Samsung Galaxy S10 vs. Huawei P40 Camera Comparison By M-Galaxy

I know you may ask – shouldn’t you compare it with the newer Galaxy S20? Well, many people including me think that the S10 has generally a better camera. I’ve done a comparison between the two if you want to see that for yourself later. So in the first picture, we are in the ultra-wide angle lens on both. The Galaxy S10 seems to be a bit wider than the Huawei P40. It’s also very apparent that both feature pretty powerful HDR – S10 captured a bit more details in the sky area while the P40 did a better job in the shadows. …and going back to the main camera.

I can see the same difference related to the dynamic range. The S10’s HDR seems marginally more intense when looking at the sun. In this shot, you can see the difference in the field of view of the ultra-wide-angle module even better. Just take a look at the difference in the distance between those blocks. Samsung is definitely wider.

Although, for me, it’s not that big of a deal – either would be sufficient. And we can also see variations in the color tones. Ideally, I would like to see something between both. The S10 seems too vibrant in the grass area while the P40 is too dull in the sky area. …but sometimes, the S10 just goes mad with the colors.

Look how unreal it looks! I am thinking that has something to do with the latest update which could mess with the scene optimizer. Interestingly, picture from the main camera in the same conditions came out looking pretty normal. Either way, I think I would go with the Huawei because it’s slightly more consistent and natural in terms of the colors. The S10 has often too much saturation. Some of you may like that though! Once again, notice the Galaxy S10’s ultra wide-angle advantage in the field of view and take a look at the telephoto abilities of both.

So, we have 2x optical zoom in the S10 and 3x in the P40. Obviously, I prefer having that longer focal length. Speaking from the experience, using my S10 as a daily phone – 2x zoom is simply not enough in many situations. …and if you ask me how far they can go using digital zoom! It’s 10x for the S10 and 30x for the P40. Although I wouldn’t recommend using any given the quality.

And let’s use zoom once again to compare the level of detail provided by the telephoto modules. Going into the crop – I have to give a credit to the P40 – it seems more detailed. I can see more of texture in this birdhouse and the bark. Now let’s have a look at some close-ups. First of all, it’s worth knowing the Huawei has a slightly bigger sensor than the Samsung.

In theory, it should mean more details and better bokeh. On the other hand, Galaxy S10 has a variable aperture, which means it can shift between f/.1.5 and f. /2.4 depending on the conditions. P40 has fixed f. /1.9 aperture. So which one actually performs better when it comes to the bokeh? I went into the Pro mode on the S10 and manually choose the lowest aperture to compare both in this term.

Clearly, Samsung still struggles to beat P40’s larger sensor in this department. Although because of that P40 has some drawbacks which I will talk about later in this video. Checking sharpness, if we’ll go into the crop you can see Samsung looks a little bit more processed with a bigger amount of noise and more sharpening. Huawei feels more natural. That’s said sometimes you have to give credit to Samsung for looking more spectacular, like here.

It really brought out a lot of the color from this flower. However, going into the magnification I prefer P40’s picture because of less noise/artifacts in the background and more depth. Still, keep in mind both are pretty solid. To be fair – we have to discuss some of the P40’s weaknesses. Firstly, optical imperfections are the price to pay for a bigger sensor in this case.

If you look at the edges – there is some lack of smoothness. As a result, it sometimes ruins the look of bokeh and the whole picture. This shallow depth of field also means you are getting less area in focus. Just look at how blurry it looks apart from the center of this sign. Secondly, autofocus is not as reliable as in the other phone.

Here, I tried to get it to focus on the watch. Instead, it focused on the table the watch was laying on. And here, when I wanted to take a picture of this CPU, oddly enough, it decided to focus on my finger. Nevertheless, overall I have to say P40 has little edge in the amount of detail in the main camera. It looks just a little bit more natural and more importantly – it has less noise and processing artifacts typical for smaller sensor.

Talking about close-ups I have to mention the Huawei uses, I believe, it’s ultra-wide-angle lens to capture macro shots. Because its main lens has a pretty long focusing distance it automatically switches to the other lens if necessary. What’s cool, is that you can get much closer to the subject than in any other phone. Though you may miss some quality, especially in low-light conditions and that camera switch often isn’t. very gentle as you may see in this footage! but the quality is far from bad – in good lighting it appears that both perform similarly.

When it comes to video quality. Samsung provides with more sharpening and saturation. P40’s footage is calmer and more natural. Autofocus is better on the S10, notice, as I approach this tree it gets instantly in focus. In Huawei though; it takes a while so it can do the same.

I know I’ll repeat myself but seriously, again I would like to see something in the middle between Samsung’s over sharpening and Huawei’s neutrality. Maybe we would find that in the iPhone but that’s a topic for another video. Anyway, I think I would go with the Huawei – the footage is generally more pleasing to look at and also, a small thing but pay attention to how smoothly it changes the exposure compared to the Samsung. Although, when switching to the ultra-wide-angle – the S10’s video seems to look a bit more detailed. The P40’s stabilization is really good, seems better than the Samsung.

It is, however, a bit too jumpy sometimes as you see when I’ve started to jog here. As we move to low-light photography, P40’s advantage in sensor size pops out. In this picture, I would say I slightly prefer warmer color tones of the S10… but if we’ll go into the crop – it has fewer details in the road and in the grass area and also a bit more noise and artifacts compared to the Huawei. Remember, both are pretty solid and you can see they provide pictures with pretty comparable in brightness considering those difficult conditions. … but in the magnification – I have to say P40 is a bit more superior.

This is also a pretty good example of that. The P40 in normal mode was able to capture image almost on par with the Samsung’s night mode. Though, using night mode Samsung is often able to keep up with the rival. Again – Huawei has a bit more details in the ground area. Both are pretty comparable in night mode.

Maybe Huawei is a bit sharper. As conditions got even more extreme, especially in this case – like it or not, but man, you have to give it to the Huawei. …but enough praising – despite Huawei being a better low-light performer, I have to talk about other few quirks I’ve encountered. Quality when using an ultra-wide-angle decreases significantly in worse lightning on both to the point that it’s difficult to pick a winner. Huawei is especially disturbing with the presence of chroma noise.

Secondly, pictures like that happen more often on the Huawei. The S10’s autofocus is a bit more reliable both in the daytime and low-light. The last thing is a macro lens which you probably shouldn’t use after it’s dark – it’s terrible at this. Just look at the difference for yourself, when I’m in normal mode and when I got slightly closer to this watch which activated switch to the macro mode. …and just for fun you can catch a glimpse at how each performs or should I say struggle in the low-light videography, but no, seriously I shouldn’t complain – really difficult conditions, not only for the smartphone camera.

Samsung has much more noise, but on the other hand, Huawei compensates for that in processing which means more artifacts. But as you see when both received some lighting – I think I would go with the Huawei. That’s all. Both phones have great cameras but let me know which one you think is better. If you ask me, in terms of the overall quality I was pleasantly surprised with the Huawei P40.

I liked it’s low-light performance, more quality telephoto lens and lack of as many processing artifacts in the crop. That’s said Samsung Galaxy S10 is just more reliable point-and-shoot experience. It has better autofocus, doesn’t have quirks like for example the camera switch to macro and its free of those optical imperfections. If you liked this video, consider watching my other stuff. See you in the next one! Peace!.

Source : M-Galaxy