Galaxy S8 Camera Said to Beat iPhone 7 Plus in Low Light Conditions

[MacRumors]

Samsung's new flagship Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones went on sale today in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Korea, as the company looks to rebound from last year's Note7 debacle. Samsung will be encouraged by the record one million pre-orders it has already taken in Korea alone, while analysts are predicting global sales to reach at least 45 million units.

The 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch devices cost $725 and $825, respectively, which gets users an OLED screen that takes up 80 percent of the front of the handsets. Online reviews appeared earlier this week praising the phones' Infinity Display, but several marked them down for the relocation of the fingerprint scanner to the rear of the devices, right alongside the camera lens.

The camera itself has received less coverage, as it's actually the same 12MP dual pixel module as the one that appeared in last year's Galaxy S7. However, Samsung has tweaked the software powering the f/1.7 lens in an attempt to improve image processing. To compare the results with those of the iPhone 7 Plus, Tom's Guide posted a selection of side-by-side comparison shots taken with the two rival phones.

Overall, the Galaxy S8 came out on top, but only by a slight margin. Despite lackluster macro performance with the S8, both phones' bright light results were said to be generally equal, but Samsung's new device bested the iPhone 7 Plus in well-lit nighttime and low-light shots, offering "generally richer" colors, sharper subjects, and "significantly more detail" in indoor and outdoor tests.

Despite the higher megapixel count of the S8's front-facing camera (8MP versus 7MP on the iPhone 7), Apple's phone was deemed to take sharper selfie shots with richer colors, while the two phones were tied in 4K 30fps video tests, although the S8's audio was said to be slightly cleaner.

Apple is thought to be testing a new dual-lens camera system similar to the iPhone 7 Plus for this year's upcoming OLED iPhone, which will have a Samsung-made display. Rumors suggest the front-facing camera of the iPhone 8 will use a "revolutionary" 3D-sensing system capable of identifying the depth and location of subjects, which could be used for facial and iris recognition or in future augmented reality features.

Article Link: Galaxy S8 Camera Said to Beat iPhone 7 Plus in Low Light Conditions

 

[8692574]

Click bait!
This kinda of article are just for getting people's click and posts (wich works BTW).

And I fell for it too!

 

[Derekeys]

Low light stuff is where I like to see improvement for sure. Samsung has a great device on their hands, I hope Apple steps it up!

 

[maflynn]

I'm an iPhone fan, but I will say that it seems Samsung comes out on top with the camera

 

[pat500000]

Samsung-camera. Apple-os

 

[djcerla]

Those bottles look definitely better on the right side, just look at the marble shelf.

EDIT: the composition of the shot may be the reason.

 

[BeyondtheTech]

Steve Jobs once said that the iPhone was five years ahead of any smartphone. In some respects, or maybe on average, he was right. Because after ten years of iPhone and iOS, this was my first real break from both, and I have to admit, I'm finally impressed.

 

[Telos101]

Those bottles look definitely better on the right side, just look at the marble shelf.

Hm, I'd say the wine glasses on the top shelf look way better on the left side.

 

[Sunny1990]

iPhone 8 will blow away this Galaxy s8 in every aspect :- take my word

 

[andy.ringwood]

iPhone 8 will blow away this Galaxy s8 in every aspect

Of course it will but it's not fair comparing the iPhone 7 Plus to the S8 the same way it is comparing the S8 to the iPhone 8, they're released six months apart.

 

[JaySoul]

How many times must this be repeated?

The new S8 Camera is NOT the same as last year's S7 Camera!

They have been upgraded to Sony IMX333 and S5K2L2 ISOCELL image sensors.

This, in combination with how the Snapdragon 835 and new Exynos chip work (incredibly clever, like how Google Pixel did but arguably now even better) mean that the image processing works in a very different (and improved) way to last year's S7.

EDIT: If you want a much better camera comparison, SuperSaf has just put up a great comparison video between S8+ and iPhone 7 Plus. He's the best in the business:

 

[A MacBook lover]

But can it zoom?

 

[windowpain]

More competition is always good, bring it on!
Don't want Timmy to get complacent.

 

[chr1s60]

I always find it funny how everyone goes on and on about the cameras on these phones. Anyone that is truly serious about pictures and wants top quality when going to an event or something should have a true camera they use for that. Yeah, it's nice to be able to take decent quality shots with your phone, but I don't see why so many look at it as a make or break feature.

 

[Ben Harley]

Bleh! Click bait! I fell for it though

 

[JGRE]

Hm, I'd say the wine glasses on the top shelf look way better on the left side.

The right side seems to be capturing much more light than the left side......also the wine glasses.

 

[silentbob007]

I always find it funny how everyone goes on and on about the cameras on these phones. Anyone that is truly serious about pictures and wants top quality when going to an event or something should have a true camera they use for that. Yeah, it's nice to be able to take decent quality shots with your phone, but I don't see why so many look at it as a make or break feature.

It's fairly important to me ... sure I love my DSLR and lenses, but as a hobby-photographer, which am I most likely to have on me in my day-to-day?

 

[JGRE]

I always find it funny how everyone goes on and on about the cameras on these phones. Anyone that is truly serious about pictures and wants top quality when going to an event or something should have a true camera they use for that. Yeah, it's nice to be able to take decent quality shots with your phone, but I don't see why so many look at it as a make or break feature.

Because the gap between a phone camera and a 'serious' camera is getting closer and closer. The photo of the iPhone are simply sufficient for most of the events/pictures.

 

[rickyipcw]

People who are serious with picture quality either use better gears than a smartphone or know how to process images with software. Meanwhile casual users won't mind these minor differences.
If the photos are uploaded to social networks or messaging apps, any advantage on either phone will be diminished because of heavy image compression.

 

[The Game 161]

 

[Prabas]

Though it says that Samsung takes better photos, to my eye they're more or less equal.

Samsung:

* Bright Light/Landscape
* HDR
* Well-Lit Nighttime
* Outdoors Low-Light

iPhone:

* Macro
* Indoors Low-Light
* Nighttime Cityscape
* Selfies

 

[Telos101]

How many times must this be repeated?

The new S8 Camera is NOT the same as last year's S7 Camera!

They have been upgraded to Sony IMX333 and S5K2L2 ISOCELL image sensors.

The camera module's the same though, which is why Samsung didn't make a song and dance about it.

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15121380/samsung-galaxy-s8-camera-specs-megapixels

 

[pentrix2]

Those bottles look definitely better on the right side, just look at the marble shelf.

it's misleading because there's less bottles on the right (apple side) compared to Samsung left side (more bottles). Less bottles means more light that equals better picture of course. not a good comparison because it's giving Samsung the harder side. a better comparison is the same picture of each side per phone.

 

[DNichter]

I always find it funny how everyone goes on and on about the cameras on these phones. Anyone that is truly serious about pictures and wants top quality when going to an event or something should have a true camera they use for that. Yeah, it's nice to be able to take decent quality shots with your phone, but I don't see why so many look at it as a make or break feature.

I'd say because for many people, the camera on their phone is their only camera. Unless you are super into photography, the camera in your phone is more than enough from a quality perspective, is always available, and receives regular updates as hardware improves. Eventually, there will be no reason to have a standalone camera. That's why camera quality is always discussed, because it is important to people.

 

[dilbert99]

Because the gap between a phone camera and a 'serious' camera is getting closer and closer. The photo of the iPhone are simply sufficient for most of the events/pictures.

You mean
"Because the gap between a phone camera and a 'serious' camera is getting closer and closer for average users."

Its not that hard for good light photography and phone cameras have come on leaps and bounds. But put the two side by side for low light (or tough lighting) conditions and they are still worlds apart.

I'd say that phone cameras are on par with point and shoot cameras.