Galaxy S21 Ultra vs Pixel 5 Camera Comparison | New camera champ? By Grant Likes Tech

Can, Google's computational photography really compete with raw horsepower on the Samsung Galaxy s21 ultra cameras. Let's find out how zoom grant here welcome back to another camera comparison. Video. This time I have the all-new galaxy s21 ultra up against the king of the point and shoot smartphone cameras. The Google Pixel 5. Now on paper.

The s21 ultra should really just run away with this. With its 108 megapixel main sensor. It's got two optical zoom lenses at three and ten times, zoom up against the pixels 12 megapixel main sensor and 16 megapixel ultra-wide. So as far as zoom, it's going to be hands down a win for this 21 ultra I've already tested it. It's definitely going to win on pure hardware and even the software processing alone.

It takes great zoom photos all the way up to 30 times, so I've only compared it to the max zoom range on the pixel, which is seven times which you'll see, but for overall zooming, the s1 ultra is going to win, but as far as everything else from the main camera, the ultra-wide photos and videos from those lenses. How is this all going to look? Can google's computational photography and AI algorithms really make up the gap for the hardware that we're seeing here between the s1 ultra and the pixel 5. ? So like? I always do I'm going to show you a bunch of photos and videos in both good and low light conditions. So you can see, for yourself is pure hardware alone enough for the s21 ultra. Or can google really make up that ground with its computational photography and AI magic, so go ahead and take a look at all the photos and videos for yourself and stick around to the end because I'll let you know what I think about how each of these phones performed ever, so we're in the park testing the video on the s29 ultra and the Google Pixel 5 here, starting out at 1080p 30 frames per second and the ultra-wide angle lens on each.

So you can see the difference in the field of view here on both of these ultra-wide angle: cameras as we pan down we'll test exposure in the sky. You can see the sky go a little white there and pan back up, and it readjusts. What's nice is we can switch between the lenses while recording so here's the main lens on the s21 and the main lens on the pixel 5. , so I'll pan around a bit. So you can see what this looks like here on the main lens, and we'll go ahead and pan over to the right, and we can test the zoom here, which the s21 should clearly win with the two telephoto lenses.

But we'll show you what it looks like, so that's three times optical on the s21 and two times digital there on the iPhone or on the pixel 5. Sorry, I can go into about three times there to give you a comparison, and we'll test the 10 times optical telephoto lens there on the s21, and we'll go to a max five times digital there on the pixel, which is super steady. Even though it's a digital zoom there and back to the s21. We pitched the zoom all the way to a 20 times max digital zoom. There on the s21 looks very clear, but a bit shaky in the viewfinder.

They could be stabilizing that in post, and we'll go ahead and zoom back out to the main angle lens on each so there you go on the s21 and on the pixel 5. , so we'll go ahead and test autofocus on a post first with the s21 ultra really snappy autofocus here on the s20 on ultra. So it looks like they really corrected a lot of those autofocus issues which you did that in the note 20 ultra and carried that over here into the s21 ultra and a really nice blurred out background there with that large sensor. So go ahead and test the pixel 5 pixel 5. Also, really nice and quick autofocus here and refocus, not as quite a big blurred out background due to the smaller sensor, but still looks very nice and snappy, and we'll test stabilization as you walk down the stairs here, which again should be looking very good and stable in 1080p on both.

But do let me know if you see any differences, we'll pull up here and pan up into the sky, to see how the exposure adjusts here we're back at the same test this time at 4k, 30 frames per second again, starting out with the ultra-wide angle lens on each. To give you a view of what that looks like on each phone here again we'll pan around. So you can see the differences and how the exposure adjusts on each, and again I'll go ahead and switch into the main lenses on the s21 and on the pixel 5. Pan a little around. So you can see what this main lens looks like here in 4k, and we'll go ahead and pan over to the right, and we'll test zoom in 4k again so starting out again with the three times optical on the s21 punch into two times digital there on the pixel and try to pinch to zoom in to about three times to give you a comparison between the three times, digital on the pixel and three times optical on the s21.

Of course, the s21 can go to 10 times optical on its second telephoto lens there, and the pixel has max five times digital here so again, pixel looking super steady s21 is shaking the viewfinder. But again it could be stabilized when you take the video off here, and I'll go ahead and max out the zoom on the s21 to 20 times digital, and we'll back out both lenses here so main lens on the s21 and on the pixel 5. , and I test autofocus in 4k. So still nice and snappy here on the s21 so good to see that Samsung's addressed the focus issues that everyone will observing in the previous model, and we'll test out on the pixel 5. , so pixel, 5, still nice and fast focus and refocus, and we'll test stabilization here in 4k again walking down the stairs which again they both should be doing well as far as stabilization is concerned, even in 4k, and we'll go ahead and pan up into the sky and see what that looks like here.

So we're going to test some stabilization with the super, steady mode on the s21 ultra and the active mode on the pixel 5. So I'm just walking to give you an idea for what it looks like at this pace, but I'll start jogging a little. So you can see what stabilization looks like when it's a little more stressed out. So let's give it a try. So that's a quick stabilization test between the super, steady mode on the s21 and the active mode on the pixel 5.

, hey everyone! So here's some footage from the front facing cameras on the s20 ultra and the pixel 5. This is at 1080p 30 frames per second, that's the max resolution on the pixel 5's front facing camera. So I just wanted to do a test at the same resolution here, even though the s9 ultra can shoot up to 4k from the front facing cameras, so we're out here outdoors, obviously, and some pretty even lighting in the shade. So you can see what that looks like. But as I kind of move around here, you can see what that does with the changing light conditions, and we'll point this way with the sun directly behind me.

So you can see what that does to the image quality and the sky there, and we'll go ahead and pan around one more time and start walking the test stabilization to give an idea for what these front-facing cameras look like and what the stabilization looks like. So let me know what you think about what you're, seeing here from the front-facing cameras on each of these phones, so everyone. So here's a low-light video test on the galaxy s 21 ultra and the Google Pixel 5. , starting out with the ultra-wide angle lens on each, and I'll pan up into the sky, because we have that moon up there surrounded by those clouds and looks pretty cool and of course, it's darker because we're in the ultra-wide angle lens. So let's go ahead and switch the main lens on the s21 and on the pixel 5 there and Zoom really should be no contest.

This should be one by the s21. It has three times and 10 times, optical lenses on it, and the pixel is all digital zoom. But let's just see what it looks like anyway, so three times optical zoom there on the s21 ultra, and we can move into a pinch to zoom three times on the pixel. And then we go to a 10 times optical on the s21 and it kind of cleared up. You see the AI kind of clear that up a little, and then we go to full five times digital there on the pixel, and so let's go ahead and switch out to the main lens on each and let's go ahead and pan back down here and over to this bright streetlight.

So you can kind of see how each of these lenses handle that really bright light, and the s21 is definitely flaring that out more I've noticed even in photos. The s21 is flaring out these bright lights more than even previous phones, like the note 20 ultra. But that's just what I'm noticing here anyway, and we'll pan around this way, and we'll have stabilization, and obviously that was a pretty bright area there, and we're going to walk over to a much darker area. So we'll see how these cameras handle that light transition, as well as what the stabilization looks. As the lighting goes down.

Usually you'll see more micro jitters, the darker it gets here, but they both should be doing well at 1080p and actually in the viewfinder at least the s29 ultra is looking brighter, but it could be at the expense of some noise. So it just really depends on what you like to see here and as I pull up here I'll pan up into that night sky, you can see the cloud definition there on each of the phones and what that looks like, and I'll pan over here to the left, where there's a little more light. So you can see how that looks here, and we're back again with the same test. This time at 4k, 30 frames per second again, starting with the ultra-wide angle lens on each, and I'll go ahead and point up to that night sky again, because we still have that cool scene with the moon and the clouds surrounding it, and we'll go ahead and test the zoom again so main wide angle lens on the s21 and now on the pixel 5. And we can go to a three times optical here on the s21.

And we can go to a three times digital by pinch, to zoom here on the pixel. So that's how they compare there, and we'll go to the ten times optical on the s21. And you can see the AI clear that up just a bit again, and I'll go to a max five times digital there on the pixel really not much of a comparison there. But let's go even further here. If we can on the s21 and let's go to that 20 times zoom and see.

If the AI clear that up, even more kind of you can kind of see some definition in the moon there, but not quite as nice. As when you take a photo, so let's back it out to the main lens on the s21 and on the pixel, and I'll pan over here to the bright streetlight and again that s21 really is flaring that streetlight out much more than most other phones, and we'll go ahead and pan this way and test stabilization in 4k so same thing going for that brighter area to a darker area here. But it should look a bit darker here in 4k than it did at 1080p, that's normal. But again we can see what the stabilization looks like now here in 4k and what any kind of micro jitters might look like as the video gets a bit darker here, and we round the corner over this darker area and the s21 at least in the viewfinder, is still keeping it brighter than far as the image. So it really depends on if you like that, look or not, and I'll pan up into the night sky.

So you can see the definition again in the clouds here in 4k and that's pretty dark, and they're both doing a decent job of laying that up, and I'll pan over here to end this into a little more light. So we can see what that looks like here in 4k everyone, so here's a low light test on the front facing cameras on the s21 ultra and the pixel 5. This is a turn 1080p 30 frames per second, the s9 ultra can shoot up to 4k 60 frames per second, but I want to keep this at the same resolution to test the same thing here on both phones, so obviously we're in low light. But I've got some pretty decent lights around me. You can see the bright streetlights behind me and see how these cameras are handling that, but we'll go ahead and start walking to test stabilization, and we're going to walk over to a darker area here.

So you can see how these cameras handle that light transition from this pretty good light or pretty decent light over to a much darker situation, so also see how the stabilization is. Looking and I'll pass by this fountain on my right, so we'll have some background noise there to test the audio with and, as you can see, it's a little darker in this area. But if I pan around here, you'll see a bunch of bright streetlights behind me. So you can see how the front-facing camera handles that and actually the front-facing cameras seem to handle that light, a lot better than the rear cameras for some reason, and we'll go ahead and pan back this way and step into the darker areas to get a good look at what that looks like in this lighting. So let me know what you think about the front-facing cameras on both these phones here, everyone so now, you've seen all the photos and videos for yourself.

What do you think? Did the s21 ultra run away with this camera comparison or did the pixel 5 and Google's AI algorithms make up the gap in the hardware up against the s21 ultra? So I'm starting this video out with the portrait video on the s21 ultra, because it's not stabilized- and I don't want to test that, while running around outdoors, so now they're both on a tripod. I thought I would test out the portrait video on the s21 ultra, because I think it's a cool feature and compare that up against the regular video here coming out of the front-facing camera on the pixel 5. So overall, as far as what I think, if I had to carry just one of these phones for my everyday camera needs, I hate to say it. But I think I would carry the s21 ultra and I came in very skeptical because even though Samsung has been improving their cameras from the s20 line through the note 20, the note 20 cameras have improved quite a bit and are actually very good all-around set of cameras. I still prefer the pixel 5 for my everyday shooting and point and shoot needs, but this s21 ultra has improved even further upon the note 20 ultra in pretty much every way all the way through the front facing camera.

So, let's break that down a little as far as the rear facing cameras. I think they both take great photos. Obviously the s21 is going to win in zoom, but in just straight photos from the main camera and the ultra-wide. The pixel 5 still takes great photos, and you'll see google's AI algorithms, really pick up the slack and make up the gap in the hardware that s21 has especially in low light. If you look at the non-night sight photos coming out of the pixel 5, you can see a bit of noise and some grain, especially if you zoomed in on those photos but with night sight on it really clears all that up.

It gets brighter, but it also retains detail and reducing that noise, and so google's algorithms can really make up for a lot of the hardware deficit that it has right now, and it still takes phenomenal photos. But as an overall package, if you're going to look at the s21 photos in both good and low light, you zoom in you're going to see more detail there and that's just you cannot beat the physics and the hardware that s1 has in that respect. But if you're, just shooting photos and casually sharing them and just looking at them at face value, I still think they both take great photos, and it's going to come down to maybe the color science for you. As far as which processing do you, like Samsung, still boosts the colors a bit, but they've toned that back actually a little it's not as saturated or as boosted as they were before. The pixel 5 is still going to take more natural, looking photos.

So, if you're looking for natural colors you're still going to like the pixel 5 there, and as far as video pretty much my comments for photos, echo and video here, I think they both take great video and, I think, like I've, always been saying google's made great strides in video in the pixel 5. I think it takes some perfect. Looking video, I think the differences here are going to come down to. If you want low light, I think there's still more grain on the pixel just because of the hardware itself, but in just day-to-day use and good lighting conditions. I think it's going to come down to the color science again.

The pixel 5 is a little more realistic. Well, Samsung just boosts the colors just a tad, and I think a lot of people might like those boosted colors, but if you want the more natural side you're going to like the video out of the pixel 5. Now as far as front-facing cameras, this is where I was completely surprised. I never thought that I would like the s21 ultra front-facing camera more than the pixel 5, because the pixel 5's front-facing camera is probably the best on any phone and the s21 ultra Samsung has made huge stride in the front facing cameras. It's never been that great.

Although the note 20 ultra had improved upon that quite a bit, especially with its night mode. I think that was probably the best night mode front facing camera. I've seen on any phone, probably up until now. Furthermore, I think everything about the s21 ultra's front-facing camera, from regular shots to portrait to night mode. Everything, they've really improved their processing and the overall image results from that front.

Facing camera. Portrait mode has made huge strides as well. It used to be called live, focus and Samsung was gradually improving that, through the note 20 ultra, and I've taken that even further here with the s20 and one ultra, and I think I'm very surprised because I, like the skin tones more on the s1 ultra than on the pixel 5 and Samsung, has not been known for great color or skin tone and from everything about it. Like I said it completely improved it, I couldn't believe it, but the front-facing camera overall, even though the pixel 5 still has a great front-facing shooter great portrait mode. Overall, I do like the s1 ultra more.

So that's just what I have to think about how each of these phones performed and based on the results that I'm seeing but leave a comment down below, and let me know what you think about how each of these cameras performed. We can continue our conversation down there as always, thanks for watching you.

Source : Grant Likes Tech