Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Blind Camera Comparison Video: iPhone 12 Pro Max vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I had seen this one on YouTube last week very similar but he has both cameras on a dual tripod at the same time so you get the same photos and videos.
Picked A for most, except for one or two of the close-ups of the kid. To my eye, the B photos mostly looked dull, washed out, and less sharp.
Given the MR set up, I, too, expected A to be Samsung.
Do wish Apple would go for greater zoom than more ultrawide as it has been doing. I still use a number of digital cameras because that's the only to get good bird, deer, and other animal life photos.
P.S. Oh, and I agree 100% that presenting this as a blind test was a superb approach! Next time, it might be fun to wait a few days before announcing which camera was which so that our discussion would get into the nature of the photos themselves even more.
Including a couple of older models in the comparison might be revealing, too!
P.S.S. Not sure why my postscript added via an edit looks like a much smaller font size!
Given the MR set up, I, too, expected A to be Samsung.
Do wish Apple would go for greater zoom than more ultrawide as it has been doing. I still use a number of digital cameras because that's the only to get good bird, deer, and other animal life photos.
P.S. Oh, and I agree 100% that presenting this as a blind test was a superb approach! Next time, it might be fun to wait a few days before announcing which camera was which so that our discussion would get into the nature of the photos themselves even more.
Including a couple of older models in the comparison might be revealing, too!
P.S.S. Not sure why my postscript added via an edit looks like a much smaller font size!
I preferred the A for all photos except for the glass shot. Somehow the A camera didn't focus properly.
One thing for sure: I like my sky blue, and my snow white instead of yellow.
I didn't noticed the difference in the fluffy part of the hat until Juli pointed at it; the B image looked digitally retouched.
I also didn't notice a difference in video quality except for A being more stable.
As for night shots, A clearly had the best shots. I wonder if the yellow tinting has to do with the material or quality of the lenses or the cover glass.
I really liked the way this review was made.
One thing for sure: I like my sky blue, and my snow white instead of yellow.
I didn't noticed the difference in the fluffy part of the hat until Juli pointed at it; the B image looked digitally retouched.
I also didn't notice a difference in video quality except for A being more stable.
As for night shots, A clearly had the best shots. I wonder if the yellow tinting has to do with the material or quality of the lenses or the cover glass.
I really liked the way this review was made.
How can it be fanboy comparison when it’s a blind test? You pick your preference that’s it
iPhone 12 Pro Max destroyed the ultra, no contest, nothing to see here, move along.
This is interesting. In general A looked better on all of these. But I've watched numerous comparisons on Youtube (some from reliable reviewers, some not), and on those the consistent theme was that the 12 line exposed things a lot more than the S21 line, to the point where they almost looked fake and the S21 looked more realistic and "contrasty". I don't have the S21, but have tried a couple of the 12's and feel the same way - they're great in a lot of scenarios, but I find the photos (especially with faces) look almost too evenly exposed at times (like super HDR), and the sky blue is really forced at times, making it look like it was painted on there. Not bad by any means, but not very natural. The S21 photos I've been seeing on all of these comparisons (except this one), look more natural to me. All are great for different reasons, though...
I seem to remember having a Galaxy S4 a while back.
If I recall Samsung used to really oversaturate process their pictures and everyone thought that was great.
Seems Apple may have gotten ahead in the saturation game.
Also watching videos on the S4 was eye popping with the amount of color on those first OLED screens.
If I recall Samsung used to really oversaturate process their pictures and everyone thought that was great.
Seems Apple may have gotten ahead in the saturation game.
Also watching videos on the S4 was eye popping with the amount of color on those first OLED screens.
Yep, it wouldn't be a Macrumors discussion without the obligatory name calling. It is too bad that you decided to contribute nothing to the discussion.
A for all daytime outdoor photos, B for indoor photos. Although A is a little oversaturated and starts losing details in some bright color areas (pink snow suit). I would hope that is adjustable in camera prefs.
Same here! Interesting, though, how Samsung phones have historically been the ones that looked like they upped the saturation, but here we find that the sky is bluer in the iPhone photos...?
The rule is, if other cameras are oversaturated it's bad but if iPhone is oversaturated it's great.
I believe the phrase the author is looking for is "Double-Blind". A blind camera test would be useless.
It wouldn't be double-blind since Dan knows the results. Both the experimenter and participants have to be unaware for it to be double-blind hence it's only single-blind or just blind test.
I was B for the first outdoor shot because I preferred the flatter profile for the sky and B for the night shot since it looked less manipulated... but I was A for all the rest.
It's pretty easy to pick out the Apple shots if there is something that is supposed to be straight (like a pole). Apple has much better lenses and better lens correction algorithms... so straight things come out straight!
It's pretty easy to pick out the Apple shots if there is something that is supposed to be straight (like a pole). Apple has much better lenses and better lens correction algorithms... so straight things come out straight!
It wasn't noted in the article but I read that the S21 camera had color settings, e.g., Grace, Sunshine, Vivid, etc. I'd be interested to know what settings they used in these photos or if they know the settings were there.
Personally, I like cameras that have the most control settings to tailor photos to my prefs.
Personally, I like cameras that have the most control settings to tailor photos to my prefs.
Funny that nobody seems to be looking at detail. I see a lot more detail in the Apple photos generally. A lot of the detail seems to get smoothed over or lost in the Samsung images.
As far as color, the Samsung images generally seem to have a gray or dull wash to them, almost like there's a faint haze in the air when the photo was taken. I know the iPhone tends to bump the saturation a little more than it should and tilts things a little cooler, but it produces a better looking image to my eye.
As far as color, the Samsung images generally seem to have a gray or dull wash to them, almost like there's a faint haze in the air when the photo was taken. I know the iPhone tends to bump the saturation a little more than it should and tilts things a little cooler, but it produces a better looking image to my eye.