I shot over 200 photos with the Galaxy S25 Ultra vs iPhone 16 Pro Max — here’s the winner

[admin]

I captured over 200 photos to compare how the Galaxy S25 Ultra compares against the iPhone 16 Pro Max to see which is the better camera phone.

I shot over 200 photos with the Galaxy S25 Ultra vs iPhone 16 Pro Max — here’s the winner : Read more

 

[Benji777]

The Green Beans look horrible in the iPhone picture, as does the Celery. Taking pictures at 200 MP in low light is what the S25 Ultra excels at. The picture of the concrete benches also looked slightly less washed out with the S25, the iPhone looks like it tried to overcompensate on the brightness to make the building stand out, at the expense of everything else looking overly bright. The AI on the S25 probably thought the scenery was too boring to do anything special with and I have to agree.

A really good comparison test would be to take a picture of a storm with partly cloudy skies and a lot of wind to distort the light, this is usually where professional storm chasers chuck their expensive phones and whip out the mirrorless.

Personally I dont know why phone companies, dont just stuff a full sensor in a thicker body phone with optional detachable lenses, the market is many magnitudes larger for a phone like that. Throw in the ability to attach a lightning trigger and you have a device that millions dream of.

 

[Grovest]

'Out of the camera' I have always taken the position the 'best camera' is the one which with default settings most accutately captures what is seen by the naked eye.

It is easy afterward for a photographer to choose to enhance the appearance of an image by adjust tone based on personal preference.

Judging images from a camera as to how close the image produced comes to what the eye sees also does away with reviewer bias due to personal preference.

As such, I take exception to the following reasoning for selecting the iPhone over the Galaxy.

"What captures my attention the most is the warmer color temperature of the iPhone’s photos, which makes them much more inviting than the neutral tone of the Galaxy S25 Ultra."

That said, I do appreciate the honesty with which the reviewer acknowledges their bias, allowing others to take reviewer bias into account.

I am not a Droid Boy or Apple Fan... in fact I still prefer shooting with a dedicated camera. I do however find it interesting how camera settings / white balance etc. have shifted over time.

My first Android was a Samsung S4 which I replaced with an iPhone - back then it was Samsung that over enhanced colors to yield 'more captivating' images, while Apple focused on producing more natural color tones.

It was amusing at the time how generally those who were Android fans argued that the Samsung produced much better looking photos while those who were Apple fans argued that the iPhone was king for producing colours more accurately.

It is funny how it is now Samsung that produces more accurate colours.