would prefer lively colors than boring ones. Coz i prefer saturated ones. Speaking of raw. Apple pro raw is the best. If you edit one from sony i think its not gonna give you higher hdr than the apple ones

[@michaelhazellful]

Apple pro raw isn't real raw...it still uses computational in their pro raw. Real raw is straight out of the camera with no computations. Though it does give great flexibility to add more information than what its sensor and lens would normally get.

[@bakaXY]

I think that you should have taken an auto and manual photo with the Sony for comparison. The Xperia 1 II shines when it comes to manual mode and is an OK auto-mode shooter.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thanks for the feedback

[@ademx37adad]

Imparator Sony

[@midoahmed3159]

Samsung's colours are off reality as usual , but Sony's autofocus were bad most of times

[@The-Heart-Will-Testify]

The stock camera app for u lol...Sony needs to get rid of it

[@gavsidhu5857]

How would you compare the Xperia 1 ii camera to the standard S21?

[@GrantLikesTech]

Same advice I'd give in this video. Comes down to which approach to image processing you prefer. More true to life = Sony. Otherwise go Samsung.

[@AndrewSmith-yy4sd]

Nice detailed comparison as usual Grant, I can always get my all my questions answered by watching your well laid out & detailed review comparisons.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thanks, glad you find them helpful

[@PokemonmasterMckenney]

Awesome video

[@GrantLikesTech]

Thanks!

[@shehanaloka3345]

😍

[@deadlyalliance8281]

This the exynos variant? Your zoom is shaky. I have the 888 and it's not shaky like that. Also noticed the Xperia has the detail rendition of a galaxy s8 or worse when the light drops

[@nickadm8321]

So you compared samsung on auto mode and s9ny with pro mode? Wtf

[@GrantLikesTech]

No, I used the Photo Pro app. It has auto mode. 😉 Doesn't matter, I'll get comments like this who want auto vs auto and others who'll defend Sony and blame me for not using manual. Can't win. Wtf

[@NativeWarrior081]

Samsung Galaxy S21 has better dynamic range in day time. The shadows are a deeper black than Sony.

[@GrantLikesTech]

Samsung and most other phones have a much more aggressive HDR for sure, but that's the look Sony seems to be going for.

[@deadlyalliance8281]

@ 9:58 lmao at the Sony. That's a fail lolol

[@thailee8157]

S21 so much better

[@Sey357]

No SONY XPERIA 1 MARK II 👑 BEST

[@JESUSISGREATEST]

Sony used to be ahead of the game in the smartphone industry. Now, Samsung has surpassed them by a large margin.

[@victorrumyantsev3718]

As an owner of a smaller version of last year Sony flagship phone - Xperia 5 II, I completely agree with reviewer. Unfortunately Xperia 1 II is vastly overhyped. Sure it is able to deliver very nice photos but in good light condition only (show me $900 or so smartphone which can't do that !!!). Pro Camera app is cool and pain in the ass at the same time due to hardware shutter button only. Basically I use bluetooth shutter button at low light condition all the time. Otherwise blurry, out of focus photos are guaranteed. Also still having Pixel 4 for comparison, I think it delivers better and more consistent shots overall which is a shame for Sony. So I'd never pickup Xperia 1 II in 2021. Galaxy S21 is all the way!

[@leonardodavinci7425]

There are much better camera phones on the market than the S21 ultra. S21 ultra is mediocre considering how overpriced it is.