The Best Smartphone For Photographers in 2024

[@mjsvitek]

This is incredibly high praise for the Pixel 8 Pro Well deserved, yes, but high praise coming from you guys.

[@yawningmarmot]

If only Google ever had stable software or reliable hardware for that matter. In my experience, unfortunately, every Pixel user is an unpaid beta tester. Every time they update an app (including the camera app), there's a good chance you're gonna get random hiccups or glitches like video recording delay, a crash here and there etc

[@shonen84]

@@yawningmarmotbeing a launch day user of the Pixel 7 Pro, I had a good user experience. It’s better than Samsungs I had in the past, and similar to my iPhone 13 mini it replaced. It just works, photos are fantastic.

[@m.e.p.r]

The Pixel 8 Pro is woefully underpowered though, which absolutely ruins the user experience, especially when taking photos…shooting good video is basically impossible. I returned mine and got the iPhone. You definitely lose some detail, but the overall experience is just night and day better than the Pixel 8 Pro. Tensor is absolutely dreadful and not worth the money. I have to say though, everything I got out of the Pixel 8 Pro looked overly HDR’d and processed. Anyway, each to their own…all three are pretty good, all things considered

[@AndersHolck]

​@@m.e.p.rmust have been defective. Most people I know seem to wanna switch but having a hard time switching the entire ecosystem they invested into. I'm very satisfied with the snappy experience. Feels faster in normal use than the i14pm in the house.

[@AndersHolck]

​@@yawningmarmotnot on mine. Try one instead of just talking.

[@deathdoor]

3:36 Two things in defense of the S23, that shouldn't be needed to be said if Samsung didn't sabotaged itself, is that maybe the variation is colors is caused by some "scene optimizer" enabled. This and that the over sharpened can be toned town. You need to install that "Good Lock" or something (what a nonsensical name) and from there enable "image softening". With that enabled the photos become more normal. Why Samsung does this? Every year a phone is launched with these problems, then along the year they improve it with updates, just for the next year bring all the same problems again to the new phone. Sisyphean madness.

[@happilicious]

With scene optimizer disabled, I still observe the variation in color that they mentioned.

[@craigduncan1626]

​@@happiliciouschange the shutter speed to fastest, changes My post processing drastically making the pictures look a lot more natural

[@johgus96jg]

Now I just need a phone that combines Pixel 8 pro’s photos with iPhone 15 pro’s video…

[@joeljoshua7845]

That's everyone's dream

[@misiu893]

If Google gets more raw power we can be sure that they will exceed in videography with tensor g5

[@FrancescoSartoriph]

and iphone's instagram upload quality... 'cause everything I upload on my insta is trash if it's not just a still picture =( if I add a sticker to a story with a still photo, or if I upload a 60fpk 4k video they get so compressed that look recorded on an old crappy phone =(

[@Mysterreyeez]

Then get s24 ultra.

[@misiu893]

@@Mysterreyeez the problem is they don't really exceed in videography neither photography

[@batuhancokmar7330]

I think you should expand night photography part. Because, as we photographers all know, even a 20 year old DSLR can take incredible photos at night if long enough exposure is done at base ISO. So I'd really want to see how much of this night image quality comes from longer exposures, post-processing of stacked images, from optical image stabilisation or from actual quality of sensor. You should at least mention shutter times (rest is irrelevant to average user), or maybe try night photography with moving subjects like walking people or cars. Because if one has slightly inferior IQ but takes pictures at 1/30 shutter speed instead of competitor's 1/8, that is a big winner in my book.

[@ArntArnesen]

What is the best overall cameraphone, in your opinion?

[@sgz647]

Pixel phones have consistently been the best photos for astrophotography. I always carry it with me along with my Nikon z7II whenever I am out shooting

[@mateusvin]

Got the Pixel 8 Pro for $800. Coming from an A72, the upgrade in photography quality is incredible. I'm absolutely loving the photos I'm capturing.

[@danijelujcic8644]

Old GCam ports were the reason I didn't give up on the Nokia 8 as early as intended. Google had nailed it.

[@tdb0218]

does it heat up as much as everyone is saying?

[@errolsmith5634]

Nope!@@tdb0218

[@mateusvin]

@@tdb0218 It does heat up quite a bit, to be honest. I think it's kind of on par to the iPhone 14 Pro (haven't tried the 15 Pro yet so I don't know how the Pixel fairs compared to that). I was quite surprised to see how hot it got even during the initial setup. It's not bad most of the time, but it will lag a bit when it does start heating up, which is in all fairness a bit of a disappointment. Other than the cameras or the overall performance of the device (and the extremely fast Google Assistant), there isn't much to this phone that makes you think you've made a massive leap from a mid level Android phone such as a Galaxy A72 to this. It all feels very familiar, almost like you're using the same phone as before, which can be a good thing for some people. Other than that, I think it's a fantastic flagship and an excellent option for those who want to upgrade from a mid level phone but don't want an iPhone for some reason, especially for those with phone photography in mind.

[@tanielkirikal]

I have the Pixel 8 Pro and never play games. No heat problems.

[@nisdonatzsky]

The HDR format that Google uses is *not* proprietary. It's an implementation of the Adobe Gain Map. Basically straight out of the specification, but with a Google GContainer thrown in for good measure. Not sure why they felt the need for that, since it doesn’t seem to do anything that MPF part doesn’t already do well enough.

[@universeandbeyond3576]

What do you bro? That's too technical for me.. pls explain

[@mcmillanvideos]

Having owned a few Pixels and now considering upgrading to the P8P, I was open to other options. But after visiting a store to play with each of these in person ....(for a while on my own)... I came away with the same impression.. I ranked the P8P #1 for still photography, then the iphone 15, then the Samsung. I can usually fix the pixel's blur issues in portrait mode after the fact by deepening the in-focus area.. but not always. I also found the focus speed or tracking best on the iphone. The Pixel 8 isn't bad but the iphone seemed a little better for kids running around. I've been on the fence about getting a compact camera (Sony RX100) or upgrading my Pixel 5. I think the P8P puts me closer to not needing a 'real' camera but not quite. The Sony RX100 focuses so much faster and has a viewfinder. The price of these phones is pretty close to the RX100. I also have a feeling the compact market will just die. APS-c or MFT cameras will be the only logical choice as a step up from a smart phone. So there are some random thoughts from a random guy! enjoy!

[@Vexstriker13]

"The best camera is the one with you."

[@shaolin95]

Wow never heard that one...

[@tobywhite561]

Ok

[@georgecostanza2695]

And that’s always going to be my Galaxy👍

[@benjaminjwilson6694]

I always have my phone, so, generally speaking, it is the best camera in my possession. I dont always have my DSLR with the massive prime lenses on me.

[@-grey]

This needs to be fixed: YOUR best camera is the one you have with you. If I need a can opener and all I have is a rock, that is the best can opener I have with me. 😂

[@MikeShawTV]

I have a comment, but zero disagreements. I just need a grand to upgrade to the Pixel 8 Pro. I'll hang on to my iPhone 13 Mini for video. Pixel photos are just amazing to me and I do appreciate what they've done with their lenses, especially the 5x. I don't really care about portrait mode or AI, so it's an easy pick for me. Thanx for the validation!

[@itzzDizZY]

Agree with everything here, I used all 3 and this is my conclusion as well. Samsung really need to tone down their over processing module, it's crazy that photos comes out so weird looking from such amazing sensors. I think at this stage, just like Pixel borrow stuff from Samsung, Samsung should just borrow GCam from Pixel phones and kill their camera app forever if they can't fix it. Every year, I hope they will come on top with camera and yet another year goes by and we still have same issues as last year.

[@TimBrownTown]

Correction: The Pixel 8 Pro DOES shoot in 24fps. Still doesn't change the rankings but it does make me question how much time you all spent testing these out. It's literally right in the main settings to the left of 30fps and not hidden or anything. It is available with HDR as well. Just not with video boost.

[@1daful]

Yeah I wonder how they missed that cause I went right into the camera app of my 8 Pro and saw the 24 option along with 30 and 60.

[@pelanth]

It launched without 24 fps. It was added via update. I was curious too and found some google search results with that where the main article had been updated. I'm guessing these guys recorded this video before the update.

[@TimBrownTown]

@@pelanth Pretty sure it launched with 24fps, or it was added way early on before the public had it 3 months ago. I'm not sure if I mentioned it in the video that I did on it, but you can see that it was mentioned on Reddit several times in Oct/November. I Pre-Ordered it and updated it immediately after I got it a few days later. And if I remember correctly, It was on there there by the time I recorded my first video on it.

[@DC-Peiffer]

A superb comparison! I do feel the video section should have been its own video comparison "The Best Smartphone for Videographers in 2024". Thank you for the work in putting this together guys!

[@matthewpatterson9184]

As a Pixel 8 Pro user, I wholeheartedly agree with this verdict. Google has gone from strength to strength in stills, I only wish the same could be said for video. Yes, they've introduced "Video Boost" but it's limited to just the main sensor and incredibly time consuming, taking hours to "boost" even the shortest video server side.

[@PedroGarcia-go5ob]

If I'm not mistaken, they capped video boost for videos up to 10 minutes only.

[@neilmcguinness4422]

Pixel video has improved markedly over the last few years, but it still needs work. Low light video noise control is the worst aspect of video recording with the Pixel 8 Pro. Here, I place it behind the IPhone 15 Pro Max by a big margin, and the S24 Ultra by a not so big margin. Improvements here would be so welcome.

[@DevWakandaForever]

Pixel improves the noise in video with updates as I am seeing surprisingly much less noise in P7P 5x at night than my P8P for now. Other than noise at night all three(15PM, S24U, P8P) are pretty close now. @@neilmcguinness4422

[@joeyoleary7647]

Which phone do you recommend for video?

[@Rafaelinux]

You really *really* really need to incorporate the kids/pets category in regular/low light. Pets and kids don't stop moving. A good sports or action mode is no longer available in most phones, and all photos end up looking extremely blurry

[@bastian.michel]

Omg, so true

[@sleepy1171]

Not many KZbinrs do this unfortunately 😥

[@mcmillanvideos]

I wonder if people with the time and space to do reviews have that level of chaos. Or maybe they try to escape that? ha. I would!

[@kiranmudnaney]

Seriously.. pixel 7 pro was perfect in that category... my toddlers photos came out so crisp on that.. Every picture captured perfect frame... But there were some network issues in that phone so I had to sell it .. That was by far the best phone for such photography...

[@sleepy1171]

@@kiranmudnaney reeeaaally! That's very interesting....... thank you for you reply 🙏🏻 maybe I should get a Pixle 8 then.

[@taylor1038]

I love my Pixel 8 Pro. It does seem like none of the cameras are after thoughts with the 48-50mp sensors and fast lenses across the board. That's what I like most

[@uhoh7541]

How does the actual phone work? I want the pixel's camera, but hate google and am fearful of buying a phone completely designed by them.

[@nasidctg]

You know you can tune the sharpening on the s24 ultra using the camera assistant. But if we are doing out of the box as it is without touching any settings, all samsung camera phone images are a bit over sharpened. But I think the beauty of the ultra series lies in the fact that you can fine tune everything to your own taste. From camera snappiness to sharpness almost everything can be tweaked.

[@iveshuang2132]

Can I tune the saturation as well? It's always over-saturated.

[@nasidctg]

@@iveshuang2132 Just turn off scene optimizer. It oversaturates everything and most people tend to like it so samsung leaves it on by default.

[@jefftam107]

@@iveshuang2132 yes can lower saturation in pro mode

[@kvs123100]

​@iveshuang2132 same issue here! I am getting regrets buying the s24 ! Selfies and pics are not that great! My s20fe had better pics!

[@gregmurdoch3809]

I know that because of the limitations, Google's video boost feature probably wouldn't have quite been able to pull it out of 3rd, but it would've been nice to include it. Id definitely makes a big difference, especially at night.

[@geogaming369]

Were these all tried with Pro mode and/or with adjusting Intelligent Optimization between Maximum, Medium, Minimum and with Scene optimization off?

[@03chrisv]

There's an option in the Samsung Camera menu for the S24U to soften your photos at different levels to counteract the over sharpening in the stock auto mode.

[@SWatchik]

Is there one for saturation and contrast?

[@03chrisv]

@SWatchik There's an option to minimize image processing which is set to maximum by default. If you put it on minimal then the saturation and contrast is reduced along with other image processing. There's A LOT in the camera menu that reviewers seem to overlook.

[@swaggyeggs]

S23u is really a phone for tinkers. You don' t get good photo quality until you download and understand "good lock" options and settings.

[@bastian.michel]

@@03chrisv Thats actually great to read. How is that option called?

[@03chrisv]

@bastian.michel For image processing it's called: "Intelligent Optimization". It's set to maximum by default, you can lower to medium or minimum. There's also "Scene Optimizer", make sure that's off. Lastly under "Camera Assistant" there's an option called "picture softening". This is off by default, you can set it to medium or high to help reduce the over sharpening.

[@braddahjerry]

I've been a Samsung user for almost 15 years now. I was drawn in to the Note 2 and I currently have a Note 20 Ultra. I was drawn in to the pen feature and I like to jot down notes on the fly and in meetings. I was even more drawn in when they features to the pen with its remote shutter and pen related controls on the other samsung apps and the OS itself. I grew into photography from the Note series as my interests as I got older shifted to being more outdoors and I liked the fact you had manual settings for it on later Note models and eventually shoot in their RAW format. It what brought me to buy my first APS-C and the later FF cameras. So pretty much I'm stay with what Samsung is releasing although it's a bit concerning that Samsung is now playing catch up to the other brands rather than doing their own thing in terms of upgrades and features

[@Kjuken69]

Well you should continue because no phone is near to offer and options that the Samsung S24 ultra can do. This guy most be drunk. The camera is a personal prefrence

[@GSP-76]

​@Kjuken6 I Don't have the S24 but do have the S23U and just got the Pixel 8 Pro because of a great deal. The only advantage the S23U has is the pen if that matters. The P8P is better in just about every other category. I thought the display would be better on Samsung but even that goes to the Pixel IMO.

[@proxy_obi]

​@GSP-76 you are full of lies bro there is no way in hell the pixel display is better than the samsung Pass me what u taking

[@afroditta6950]

@@proxy_obi you make it sound like Pixel screen is 8bit compared to the majestic Samsung. GTFO with your bloated garbage, Pixel or iPhone, the originals, the rest are just clones.

[@afroditta6950]

How can you take an informed decision since you've only used Samsung. Try something else dude, you'll be better.

[@KoenMiseur]

Well, now that Google Pixel is also available in Belgium, (2023 was the first year) I will absolutely look at the Pixel whenever I want to replace my S22, although those phones are a lot bigger.

[@halimrahman]

The ability to record in Apple Log really sold me out! The post-processing looks natural, minus the "bokeh" effect. But the sensors are tiny, when using 5x it is not as bright as 1x. But, I'll live, it is only meant to be my secondary camera anyway.

[@cozalenko7-341]

Just a question. Do you use 12mp or 50mp on the Pixel?

[@bruceschlickbernd8475]

Pretty much spot on. My usual recommendations to my friends if you want photography, get the Pixel 8 Pro, if your interest is video, get the Apple. And Samsung ain’t bad. For me - it was easy. Video is a distant second for me in comparison to photography, and the Pixel 8 Pro cost me only $600 US, and that’s without calculating in a trade in.

[@binaifermmogal]

How is the battery life for Pixel 8 Pro

[@bruceschlickbernd8475]

@@binaifermmogal For me, it’s fine, but I’m not a heavy phone user except for photography, and I always get through the day with that. I think the heaviest I ever used was on a trip the Smithsonian, and it made it through five days of heavy use and every day finished up with plenty to spare (though I definitely needed to recharge it overnight).

[@jayphilipwilliams]

You mentioned the overprocessing of the Samsung, but why not mention that you can save the photos in DNG format? Since this is a photo-centric review, that's odd.

[@shaolin95]

Because that wouldn't fit their agenda lol

[@akshaypisal5149]

Please do a camera review of vivo x100 pro🙏 Hardware wise its the best right now Easily beats latest apple n samsung in camera department Main camera comes with f/1.75 aperture & huge 1/0.98 size sensor(1 inch) Telephoto sensor is industry first APO floating telephoto lense from zeiss with wider f/2.5 aperture(50mp 4.3x) which produces exceptional results 🔥 Specially for night photos/videos & portraits, vivo is on different level alltogether🙌

[@TedThomasTT]

​@@ss.1121idiot

[@konradc12]

😂. Even though it is a niche phone, the Sony Xperia 1 V could have been included.

[@NotAnotherChannel_Channel]

I recently upgraded to the 15 Pro Max and I’m pretty blown away by the image quality and video recording options. Very nicely done.

[@18yearsoldnot]

Not to mention the fluidity of the os

[@soltu01]

@@18yearsoldnot lol andriod can do way more than IOS & much more fluid if you use it by yourself. IOS is so limited

[@mraleks9473]

@@soltu01 omg, again those droidsheeps 🤦‍♂️

[@soltu01]

@@mraleks9473 Better than Ishits & iSheeps

[@trollmaster5791]

@@soltu01 android is the most trash OS i have ever seen. Weaker CPU, weak optimization, choppy scrolling, less FPS in games and so on. I can provide an evidence where the s23 ultra, A 1200$ ANDROID FLGASHIP! degraded the performance after 8 months. Whereas geekerwan, a professional youtuber tested the 1 year old 14 pro max still holds 60 fps in games. Ik its sad for android users to tell the truth even I am an user of s23 ultra. But its the fact. Also IOS SINT LIMITED ANYMORE!! CRY MORE LAGDROID SHEEPS

[@philipcooper8297]

Why don't they make 50mm eqv. lens smartphone cameras? I do realise you can zoom 2x the wide angle lens to get there, but it's not the same. I also do understand that they use the wide lenses for fast close focus and the fact, most people take images of stuff in their close vicinity anyway, but it would be nice to have a high mpx 50mm eqv. lens on a smartphone.

[@pithaupert]

agreed! One of the reasons why I stick to my iPhone 12pro is because it has a 50mm equivalent tele lens! To be fair though, I once did a 50mm comparison of the 15pro vs the 12pro and the 15 pro's digital zoom into a larger and higher resolution sensor produced the better image!

[@maxhammick948]

Modern wide angle modules have such big sensors and bright lenses that it gets really expensive to offer a 2x module with better image quality - it's much easier to differentiate a 5x module. You'd still need the 5x as well of course, because the majority of the public are buying from the spec sheet numbers

[@-MrEVIL-]

Do you realize, the 1/2.6 inch sensor you'd use for 2x is literally the same size as the cropped part of the main 1/1.3 inch sensor 😅 Let alone on larger 1/0.98 inch sensors where the cropped part is 1/1.95 inch

[@RennieAsh]

You might like Xiaomi 14 ultra. And maybe if Vivo make an 100 Pro Plus or Ultra

[@-MrEVIL-]

Check out the Xiaomi civi 4 pro It has a 2x 50mp lense Or the honor magic 6 pro with 2.5x 180mp sensor

[@iskenderkadyrov3461]

Fully agree with you guys. Really hope Google steps up their video capabilities as well as fokeh mode. Also would love to see Log support from Google and other android OEMs

[@techtt6213]

You can get that, and much more with third party apps

[@ghfsd786fa]

@@techtt6213is not true Log

[@henchhinch908]

MotionCam? ​@@techtt6213

[@YasinHasan]

android already supports log via 3rd party app

[@Metro_Gnome]

Ive been a pixel user since the pi xel 1... I knew theyd win. Best photo smartphpne for the majority of a decade. great video thanks guys

[@danijelujcic8644]

Samsung's 200 MP sensor has a "quad quad" Bayer array (4×4 pixels share the same color filter) and I'm quite sure that's a massive reason why there's little to no benefit shooting 200 versus 50 MP. Not a rhetorical question: am I "ultra" wrong if I claim that the sensor still has "only" 12.5 MP of chroma resolution?

[@batuhancokmar7330]

S24's Tetra Bayer array does have 1/16th chroma resolution so yeah 12,5MP it is. It doesn't matter anyway. Massive reason is pixels are so small, they won't be getting enough light to spew a meaningful data. At 200MP, S24 has 0,6µm sensor. A full frame camera will have ~20-35µm pixel size. This is 32+ times less light per pixel. So each pixel would bump up its gain (or ISO) by 32x to get the same brightness level. So long as sensor technology between cameras and phones is same, noise would be like shooting at base ISO of 2048 instead of 64. Go just a few stops up, and there is no way this could output usable image. And then there is optical resolving power of the lens. As of 2024, no camera lens can completely resolve 200MPs, and only a handful of most the expensive lenses with exotic glass elements and coatings can barely resolve around 50MPs on a full frame sensor with 12,5 times more surface area. I very, very much doubt few plastic elements inside a space constrained design can do remotely similar.

[@danijelujcic8644]

@@batuhancokmar7330 I have an S23U, and actually take 50 MP photos in daylight because of processing which is far less "brutal" than in the 12.5 MP mode. Lens seems to keep up in the center, then drops off towards the edges. Not bad. Maybe I should just take RAW 50 MP photos from now on, batch edit all of them and save ... IDK ... 5120 × 3840, 100% JPEGs :-)

[@vcp2077]

I'm guessing you kept the scene optimiser on for Samsung. It makes stuff vivid and what not

[@riowinaryo18_86]

I was thinking of getting Pixel 8 Pro around 8 months before they released last year. Instead, i got S23 Ultra because i know they will never have a fast charge like Samsung does. I never really use the Pro Mode when taking the photo on Galaxy s23 ultra. That is why i want Pixel 8 Pro because it is easy to use. I hope they have fast charging and big battery life for the next Pixel as i am interested in buying.

[@dls4705]

Have you tested the "Picture softening" option in the Camera Asisstant add-on on the S24 Ultra? It's not really softening against the original, but considerably reducing the oversharpening you mentioned.

[@user-jgn1944]

I'm currently using a galaxy S24 ultra and a One plus 8 pro. Any advantages in changing/ updating?

[@peta1846]

My name is Peta and I own a Pixel 8 Pro. Had to subscribe!! Excellent.

[@BryanPena-f3s]

If you aren't mentioning the 1'inch sensor monsters, Sony, Vivo and Xiaomi, this is not the best list of the true heavyweight hitters in the category

[@disgaea76]

i might buy a pixel pro 8. did they ever fix the portrait mode since release?

[@starrekip]

I totally agree. I always use zoom for portraits with my pixel, because portrait mode is not consistent. Fortunately the edit function is oke on the pixel. Overall it takes great pictures.

[@CaseyDarwin]

The second reviewer for the video section is mistaken. The pixel does have 24 fps straight up easy to find and use in the settings.

[@StephenShankland]

Would love to hear your thoughts on shooting raw with these 3 phones. (I shoot raw almost all the time.)

[@mihugong3153]

Yes, very true, I missed that, too. This review at 7.24 has a quick comparison that favors the Pixel once again.

[@M7amadhaifa]

The worst thing about ios is that file app is not integrated with the photo app as in android...and this makes organizing filed a little bit messy

[@starbucksk2]

I don't get it. None of the reviews seem to appreciate the benefits of the 200 mp cam, on a phone. I use it for almost everything because #1 there is no viewfinder on a phone but in wide 200 mp you can frame action and even birds in flight and then crop down in post processing and maintain amazing sharpness and detail. #2 Post processing allows cleaning up everything extensively including the precise composition. #3 Its a phone, no need for going into LR minutia. Just look at it with your basic viewer or cloud storage and fix it up with a couple clicks and try the auto enhance feature. I do it on the synced laptop but it can be done on the phone. Tell me if I am wrong!

[@cy9nvs]

The S24 Ultra's main sensor images are so ridiculously over-sharpened, because diffraction is eating away all the detail and the phone is trying to "fix it in post". 200 MP on such a tiny sensor is not only completely pointless, it's actually making the images a lot worse.

[@gigamoment]

Nah, I don't think that's a hardware issue. I shot multiple RAW photos with my S24 Ultra and they look amazing! I can share them if you want

[@Bayonet1809]

That is not how diffraction works. The issue is Samsung's processing, not the sensor.

[@aeonsnarfus]

​@@gigamomentYou can‘t overcome the laws of the physical world. The diffraction issue is real.

[@jasontay1822]

@@Bayonet1809 Diffraction is related to pixel density. Higher res sensors pick up on it earlier. For example Fuji's X-H2 hits diffraction at f/5.6 and gets soft at f/8 whereas conventional 24mp APS-C sensors can easily go up to f/8 with little impact.

[@cy9nvs]

@@Bayonet1809 That's exactly how diffraction works, and that is exactly the issue of the sensor. The processing is necessary in order to get anything usable out of the sensor.

[@LukeVesty]

I can't wait to see what Google has in store for the Pixel 9 when it's time for me to upgrade my Pixel 6. Two clear areas to improve - artificial portrait mode and video. No reason not to expect that will be their focus as it's now well established that Pixels take fantastic photos. Google really shook up the mobile photography space in particular when they pioneered computational photography which everyone now adopts.

[@frankholden7026]

Chris, why did you leave out the new Sony Xperia?

[@Xo1ot1]

Even though the P8P might be the best photography phone atm, as a day 1 user I can't recommend it for people who are enthusiastic about nature photography. The 50MP mode is not usable without a tripod, the RAW files still aren't supported properly by editing softwares and look absolutely horrible (not RAW-"horrible", really unfixable horrible), the 5x lens produces very washed out looking images that don't look pleasant, and the ultrawide looks way too warped. If you are on the fence between buying a flagship phone or a decent mirrorless camera for the same price, buy the camera and a P7A, because smartphones still fall short in a lot of ways when it comes to photography.

[@chcomes]

I agree. While doing a "best of the year" recap in my hard drive the Pixel pics stand out (negatively) against all my MFT and FF pics, mostly the oversharpened look, and no slider work made it better.

[@StephenShankland]

I found that once Adobe released a Pixel 8 Pro color profile for Lightroom, editing got much easier with the Pixel 8 Pro. I don't like that you have to hold the phone steady for so long to take 50MP shots.

[@jefftam107]

50MP mode is not usable without a tripod, really? can't handheld?

[@sevensixtysteve8662]

I can't disagree with anything you guys stated. I have always found Samsung images overprocessed and I am disappointed with my iPhone 15 Pros camera. I actually thing its worse than my 12 was, although its fantastic for video. Will definitely by checking the Google out next time I change.

[@megamastah]

A lot of people claim iphone 12 series took better pictures than later models, where they've switched to the new sensors. Still, never near the pixels.

[@tc227]

I have been using Pixel 8 Pro for the past two months. The photo image quality is pretty impressive for a phone. In good light the main camera in 50mp mode can capture more detail than a RX100 at 24mm. I wish the raw files are easier to work with though. When opening them in Adobe, they always looks over exposed with Adobe Standard profile, and the Google Pixel profile just looks terrible. I also find the colors of Pixel 8 Pro raw files somehow harder to work with than cameras.

[@Bayonet1809]

The 200MP photo at 2:55 looks so much better than the oversharpened mess that is the 50MP one, so I fail to understand why you don't consider it a significant advantage.

[@DavidPerez-sj6md]

Maybe carrying around a 100MB picture that people are going to end up consuming on their phones is extreme overkill

[@chcomes]

agree!

[@Bayonet1809]

@@DavidPerez-sj6md As this was in the context of a pixel-peeping comparison between three phones I don't think that (otherwise very valid) consideration applies.

[@StephenShankland]

YMMV. I haven't tried the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, but I really did not enjoy pixel peeping the 200MP shots on the GS23U. With 4x4 pixel binning, the camera is making up a lot of color information. In other words, there are 4x4 blocks of pixels capturing only red, green, or blue, so converting that to RGB data for each pixel is a huge amount of computational work. Samsung uses AI to infer the missing color detail, and I found that it really wasn't worth using. Maybe their algorithms are better in the GS24U.

[@JustinDufrene]

With the pixel 8 pro...if you want to do portrait, shoot with the 5x lens and then apply portrait blur with magic editor. It looks way better than using the actual portrait mode

[@benjiang9789]

IPhone's white balance is quite warm. When I use iPhone to take photos, everyone has ginger skin colour, far from pleasing. Google yields great skin tone.

[@donoella235]

Do bad you don't use the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and/or Huawei Pura P70

[@markraines8138]

I use a lens cap on my 24-70 mm. Whar are people seeing after a phone has been thrown around or been in your back pocket for a year. How do you keep the lens clean and scratch free?

[@CybrSlydr]

Surprised and a bit bummed you didn't include the Sony Xperia 1V

[@santanag2470]

Agreed as none of these phones here are best at photography they’re just the popular phones. The X 100 pro makes these look like child’s play and none comes close to the Xperia with manual mode or HLG video.

[@kell7195]

@PetaPixel a Question for Jordan - I had a UFO in the sky at the end of 2023 on nighshift, got a night vid of it flying around on my Google Pixel 7 Pro regrettably I hadn't set the video capture mode to 4K but didnt have time, my Pixel now has a cracked screen and im looking to replace it but that 10X camera came in really handy, for night videography in this rather unique and difficult niche ie low F lens, high zoom capability and good out of the box 4K video ie without color grading or messing around would your recommendation still be the Apple? Is the Apple 16 going to still have that 12X periscope lens?

[@PJ-om2wq]

Why not the Sony Xperia 1 V ?

[@georgecostanza2695]

I agree with your assessment for the most part, but for low light it clearly should have been a win for Samsung; and I actually don’t have a problem with their “baked in processing”. Anyways, if we forget about what a photographer thinks an image should look like, and what a professional camera would look like; it would be interesting to see what the general public prefers in a blind survey of images taken with the three phones.

[@CIF369]

why does nobody look at the Apple flare problem? Almost impossible to take pictures with sun or light without those annoying green spots.

[@mfe888]

I would have to disagree with the photography results between the iPhone and the Pixel. I own both phones as I use both android and IOS, however I can't speak for the S24. From my own extensive testing the detail in good light between the the iPhone and the Pixel are very similar in their 48mp and 50mp modes. But the issue is that sometimes the Pixel introduces artifacts and noise in the shadows. In terms of detail in low light, the iPhone is far better when taking photos handheld, since the pixel almost always has a bit of motion blur and. For those who have actually used them both side by side in low light, the difference is very clear that the iPhone takes sharper handheld low light photos. The Pixel's 50mp mode in low light has the same amount of detail as its 12mp mode making it irrelevant. On a tripod in low light I must say that they are very comparable. HDR is probably the biggest difference between the two. iPhone produces more natural results and lets shows be shadows, while the Pixel wants to boost the shadows all the time, introducing noise with muddy detail. The experience in the camera app is also much better on the 15 Pro. The UI elements on the Pixel seem to run at 60hz at best in the camera app, and there are a lot of glitches, whereas the iPhone almost always seems fluid and runs at 120hz with no noticeable lag. iPhone also takes 48mp photos much faster than the pixel and in good light you can even take photos of fast moving subjects with this mode, however the pixel takes longer and doesn't really work with moving subjects, therefore you will have to keep changing the mode from 12 to 50. On the iPhone you can pretty much leave the HEIF Max (48mp) setting to be on all the time and aside from larger file sizes there are no penalties.

[@robtyman4281]

Really good, bakanced review. As a Pixel owner (thiugh the 6, not thr 8 pro!) I can relate to your cindrns about using it to dhoot portraits snd in video mode. It really struggles abit in these two areas, but excels at landscape stills. I was wondering, (and given how low in terms of volume, they sell) how would the Sony Xperia 5 V stack up against these three phones? I've heard the cameras on the Sony Xperia 5 V are very good.....but not sure how good it is in video mode. What are your thoughts on this Sony phone?

[@kilmoretimmyg]

You pretty much captured why I went with the s24 Ultra. It does everything well. When I'm with my family, I don't know if I'll want to take a video, portrait or photo and I want something that does all 3 well. Additionally, the battery life of pixels is their biggest downfall.

[@DeadofWinter321]

With the S24 Ultra, you're getting a downgraded camera, a more bloated and less reliable UI. And you're spending a lot more for that. Yikes...

[@kilmoretimmyg]

@@DeadofWinter321 'downgraded' from what?

[@DeadofWinter321]

@@kilmoretimmyg - Photo and video results. Also, no Video Boost. And the displays are having widespread problems too

[@lucaspanasski331]

Main camera sensor size, and also telephoto sensor size of google pixel 8 pro are exactly the same size as pixel 7 pro, so i am not sure what sensor size increase across the board you are talking about.

[@GkmAstrology]

@PetaPixel, which mic did you use while recording this video.

[@PetaPixel]

The DJI Wireless Mic 2, with the DJI Lavalier Mic. We’ve been impressed so far.

[@NIIKO899]

​@@PetaPixel Can you upload the picture of the street at 2:20? I would like to use this as wallpaper.

[@JoeBlackDreamer]

Where is Video Boost(Google) sample..?

[@Numinexus123]

Great video! What do you think about nubia z60 ultra camera?

[@tsb28]

Why don't you guys review the Sony Xperia 1 V?

[@the_wiki9408]

That 3x lens on the Samsung is really nice because it fills in the gap for more classic portrait and short telephoto length. The other cameras are looking pretty rough in the 3-4.5x range because by then you are doing a HUGE digital zoom.

[@stephangauthier911]

We really need an option to tone down the hdr and sharpening processing. I think it destroys the pictures.

[@PeterSu]

Thanks for this comparison. Which one would you say had the best selfie pictures?

[@photobeast]

Ask somebody who has an engineering background I have always preferred. Samsung as Android is more of an open source platform. Just over 10 years ago, I bought my first Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and we would root our phones back then. It's basically where you unlock the bootloader, and you can block ads and delete bloatware. Back when phones only came with 16 gigabytes of storage or even 32 gigabytes, which were on the very high end of the spectrum. My phone prior to that only had 8 gigabytes of storage. From HTC. Rooting also allows you to take your SD card and use it as internal storage in a sense. We could also add black themes in all types of other things that weren't available. Over the years, Samsung implemented the majority of these into their software. So it became unnecessary. I bought every Note since all the way to the NOTE 20. then,they were discontinued. The S23 was The big comeback for the beloved S PEN. And I just didn't upgrade as I have 12Gbs Ram and 256gbs storage on my phone and another 256 on an SD. 512Gbs is nice for a photographer 📸. Also, the S23 had new features, but NOTHING groundbreaking. The S23 also barely beats the NOTE in a Speed test. So my phone is now about 4 Years OLD!! And still is flawless with great battery life. 🔋 I can't see myself without the S Pen as I use it alot and have the Samsung Tab S8+with the pen as well. Another famous KZbinr did a comparison, and he found the Samsung took the BEST PORTRAITS across the board against iPhone, and he is a fan boy of the iPhone. It's crazy how different people get different results

[@RK-yx5ol]

Hai may i know what camera and lens do you use in this video ? It's super fabulous ! Hope you answer my question. Thank youuu !!!! 😇🙏🏻

[@MrBattleHorse]

Is Google Pixel 8 Pro better than Ricoh GR3?

[@marksouthwell4490]

If you know how to use a camera properly the Richo GR111 is superior, it's sensor is huge . And all those juicy apertures to play with 😊

[@albertmills9365]

I'd like to know how to get my samsung ultra to take low light shots with realistic colors. It makes shots taken at night outside look like they were taken during daylight. Any advice?

[@MrBrandonLau]

I think the portrait mode on the Apple is benefiting from the lidar sensor?

[@pavannaik9357]

In video comparison Google pixel 8 pro has video boost feature, please explain about it and compare with other mobiles

[@alhOOO2O]

Is it just me or did the Samsung 100mp image look way, way better than the comparison image?

[@LaidBackDeveloper]

12:34 you CAN use night mode in higher resolution however it does require using it automatically and it may not always work

[@sirhcyaj]

Great video! What app did you say really unlocks some of the features in the camera for the iPhone?

[@Commontater2]

Halide he said.

[@bhuman1983]

They all winners. 25 years ago, the shop had to develop all your photos, even the naughty ones 😅

[@chelidoniii]

Just bought the S24 Ultra, and I agree. The camera is good, but the color science is inconsistent. Some shots look natural, then zooming in looks vivid.

[@PikPikkabbu]

An excellent comparison of image qualities, but I miss something equally important to me, is the comfort and ease of use of the camera. I have a Ricoh GR3X and with the three "USER" settings, you can immediately turn on the camera and take the photo with the most convenient parameters. But what happens with these 3 smartphones? Do you have to fight through menus every time, just use an automatic mode, or is it quick and easy to select the right setting for each shot? This aspect seems to me to be equally or more important than a quality that we do not know if, in a real situation, we will have the opportunity to use. Thanks for your videos.

[@radlrambo4994]

Thanks for this comparison. I am surprised that the Pixel 8 Pro "won" this contest, since so many reviews, maybe even your own had a lot to criticize and I took away from many comparisons that the iPhone actually is the most refined of all three. Considering your (well deserved) pun against the overprocessing I wonder why the Sony 1 V didn't take part in your tests. I also found it interesting that you downrated the other two phones because they were not competing in the megapixel race in the UW lens. Is this really something that has an actual effect? I can somehow understand that telephoto lenses have higher density sensors so you can crop a bit more, although I do not know to what extent this actually is useful. Regarding 50 or even 200MP Sensors in tiny sensors like that I have the feeling that this only blows up the file sizes for no reason. Anyway, as it seems the three phones are pretty much equal for photography use I think many people will just chose what gives the best package. At least I did. And I do not think an iphone use is suddenly switching to a pixel and vice versa :)

[@conorphoto]

Hmm My Pixel 8 pro has 4k 24fps. I agree it's worst for video though.

[@mikem.3158]

its always the same three? wheres the huaweis, honors, vivos, oppos, take a look at dxo

[@adwaitbhandari1042]

Dxo ratings are pointless

[@mikem.3158]

@@adwaitbhandari1042 then take a look at real comparisons.

[@RichAdamsFineArt]

The John Gierach library earns a tip of the hat. What a great writer.

[@SMGJohn]

Ironically the Sharp Aquos R7s is the best picture taking phone of today, its only got one camera, but its got the biggest sensor, one inch and the biggest lens of any camera attached to that very sensor meaning you essentially have a true 1-inch fixed lens pocket camera. The lens is most important feature in any camera, and it does not matter that phones have bigger sensors than 1.2/3 inch, because when you attach a cheap plastic lens to it with a tiny aperture diameter, you gonna get very poor lens quality so your fancy sensor has to overcompensate, which is why so many smartphones today have such high megapixel count, to overcompensate the physical limitation of that very lens. I just find it so ironic, the Sharp is a sleeper phone for pictures, and lets be honest, if you use your phone as a camera, you rather have one GOOD lens, than 3 - 4 crap lenses that makes phones perform worse than a 2010 pocket camera.

[@wilbert121185]

Sony Xperia 1 V is definitely the best one for photography

[@PrimeRsoul]

The one thing I don't get is that the Pixel 8 Pro got video soooooo wrong. It is absolute garbage, and not flagship worthy. I never use Portrait mode so that's not a problem for me. But video I sometimes use, and and I have a feeling that the processor simply falls far behind today's standards, because the lenses used are not the problem. As a result, I seriously doubt any software upgrade will bring video anywhere near acceptable levels. And I really am not that demanding when it comes to video. Apple simply has this figured out a lot better. Another reason why I think the processor in the Pixel 8 Pro just belongs in a phone three generations ago, is for example when you shoot in JPG and RAW at at the same time. This phone just can't keep up when you're shooting fast in that mode. Having said that,... I wouldn't trade my Pixel 8 Pro for either the Apple or Samsung (I actually returned my S24 Ultra because of the terrible over-sharpening and lack of detail). The image/color accuracy and detail are impressive on the Pixel,.... for a phone that is. Just don't get this phone for it's over-marketed AI features. Sure,.. it's fun. But it's also slow and lacking, and for most things you can do very little if your internet connection isn't fast enough.

[@BigThomTattoos]

I am a tattoo artist and I am looking at these 3 phones for taking great pictures of my work. Which would you suggest for that? I do utilize a polarized lens and film over my light when taking pictures indoors to help with glare

[@4CETH4N]

As someone who just can’t leave the Apple mobile ecosystem. I do have to agree that Google pixels are quite a bit up there in terms of photos. However, I’m perfectly happy with just using my iPhone 15 pro to take photos to document my life. Taking good pictures, pet photos, or other people. I think all of these are perfectly good enough for all these things.

[@andyyoon7853]

Samsung : Jack of all trades but master of none. I'll go with Samsung. It does photo and video pretty good not steered to one. It is well all around performer.

[@ghfsd786fa]

have the 15 pro and 8 pro and agree, pixel for everything except videos and portrait mode; i still can’t believe how portrait is so bad on pixel when they were used to be on top; apple made a huge comeback with the cutout now is almost perfect with samsung in 2nd

[@srbal.21]

the only realistic review about these phones. The best conclusion ever: Samsung could have done more! Bravo!!

[@JasperBunschoten]

As far as smartphone photography has come, I despise it on a visceral level. The ergonomics are poor, especially coming from someone who appreciates mechanical feedback, and even with the artificial bokeh, the images often feel flat and uninteresting. Smartphones are truly great as replacements for point-and-shoot cameras, capable of things no point-and-shoot could ever do before. However, they leave me exhausted and exasperated due to their uninspiring nature... Not to end on a negative note from my perspective: great video and very informative!

[@fwijffels]

Funny, because for me it has made photography so much more accessible. I don't need to bring my 15+kg backpack full of camera gear when I go hiking for example. I only share my photos on social media and there have been so many people asking me which 'camera ' I use, not knowing everything was shot on a 4 year old smartphone.

[@JasperBunschoten]

@@fwijffels I really need the tactile feedback. I find myself gravitating towards heavier and more mechanical cameras! I completely understand the burden of carrying heavy equipment around, but smartphone photography just doesn't inspire me! I absolutely agree about the accessibility, though!!! However, I personally just genuinely struggle to find satisfaction in it.

[@AshishKumar-kv4hr]

Meh. Smartphones make current photography accessible easily, well, almost. You gotta buy the latest flagship to be able to access the best of the features that come closest to the SLRs of today. But it's better than whipping out that 1kg camera setup.

[@user-jgn1944]

You know. Im old and a Novice. I want a Point and shoot camera and a pick up and use phone. Your recommendations are???

[@DarwisLimZ]

S23 Ultra user, but installed GCAM on it, 99% I use GCAM to capture photos

[@callmeNeno]

Waiting on iPhone 16 Pro Max ; can’t wait!

[@7Archie4]

I think amongst these devices, Apple is the one catching up, the features we're in these android devices for years, Apple is refining those features. Geezzz Iphone is lagging features for years.

[@sidhitejomoyotjahyadi797]

why dont you compare with Sony Xperia 1 VI ?