Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs iPhone 11 Pro Max Camera Test Comparison By SuperSaf

- What's up guys, Saf here on SuperSaf TV and welcome to another SuperSaf style camera comparison. This time, it is of course, between the Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. That has been the most requested on the channel recently, so a thumbs up for that would be appreciated. We're going to cover all aspects of the cameras front facing, rear facing, images, video, low light, portrait, everything. I'll try to leave some timestamps down below because this will be a long video. We're starting off with the front facing cameras and we're going to test out stabilization so walking and- Well let's go ahead and run.

Both smart phones can also film at 4K, 60 frames a second. Dynamic range is usually affected when we switch to 4K 60. So this will be a good test to see how much of the cloud detail you can see in the background compared to when we were at 4K 30 and let's just test out stabilization at 4K 60. Now we've switched on to the rear facing cameras. Both smart phones do allow us to switch to the ultra-wide as well as the zoom.

So we've got up to two times optical zoom on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. On the Note20 Ultra, you've got up to five times so look how much closer you can get in with that five times optical zoom. Let's go ahead and test out stabilization at a 4K 30 on the primary camera. Test that stabilization with the ultra-wide cameras as well. So a walk into a run.

Now, 4K 60 from the rear facing cameras, one thing to note is that the iPhone does let you film 4K 60 from all the cameras so that includes the ultra-wide, as well as the zoom but on the S20, sorry, Note20 Ultra, you can only film at 4K 60 from the primary camera, there is no option to film 4K 60 from any of the others. So for the sake of it stabilization at 4K 60, so just walking, if you're vlogging or something and we can run. You do have 8K video on the Note20 Ultra. It does crop in quite significantly when you are shooting at 8K but it does give you a lot more resolution. Now because this video is at 4K, we can crop in further and see that one-to-one 8K resolution, which is insane.

And you'll notice, I'm not moving too much and that is because there is no stabilization at 8K. Understandably so, it is using a large part of the sensor, but yeah, something nice to have. So quick, low light video tests, for those of you who like to take videos in the dark. It is raining a little bit. See how the lights are handled.

Just going in here to pick up my next car, not really. (lighter clicking) (lighter clicking) Now testing the auto focus of the Note20 Ultra. Very, very fast. This is something that we were concerned about on the S20 Ultra but definitely seems to have been fixed. Same test on the iPhone 11 Pro Max and once again, working absolutely fine, very fast and smooth.

Now that was the video before we move on to images. if you like what you're seeing so far then please do consider subscribing to the channel. There's lots of SuperSaf style content that I post on here very regularly. And let's look at what we're working with on both cameras. For the front facing cameras, the iPhone does have a high resolution and for the rear facing cameras, we have triple cameras on both.

They work similarly, in that we have an ultra-wide camera, a primary camera, as well as a zoom camera. On the iPhone, the 12 megapixels across the board, on the Note20 Ultra, the ultra-wide camera is 12 megapixels, the primary camera is actually 108 megapixels, although you'll be shooting at 12 megapixels, 99% of the time anyway and that is where you will get the best software processing. And then we have a periscope zoom camera, which gives you five times optical zoom, and up to 50 times digital zoom. The iPhone maxes out at 10 times digital zoom. And on the Note20 Ultra this time, you also have laser auto focus, which definitely does help with auto focus, as you saw from the video examples earlier.

The Note20 Ultra also has a pro video and photo app so you manually tweak settings, including lots of different audio options. This is something that's not available on the iPhone, on default anyway you will have to download an excel app such as FiLMiC Pro in order to have some of these features. Now let's get to the images. So what you'll notice from many of these examples is that both devices take absolutely great images in good light. We've got lots of detail, great dynamic range, dynamic range does go back and forth.

Some situations I prefer the iPhone, such as this one of my car. If you look at the front of the car and the shadow details, those are much better on the iPhone compared to the much darker tones on the Note20 Ultra, in my opinion. But if you look at this shot of this sunset, the Note20 Ultra has maintained a lot more detail in the foreground without blowing out the background at all. So I do like this shot on the Note20 Ultra. So it is going to go back and forth.

Now, one thing to bear in mind is that you do have a much larger sensor on the Note20 Ultra and let's just get this whole 108 megapixel thing out the way. So here's a shot taken at 12 megapixels. I do prefer the iPhone here actually, does seem to have better dynamic range but if you do go ahead and switch to the 108 megapixels resolution on the Note20 Ultra, you'll immediately notice that the image becomes a lot darker and you lose a lot of detail in the shadows. And that is because, as mentioned, it is not optimizing the software performance when you are shooting at that insane 108 megapixels resolution. This however, does mean that you can crop in much further to this image.

So if you look at both images side by side, at 100% on this 4K video, you can see that we can crop in much further on the Note20 Ultra compared to that on the iPhone. Again, I think this is something that you'll probably use 1% of the time, 99% of the time to get the best results from the Note20 Ultra, you will want to shoot at around 12 megapixels and that is what it's set to by default. Now there's a few other things that you do have to bear in mind when you're using such a large sensor. The first thing is that you are going to get a shallow depth of field, a blurry background. So you can see these shots here of these leaves and both look absolutely great but on the Note20 Ultra, just look at the leaves that are immediately behind the ones in focus and you'll see, on the Note20 Ultra they're completely blurred out, which gives you so much more isolation for the subject that is in focus.

But having said that you do have to also bear in mind that the area of focus with such a large size sensor is very, very small. So in this example, you can see that we've only got a very few flowers in focus because the other ones are kind of a little bit more of the background, they are completely blurred out, whereas you're getting a much more pleasing shot on the iPhone here, so just something to bear in mind. Yes, that larger sensor does have some advantages but it can have some disadvantages too. Now let's move on to the ultra-wide cameras and I have to say that both smartphones have amazing ultra-wide cameras, they take some great shots. Now, as far as I can see, the iPhone does have a slightly wider angle of view, it's only by like a couple of degrees, I'm not sure it's really going to matter to many.

And overall I did prefer the dynamic range on the Note20 Ultra, I'll show you a few examples here. So in this shot, we do have the sun beaming in the background but look at the foreground elements on the Note20 Ultra. So looking towards the building, for example, we do have a better shadow details on the Note20 Ultra compared to the iPhone. And again, looking at that same sunset with the ultra-wide, we've got much, much more brighter shadow details here on the Note20 Ultra compared to that on the iPhone. It has overexposed the sun a little bit on the Note20 Ultra but overall I do prefer the dynamic range on the Note20 Ultra when it comes to the ultra-wide camera.

Now you guys might remember me complaining, quite a bit, about the S20 Ultra's wide camera, which didn't have great dynamic range. So it looks like Samsung has taken that feedback on board and they've definitely improved the dynamic range on the ultra-wide camera of the Note20 Ultra so thumbs up for that. Now, of course, we do have to look at the zoom. So here are a few examples with the zoom capabilities of both of these smartphones. So initially going to 2X, so this is what the iPhone has optically.

On the Note20 Ultra, it seems to be using the primary camera but it's kind of like punching in. And this is definitely noticeable because the iPhone is giving you a sharper overall result which you can definitely notice when we do go 100%. Now do keep this thought in mind because we'll be touching on that a little bit later. Now, when we get to 5X, then this is where the periscope zoom capabilities of the Note20 Ultra really shine. You can see that we've got a much sharper and crisper image on the Note20 Ultra, compared to the five times digital zoom that we've got on the iPhone.

Now, if we do go in times 10, which is the maximum digital zoom on the iPhone on the Note20 Ultra, it's actually using a hybrid of optical and digital zoom. And you'll see, once again, we have a much sharper image on the Note20 Ultra. The Note20 Ultra does go in even further. So just trying out 50X here, you can actually read this sign, which is quite a way away. Let's skip back to 1X and back to here, 50X, look at how much you can actually see.

It'd be impossible to read this sign with your eyes at that distance, so 50X is there and I'm glad that something haven't plastered it on the camera like they did on the S20 Ultra so bravo Samsung for taking that feedback onboard. Now, testing out the zoom further so using the primary cameras, I actually prefer the iPhone shot here, you've got better dynamic range. Now, when you do use the 2X optical zoom on the iPhone, you can see that once again, it is sharper compared to that on the Note20 Ultra but then as soon as we go to 5X, the Note20 Ultra, as expected, is giving you a sharper image. At 10X, once again, much sharper compared to the iPhone and then we can do 20X and we can even go up to 50X. Yes, it's not an amazing image, it's not something that you're going to share on your Instagram grid.

And again, I want to emphasize that because Samsung hasn't really put an emphasis on this 50X zoom as much I'm okay with having it you don't have to use it all the time. The 5X works really well and the 10X also works really, really well. Now let's move onto portraits. So here's where we're going to be talking about that 2X in a short while. So firstly taking a portrait shot from the primary cameras on both, I do prefer the dynamic range on the iPhone.

You can see more shadow details in my full black outfit compared to that on the Note20 Ultra. I think both are doing a good job overall in terms of the edge detection. One thing that I do like on the Note is that you do have a gradual depth of field. So if you look towards the floor of where my feet are, that area is in focus, like it would be if you were using a regular mirrorless or DSLR pro camera, but then the falloff of that blur is a little bit more natural on the Note20 Ultra compared to that on the iPhone. Now, if we go on and use the 2X portraits on both devices, this is generally the focal length, which gives you the best looking portraits.

It's at around 50 mil, which is generally the focal length that works best on smartphones for portraits. You'll see that the iPhone is doing much better here, you've got much better dynamic range. On the Note20 Ultra, you can see the side of my head is completely blown out. Edge detection is actually really good on both but the Note20 Ultra is also noticeably softer compared to the iPhone. Now, the reason why this seems to be is because the iPhone is using optical zoom to get this portrait, whereas because there is no 2X optical, as we saw earlier on the Note20 Ultra, it seems to be punching into the primary camera, which is giving you an overall soft result.

This is also noticeable here, you'll see that the iPhone is giving you a much sharper image. Edge detection, I think is fine on both they're both doing a very, very good job but here's an advantage that you will get on the iPhone 11 Pro Max because of that dedicated 2X, it is going to be better for portraits. Now let's move on to low light. So here is a shot taken with no fancy modes, it's just using the automatic and both seem to be doing pretty well. The iPhone does seem to be doing a little bit better but then when we do switch on the respective night modes on both, I think both are doing really, really good.

The iPhone does appear to be brighter here but I can see some more noise in the cloud area whereas the Note20 Ultra is a little bit cleaner. Another shot in low light, I think both they're doing absolutely fine here. Very good results on both, I'd call this one a draw. Now this shot, I do prefer the Note20 Ultra because if look towards the Bentley sign, this has been blown out on the iPhone whereas that's been maintained on the Note20 Ultra, and you've also got more detail in the tree areas on the Note20 Ultra compared to that of the iPhone. Here's another low light shot and again, I do prefer the Note20 Ultra here.

If you look towards the slabs, they are sharper on the Note20 Ultra compared to the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Now I think this might partly be because you do have that larger sensor, it is going to be able to capture more light compared to the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Now let's look at the ultra-wide cameras and this is where things get quite interesting. So taking the shots on both, on automatic, the Note does seem to be giving us a sharper result and it's also brighter but the Note20 Ultra does have night mode for the ultra-wide camera. This is something that's just not available on the iPhone, it's something that I have talked about before.

So here it is night and day. The Note20 Ultra, just giving you a much better result, thanks to the night mode that's available on the ultra-wide camera. Here's another example, once again, just night and day here. The Note20 Ultra just doing much better. I don't know why Apple haven't included the night mode for the ultra-wide camera but it really does let it down in low light situations.

One more example, and again, the iPhone, I mean the image is completely not usable and it's just blurry whereas the Note20 Ultra is actually giving you a very sharp and usable image from the ultra-wide camera. Now just testing out the zoom in low light, you do have night mode on both the zoom cameras. It's hard to really measure because we do have 5X versus 2X but I mean it's there and it does work and it does help. Now let's look at some selfies. Overall, I think both do a really, really good job.

We've got lots of detail, slight differences in skin tone but generally speaking, they are absolutely fine. One thing I do have to mention is that I did have to switch off the skin smoothening on at the Note20 Ultra because it did really struggle and it seemed to mess up the images so I did switch that off and I would advise you to do the same. Now both smart phones do have a wide option for selfies, and this will allow you to get maybe more people into your shot, more of your background into your shots and you can see once again, both are doing a very, very good job overall, the iPhone is wider compared to the Note20 Ultra something to bear in mind. Now here again, you can see that the iPhone is slightly wider but both are doing an excellent job. You've got lots of detail, you can see all the detail on my beard.

Dynamic range is also really good on both, you can see a bit of the tree detail in the background. Now let's look at the selfie portrait mode so this is where it's going to try to blur the background and here I think both doing a really, really good job. I do prefer the skin tones on the iPhone, but I do prefer the edge detection on the Note20 Ultra, it's done a very nice sharp edge around my glasses and everywhere. The iPhone is not really doing bad but I do prefer the Note20 Ultra a little bit here. And the Note20 Ultra also gives you the option of using portrait mode with the wider field of view, this is something that you can't do on the iPhone, as soon as you switch to portrait it crops in, and that is your only option so the Note20 Ultra will give you a bit more flexibility.

Although edge detection is not as good, you can see towards the edge of my sunglasses, this has been blurred out a little bit so just something to bear in mind but I do like having that option here. Now here's another shot using the portrait mode. Here, the iPhone has got the side of my sunglasses, but it has blurred out a lot of my hair whereas the Note20 Ultra has blurred out my sunglasses, it has done a good job of my hair but you've got quite a bit of the seat in the back on the Note whereas the iPhone has isolated me a little bit better here. Once again, the Note does have the option of the ultra-wide from the front facing camera for portraits. Again, it has missed the side of my sunglasses but it is doing a good job overall.

Now looking at some low light selfies so neither are doing good here. Lots of noise on the iPhone, the Note20 Ultra is brighter but you know, it's completely lost all the color, I'm looking like a zombie here, the iPhone does have better colors. Neither were amazing, now the Note20 Ultra does have night mode from the selfie camera as well so if you do use this, you'll see that we get a much brighter image. Once again, colors are a little bit off but you know, I would prefer this image compared to that on the iPhone. And then we've got the selfie flash.

so this is where the front screen is illuminated to give you some more light. The Note20 Ultra giving you a sharper image, it's a brighter image as well but once again, I do prefer the colors on the iPhone, they are much more true to my skin tone whereas the Note20 Ultra is washing things out a little bit. Right, so that was a lot to cover. I think, overall both are excellent smartphones and you really can't go wrong with either of these for photography and video. Now, if you ask me for my thoughts and opinions, of course, the Note20 Ultra does give you the additional zoom so you are getting the advantage there of 5X, 10X, if that's something that you're into but the iPhone does give you better images at 2X and that's especially useful when you are trying to take portrait shots.

So if you are somebody who likes taking lots of portraits, then the iPhone is going to be the better option here. Now for images in good light, honestly speaking, you can't go wrong with either of these, they both take excellent images. Dynamic range, as mentioned, can go back and forth. You do have quite a large sensor on the Note20 Ultra which, as mentioned, can have some advantages as well as some disadvantages. In the low light, the Note20 Ultra, I believe overall does get the advantage, did give some better low light images in my opinion and that does seem to be thanks to that larger sensor size.

And also you have the option of the night mode for the ultra-wide camera, something that you don't have on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. And speaking of the ultra-wide camera, I think both were very, very good but I did prefer the Note20 ultra, which I believe does have, overall, better dynamic range. Now, when it comes to video it was very interesting because I think both smartphones give you great quality video. When it came to stabilization, the Note20 Ultra did seem more stable but it does kind of make the image a lot softer because there are a lot more vibrations whereas I believe the iPhone, even though it might not appear as stable does keep everything sharp and in focus, which I do like. Now the Note20 Ultra does have 8K video so if that is something that you're into, you might like that.

Now, as I mentioned earlier on, you do lose things like stabilization so it is going to be quite limited to what you can do with the 8K. You're going to have to use a gimbal, you might have to have it mounted on a tripod but nevertheless, the option is there. However, when you are shooting at 4K 60, then the Note20 Ultra you can only use the primary camera, you can't use the ultra-wide camera, you can't use the periscope zoom camera and these are the things that you do have on the iPhone 11 Pro Max. So for video overall, it does seem to be a little bit of a draw. Even if you look at the low light video, there were certain situations where I liked the iPhone.

It did seem to be brighter around the trees but then it was a little bit choppy when we moved from one area to another and it seems to be dropping the frame rates to capture more light. So you know, again, it did go back and forth. Now for front facing video, the iPhone was a little bit wider but the Note20 Ultra was more stable so it looks like I like the Note20 Ultra does crop in a little bit to achieve that stabilization so that's just something to bear in mind. And also it did seem to have better dynamic range when you are at 4K 60 from the front facing cameras. For selfies, I think both did an excellent job.

The iPhone is slightly wider but as soon as you go onto portrait mode, you no longer have that wider field of view and then the Note20 Ultra has the option for a wider field of view. For low light, the Note20 Ultra does give you a brighter image but the colors are better on the iPhone. Slow motion, both can do up to 240 frames a second, they do great. The Note20 Ultra does have super slow motion. so that option is available.

Although this is just at 720PM, it is just a small burst of slow motion. And for audio, I'm going to let you go back and have a listen, I think both record great quality audio. Now, overall, I want to emphasize again that both smartphones are absolutely excellent and you can't really go wrong with either of these for images and video, they both take amazing shots. Now I do also want to clarify that, yes, I am fully aware that the iPhone 11 Pro Max is almost a year old now. So some of you may say that this comparison is unfair, but if anything, I was very impressed with the iPhone and how it actually went toe-to-toe with this newer device and in some areas actually beat it.

But of course the real test and real comparison will be when the iPhone 12 Pro is out in a couple of months and of course we're going to be doing a SuperSaf style camera comparison, as soon as that's out. If you want to see that first, then be sure to subscribe and hit that bell icon. I also want to say that I'm very impressed with the way Samsung has taken a lot of the feedback that I've been giving and many others have been giving such as the auto focus issues that we had with the S20 Ultra, the ultra-wide camera dynamic range, not plastering, you know, 100X or 50X. I like that they went down to 50X, so props to Samsung for actually taking that feedback onboard and giving us lots of improvements here on the Note20 Ultra. Now, if you want to see lots of images taken from lots of different devices, then do give me a follow on Instagram, I am @SuperSaf.

I hope you enjoyed this video and found it useful. If you did then do it that thumbs up button for me. What did you guys think of this comparison? Which one would you pick overall? Drop me a comment below and let me know. Thanks for watching guys. This is Saf on SuperSaf TV and I'll see you next time.

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Source : SuperSaf