See How the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera Compares to the Pixel 8 Pro's

Speaker 1: The Galaxy S 24 Ultra and Pixel eight Pro are both known for their cameras. But with Samsung's new phone starting at $1,300 and the Pixel eight Pro regularly priced at 9 99, there's a big price gap between them. I spent a few days shooting photos with both phones, and they each have their advantages and disadvantages. Speaker 1: Samsung excels when it comes to Zoom [00:00:30] quality and sometimes captures more vibrant colors. Google is more balanced when it comes to color and contrast, which can sometimes result in more natural looking photos. But before we dive into my impressions, let's take a look at how their cameras differ. The Galaxy S 24 Ultra has four rear cameras, a 200 megapixel main camera, a 50 megapixel telephoto camera with a five x optical zoom, a 10 megapixel camera with a three x optical zoom and [00:01:00] a 12 megapixel ultra wide camera. It's important to note that the main 200 megapixel camera shoots at 12 megapixels by default, and you also have the option to shoot at a 50 megapixel resolution. You can also zoom up to 100 times digitally on the Galaxy S 24 Ultra. The Pixel eight Pro has a 50 megapixel main camera, a 48 megapixel telephoto camera with a five x optical zoom and a 48 megapixel ultra wide camera, and you can zoom up to 30 [00:01:30] times digitally. Speaker 1: The biggest thing I noticed is the difference in how these two phones capture color in photos. Samsung sometimes exaggerates color, which can work for or against it depending on the photo and your preferences. Here's an example where I thought Samsung's brighter colors resulted in a better photo than Google's. The fruit in this photo just looks more appetizing and bold, making the photo look more lively. Overall, I feel the same way about this photo taken at a [00:02:00] hot pot restaurant. The color of the broth just makes the photo look more punchy and interesting. Selfies also looked more colorful on the Galaxy S 24 Ultra. I generally preferred the emphasis on color in Samsung's photo, but Google's does look more natural, and here's an example of where Samsung's more vibrant colors worked against it. The petals and some of the flowers are hard to distinguish because the colors are so oversaturated. Speaker 1: I took both of these photos at the highest supported resolution for each phone, [00:02:30] which again is 200 megapixels for Samsung and 50 megapixels for Google. So I noticed when zooming at some lengths, the photos taken on the S 24 Ultra and the Pixel eight Pro kind of looked the same, but then sometimes when zooming in closer, like at 10 x or at 30 x, the pictures taken on the S 24 Ultra actually looked a bit sharper. But again, this could really vary depending on what you're actually taking a picture of. And also the lighting conditions. The flowers in this photo, which was taken at a three X zoom, [00:03:00] just look much crisper in Samsung's photo compared to Google's. These two photos taken at five X may look the same at first, but when I zoomed in further, I noticed Samsung's was a little sharper, which you can really see by looking at the area where the sign meets the building. Speaker 1: The difference is more noticeable in these pictures of a sign hanging outside of a restaurant taken at a 10 X zoom. The sign itself is crisper and the light isn't bleeding the way it is in the Pixel eight Pros [00:03:30] photo. To really put these camera Zoom capabilities to the test, I took this photo of a bouquet of preserved flowers at a 30 x zoom in low light. Samsung's has more detail and is also brighter. However, I do feel like this can vary depending on the photo. Since my findings this time around do conflict with my takeaways. When I initially reviewed the Galaxy S 24 Ultra back then, the photo I took with the Pixel eight Pro actually had more detail at a five x Zoom compared [00:04:00] to Samsung. Anyone who has tried to take a photo in a DIM theater or a restaurant knows how important night mode can be in a camera. Speaker 1: Luckily, both the Galaxy S 24 Ultra and Pixel eight Pro are pretty good at taking photos in the dark, which is better depends on your preferences. In my experience, Samsung's night mode photos had more detail, but Google's were brighter. If you're viewing these photos on a phone or sharing them in social apps, brightness probably matters more than detail, which would make Google [00:04:30] the winner. But what about those instances when it's not quite dark enough to trigger night mode? The Galaxy S 24 Ultra and Pixel eight Pro both seem to handle lighting a bit differently in those situations. Take a look at these photos taken in a bar that was decorated with pink and white Christmas lights for Valentine's Day. Samsung's photo looks brighter, but the light also bleeds a lot more in this photo compared to Google's overall. The Galaxy S 24 Ultra and Pixel eight Pro both take great photos and which is best [00:05:00] depends on your preferences. Samsung offers the most zoom options and often punches up the color while Google's night mode photos look brighter and its colors look more natural. So which camera do you prefer? Let me know in the comments and check out my story on CNET for more details. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.