Samsung Galaxy S6 versus iPhone 6: Camera shootout!

Advancements in smartphone photography prowess have turned everyone into a photographer, and while taking a great photo isn't just about the device you use it certainly doesn't hurt to have the best technology available. Both the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 represent the top end of what's available in terms of smartphone camera technology, giving you plenty of potential to work with when capturing the moments that matter to you. Naturally we wanted to put these smartphones to a test, then, to see which can do better in a variety of photography situations.
Will the Galaxy S6 or iPhone 6 come out on top? We tested both to see which phone does the best in common photography situations.
READ NOW: Galaxy S6 versus iPhone 6: Camera shootout
Testing method
The goal of this comparison is to see how both phones handle photography in a few different situations while handheld, in full automatic mode, with auto HDR enabled. This best represents the way smartphones are used for pictures — pick out a scene, take out the phone and snap a picture.
For reference on some of the shots, we also took the same photo with an Olympus E-PL5 camera using a 25mm f/1.8 lens to give you a better feel for the scene. None of the photos were edited after capture or cropped, though we've chosen to change the Galaxy S6 to a 4:3 aspect ratio (in the camera settings) to match the iPhone 6 and Olympus camera.
As a warning, you may notice slight differences in framing between shots due to the photos being taken by hand and the differences in focal lengths between the cameras. All images will be shown side-by-side and properly labeled — click each image to view it larger in the window, and use the arrows on the picture to see the comparison picture. Due to web page restrictions the images are limited in their size, but you can view and download high-resolution versions from this Google+ post.
A note for mobile users: Due to the number of images, the comparison will be best viewed on a computer and will not fully load in the Android Central App. Our apologies — we hope you can view the full story on a computer!
Daylight photos
When it comes to photography, the more light you have the more forgiving the scene is. Most modern smartphones are pretty solid in these well-lit situations, and as long as the software processing doesn't go overboard you can get an accurate shot. The big difference comes in the extra bit of processing to get the right white balance, the proper sharpening and enough extra contrast so that the picture is pleasing to the eye. Nowadays its also important how often and when the phone chooses to shoot in HDR, which can fix some of the issues associated with taking smartphone photos.
Galaxy S6: left / iPhone 6: right
Galaxy S6: left / Olympus: center / iPhone 6: right
Taken on their own, anyone would be happy with each of the pictures shown above — it's only when you set the pictures side-by-side that you can pick out the differences. The most noticeable difference at first glance being white balance — the Galaxy S6 tends to produce warmer images, while the iPhone 6 is a bit on the cooler side of things. Warmer images are usually preferable to most people, and from all of these shots we can't say there's a single one that's too warm.
In our sample shots the Galaxy S6 generally produced the brighter of the two photos, but never so bright that it felt unnatural. This was particularly noticeable in scenes with shadows or varying light intensities. Both the GS6 and iPhone 6 took amazingly clear photos in good light, but the GS6 took things to the next level when it comes to sharpness. If there's one knock on the GS6 its that colors were sometimes just slightly over-saturated, which in combination with the warm white balance sometimes went overboard — the iPhone 6 instead kept colors rather muted and natural.
Even though pictures from both phones look great when viewed independently and blown up to a large size, you can notice the differences between the two phones and we have to give the nod to the Galaxy S6 in good lighting conditions. Although shots were a little warmer than the iPhone 6, every picture was sharp, clear and packed with detail while also being appropriately bright and colorful.
Winner: Galaxy S6, by a tight margin
Low light photos
While innovative software and some neat tricks can produce great images when there's plenty of light, there's no way to completely replace hardware when taking low light pictures. When there's minimal light available a larger camera sensor is always better, but not always possible in a thin smartphone. In order to make up for that shortcoming Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) is often included to reduce camera movement and allow for shorter shutter speeds, as are faster (read: lower f-stop number) lenses. The Galaxy S6 has OIS and an f/1.9 lens, while the iPhone 6 doesn't have OIS (which is only offered on the much larger 6 Plus) for its slightly slower f/2.2 lens.
Galaxy S6: left / Olympus: center / iPhone 6: right
Galaxy S6: left / iPhone 6: right
The Galaxy S6 definitely has the hardware advantage here when it comes to low light photos, and it looks like Samsung has also set up the software to use it. The inclusion of OIS and a really fast lens lets the Galaxy S6 take pictures at a slower shutter speed and lower ISO, which keeps things smooth while still offering brightness. As you can see the GS6 took some surprisingly good photos that were relatively low in noise and good in terms of colors. On the other hand, the iPhone 6 required a faster shutter and higher ISO for almost every one of the above pictures to make up for its slower lens and lack of OIS — that led to noisier photos with less contrast, and a couple shots that just weren't acceptable.
Again the GS6 tended to produce warmer images, though not every picture had this warmer white balance. The iPhone also had more of a variation in white balances, but still leaned toward cooler images. In a few of the shots the GS6 did go too bright with its processing as if it were trying to make the shot more like the daytime rather than being authentic to the scene and taking an accurately-bright photo with better colors and contrast. The iPhone 6 had no real choice other than to take dark photos to reduce the chances of blur caused by hand motion, but in this case the software just couldn't overcome the obstacles and put out shots with more grain and less contrast.
Comparing photos from both smartphones to the photos taken with the standalone Olympus camera showed just how poor smartphone cameras do in low light compared to dedicated camera hardware (as we expected), but there's no other conclusion to come to here — the Galaxy S6 outdoes the iPhone 6 in just about every low light situation. Photos were brighter, smoother and still retained decent color reproduction in low lighting conditions.
Winner: Galaxy S6, not even close
Camera experience and software
The photo results are of course the most important part of a camera, but it isn't the whole story — the camera interface is also important to consider. Samsung has done a good job in refining and simplifying its camera interface with the Galaxy S6, and Apple has been adding a few key features to the camera in iOS 8 on the iPhone 6.
The Galaxy S6 far and away provides the most options in its camera, letting you quickly toggle often-used features right on the camera but also jump into the settings to change tiny details such as video resolution, stabilization, grid lines, voice control, different capture modes and your picture resolution. And that's before your toggle to the "Pro" mode, which gives you the ability to set your focal length, white balance, ISO and EV manually — and then make a custom preset based on your favorite settings.
The iPhone 6, on the other hand, couldn't be simpler to use. There are no deep settings aside from toggling viewfinder grid lines and saving original photos when in HDR mode, and everything you can do with the camera is right in the main interface. You can quickly toggle HDR modes, the flash and live filters, as well as switch to a square crop, panorama, video, slow-motion and time-lapse with simple swipes.
In terms of simple use for capturing quick shots in auto mode, both phones will accomplish that goal with flying colors — the interfaces are easy to understand and navigate. Of course when you want to get more advanced and tweak some camera settings the Galaxy S6 is the only one that offers it, but not that many people will stray from the main automatic mode in the first place considering the quality of shots they can get in auto.
We must also quickly mention the differences in photo sharing, which is a big part of taking photos. Of course the design of Android allows you to share photos to any app that determines it can handle images, which means you can share any way you want at any time directly from the camera. On the iPhone 6, you'll be stuck sharing to only certain apps or jumping out of the camera and into the app you want to share to.
The one place where the Galaxy S6 pulls slightly ahead is in terms of quick camera launching. Two presses of the GS6 home button launches the camera at any time, even while locked, in less than a second — the iPhone requires you turn on your phone and swipe up on the lock screen, or swipe up to access Control Center and tap the camera icon. In mobile photography every second counts and the GS6 saves you seconds — though it isn't a deal-maker, it does matter.
Winner: Draw, personal preference
Which camera wins?
We've spent plenty of time using both the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 for photography and have taken wonderful photos with both cameras. In order to get a good comparison between the two we put them head-to-head on the same subject matter in automatic mode to see just what they could do without extra user interaction, and both had their strong points.
The Galaxy S6 takes amazingly clear and crisp photos in the daytime, with plenty of light filling the frame and really bright colors all around. It does produce a warmer white balance, though, which sometimes makes photos deviate from reality. When it comes to low light the white balance isn't as much of an issue, and the inclusion of OIS and an f/1.9 lens gives the GS6 the tools it needs to take great low light photos in nearly all situations. Photos have very little noise, are color-accurate and only occasionally are over-brightened by the software.
The iPhone 6 takes realistic and consistent photos during the day, with a more natural white balance and accurate colors overall. Unfortunately photos from the iPhone 6 just aren't as bright as the Galaxy S6 in the same lighting conditions, which sometimes makes you lose important details. In low light the lack of OIS really shows on the iPhone 6's pictures, with increased noise and lower contrast being the main pain points. The slightly slower f/2.2 lens just doesn't let in as much light either, which hurts the final product.
Though the daytime performance is good on both, the Galaxy S6 edges out the iPhone 6 just slightly. In lower light the GS6 widens the gap between the two cameras with superior photos. With camera interfaces from both phones being easy to use and powerful, that part of the comparison was a push. Add up those three conclusions and you get to the final result of this camera comparison — the Galaxy S6 is the winner.
Winner: Galaxy S6, with the best overall experience
Another reminder that if you you wish to view and download full-resolution versions of all the images here, you can get them in this Google+ post.
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Andrew was an Executive Editor, U.S. at Android Central between 2012 and 2020.
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Great job Sammy!
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I have the Note4 which I adore, glad to see they are refining it even further.
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The note 4 does have an amazing camera. Samsung's taken the lead in the mobile camera dept but I think LG is gonna bring their A game with the G4 Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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This is where Sony should had been better than everyone. Posted via the Android Central App
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Especially since Samsung uses their cameras lol Posted via the Android Central App
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I know right Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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I feel like Sony's mobile division has great potential but is just so lost right now.
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They're mobile division has been losing a lot of money these last couple years. Clearly it's having an effect on the division's corporate culture and strategic management. To a smaller extent it's clear HTC's corporate culture has been negatively effected by losses and such low profits for some time now as well. The Android mobile landscape is a brutal, unforgiving market. Samsung's massive marketing budget/ powerful manufacturing and logistics ops. and Chinese OEM's make it that much harder for the competition Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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this is where sonys corporate greed got the best of them. throw all this money somewhere with zero direction.
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Yes. I hope SONY does as great with Z4 Compact as with Z3C but takes the Camera and durability to another level and gets things like text message bugs fixed.
Can they ? Will they ? -
Indeed I'm leaving my experia z1 as soon as an edge becomes available Posted via the Android Central App
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Aye. Hope this is redone with a gs6 vs LG g4 when the latter is available. Posted via the Android Central App
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I really hope g4 can bring a beast on the camera dept, but at best i would be satisfied if g4 could tied with gs6 Posted via Android Central App
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Nah, no faith in LG. Posted via the Android Central App
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Because? Posted via the Android Central App
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The g3 made me lose all faith I lg. Posted via the Android Central App
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Me too! Well maybe not all faith. But the camera seemed ok when i first got it, but really never seemed to get good shots the more i used it. But where they really lost me is in the update department.. F THAT. My G3 got the lollipop update 3 days before i got my s6.
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Nice read :).
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Galaxy S6 seems to have a great camera. Not even close to my Nexus 5 though. /s Nexus 5 Android 5.1
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Aha I second this. I am glad Samsung is more or less on oar with Apple now for cameras. Nexus 5 camera isn't so great. I miss my Note 3 camera. Posted via the Android Central App
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I bought the S6 to replace my Nexus 5 specifically because of the camera. Posted via the Android Central App
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You make it sound like the Nexus 5 is even a decent camera, its pathetic at best, lol.
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I own a nexus 5 and I approve this message. Posted via the Android Central App
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Lol.
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some of us don't know what /s means. but you make it sound worse than it is. Nexus 5 Android 5.1
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It's OK, he's notorious for making dumb comments.
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I like the camera on the Nexus 5. It takes some pretty amazing shots with the HDR mode on.
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Samsung took it in low light but the rest looked about the same to me.... I didn't realize the camera in phones were so important...I just thought ppl mainly used it for a quick snap or a convenience camera when not carrying a "real" camera. Reading AC and seeing how they and the ppl who comment have been so focused on phone cameras lately I'm starting to believe I'm the only one not getting every pic I take on my phone professionally developed Posted via the Android Central App
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Phone cameras have started to get good enough to replace a point and shoot for the average person. Posted via the Android Central App
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That's how I do it. But I have a good DSLR. Some people, though... they use their camera as their only shooter.
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I'm not interested in carrying a camera with me every day. Since I have my phone with me every day it only makes sense that it's camera be the best possible. I'm very glad Android has caught up and passed iPhone finally. Posted via Android Central App
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Once while researching the best amateur telescope I cam across the following sage advice... The best telescope is the one that you have with you. Too many people get hung up on the size of their telescopes but the reality is that the larger the telescope the lesser the chance of it fitting into the trunk of your car. What good is it if you don't carry it with you? When it comes to cameras the same is true to an even larger extent. The camera we always have with us is built into our smartphone. Who carries their DSLR around with them? Not me.
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If you have kids about the only camera you always have on you is your phone. Being able to whip it out and take a great pic is invaluable. Not to get them all professionally developed but to have great photo's for family memories, to share with others in the family, etc. It is literally the most important aspect of a phone for me now.
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What's wrong with wanting the camera on one's phone to be the best it could possibly be? For most people, it's the camera they have with them all the time (whether it is their main camera or not), so even if you only take one picture with it, you kinda want it to turn out good.
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I think for most people there smartphone is there main camera. Sales of stand alone camera have been going down for a long time since the rise of phone cameras. I was reading a article a while back showing a graph of how the decline of standalone camera was almost in line with the rise of smartphones. Posted via the Android Central App
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I have photography for a hobby and often carry my Nikon DSLR around, but the truth is I am getting lazier and lazier and often have to rely on my phone when out and about (the Nikon D600 is an amazing camera, but it isn't exactly small or inconspicuous..). Seeing the great results from the Samsung Galaxy S6 camera, coupled with great features such as manual controls, was the final straw. It seems I will be back with Samsung again as soon as I can get my hands on an S6 ;)
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I saw the same show down on another site and iPhone took it in low light while Samsung won the rest. Posted via the Android Central App
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Must've been the iPhone 6 Plus.
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Was it iMore.com? <snicker>
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Lols Posted via the Android Central App
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And you're reading a review of the Samsung on Android Central, and it states the Samsung is better. So what's your point? I'm not defending the iPhone, just pointing out that bias works both ways.
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Um, it's called a joke. Thus the snickering. --- This message brought to you via the sarcasm keyboard available for download at the Google Play Store.
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lol
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Could've been the 6 Plus. That has OIS, while the regular 6 doesn't. Posted via the Android Central App
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Thanks for the solid review Andrew. Did you get any idea of which will catch moving targets better? I have an iPhone 6 and Note 4 and even though the note 4 has OIS, I've found the iPhone 6 to take more crisp photos on a much more consistent basis than the Note 4 when we're indoors, the lighting is mixed to low, and it's of my kids who can't seem to hold statue-still...
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OIS isn't as important in this situation as a really fast shutter speed.
I wish they would have included a test in the showdown for this. -
Love ya Andrew, but you should contract Myriam Joire for any and all camera comparisons... That being said, this is a well written, well thought-out article. Please don't think I'm bashing you. I'm not... I just REALLY like her insights into camera-phone issues.
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Yay! Posted via Android Central App
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What's the sensor size in these? The Note 4 has nearly a point and shoot sized sensor, but not sure if there is room for that in a smaller device. Posted via the Android Central App
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Since the iPhone 6+ is a more comparable device (being the top-of-the-line device), and also includes OIS support, wouldn't THAT comparison be a more realistic match-up?
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The 6+ might make a couple of the low-light shots slightly less noisy and maybe slightly sharper - but overall it's not *significantly* different than the 6.
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Nope, but note 4 vs the 6+ would be. Pricing/size is a better way to match phones. Its apples fault they were too cheap to add ios to the reg 6
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Considering that the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 are nearly identical in size, the comparison is proper. The 6+ is far more comparable to a larger device like the Nexus 6 and Note 4.
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Ummm no. The 6+ is comparable to the Note 4. The S6 is comparable to the i6.
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Sir, the Galaxy S6 isn't a phablet.
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And again - like in the S6 review: Not a single world on video quality? Why Andrew - why....
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Relax. Maybe in a separate article. Posted via Android Central App
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Yeah - sure. Like in the 2nd part of the "complete" review. Also unicorns.
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The only good thing about iphone 6 video is it can take better slow mo video. That's all
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Considering the Note 2 and 3 and S5 could do 240 fps slow-motion video, I'd be more than a little surprised if the S6 couldn't do this as well. Everyone lost their minds about how revolutionary it was when Apple announced the 120 fps mode for the 5s and I'm just sitting here going "huh...? I've been doing this for a year and a half."
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It's too bad that slow mo video on the Note line sucks. The Ultra Slow Mo setting (240 FPS) is really recorded at 120 FPS and played back at 15 fps to simulate 240 FPS, which makes it choppy. The slo mo videos are also soft; they look worse than 720p. More info here at the 1:21 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VArmujW0hEI#t=1m21s
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Never noticed that being a problem in my own recordings. 240fps does record 480p. Also not a huge deal, IMO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHzw4ls0h6w
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Great stuff, thanks Andrew! I'd love to eventually see the 6+ thrown in there, just to see if OIS makes any difference on the iPhone side of things, especially since that seems to be the S6's biggest advantage.
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Super unbiased. Amazing comparison +1 Posted via the Android Central App
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It's actually kind of amazing how dull the iPhone photos look next to the GS6 photos. I actually like the over-saturated look, but I never would have seen the iPhone's photos as "dull" or "lifeless" until I started seeing the comparisons with the GS6. Low light shots are really good, too. They are both great cameras, but the GS6 is definitely the champ right now.
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That's the thing about camera comparisons though. In the end some of it is subjective. I consider the S6 photos to be way too over-saturated for my taste. They look like some kind of filter has been added almost. The iPhone has a much more natural look to the colors, which I personally prefer. I would probably call the two a tie depending on situation. I think the iPhone took better day shots, while the S6 did better in most of the lowlight shots.
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I like the saturated look, too. When I used to do photography, I always went with Cibachrome, which produced high-contrast, saturated prints.
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And owning both S6 and iPhone 6 I agree. Both are great cameras and finally have something going head to head with iPhone.
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Yeah the S6 Camera is phenomenal. Posted via my Samsung Galaxy S6
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Very nice comparison. This truly is the first Android smartphone to compete with the iPhone. Oversaturated a bit in some pictures. BUT the majority of the pictures, especially in low-light are as good if not better than the iPhone's. Samsung really did an amazing job here.
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Thanks for the review. My S6 is being delivered tomorrow and I planned on doing a comparison with my IPhone 6 but it looks like you saved me some work.
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I like these camera shootouts, especially the blind polls, but I usually favor some pictures from each smartphone, and end up feeling like the differences between the final images are minor. I felt similar after viewing CNet's S6 vs. the M9 and iPhone 6 camera shootout. Samsung's quick camera launch is a cool feature, though. Posted via AC App on HTC One
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Changing the ratio to 4:3 reduces the MP.
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Indeed it does. But it only reduces horizontal resolution. It's the same vertical resolution, same density.
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Micro Four Thirds has a 2:1 crop ratio, so your 25mm really has a ~50mm field of view. A 14mm lens (28 full frame equivalent) would have given you framing and distortion closer to the Samsung (28mm) or iPhone (29mm). I also find it odd that the iPhone's shots all seem to be significantly wider than the Samsung's even though they are pretty much the same focal length on paper. I wonder if Samsung is doing some cropping or not using the full sensor or something.
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Yup I understand how the crop factor on a M4/3 camera works, I just don't have a 14mm lens. The purpose of the Olympus shots were to show what's possible even in full auto mode shooting jpeg in the same situations, not give the exact same focal length as the other phones. I think it still accomplished that just fine, even at 50mm equiv. The reason why the Samsung looked narrower than the iPhone despite a shorter focal length is that when it crops to 4:3 it simply takes off the sides of the image, making it narrower. It doesn't crop in evenly on the top and bottom.
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Sorry, didn't mean to sound condescending there, I just thought it was an odd comparison - too much time in the m4/3 forums, I guess, where they're really picky about focal lengths ;) Did a bit more research, and came across a Tom's Hardware article that says the iPhone's native crop of the image circle is 4x3, where the Galaxy Note is 16x9, so that makes sense that it would appear tighter when the Samsung crops like you said. This would be pretty bad when comparing dedicated lenses because the crop loses the ability to judge corner and edge sharpness, but it doesn't really make much difference here since the goal of these things is mainly documentation.
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Oh yeah, and to put this even a little bit on topic, I feel like the iPhone is a little bit more 'photographic', where the Samsung is a bit too oversaturated and seems like it has a little too much post-processing sharpening happening. That said, the Samsung seems to handle low light considerably better, so I'd go with that if I had to choose, since I'd be using this thing as a documentation tool instead of an artistic one.
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But you also have to figure that the iPhone maxes out at 8MP which is considerably lower than the S6, Note 4, and etc. For people that want to print an 8x10, or larger, the iPhone really isn't a viable option.
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8mp is not bad. Smaller file size. I feel samsung over-saturates color (could easily be noticed on fire hydrant). The orange sign hurts my eyes. Low light s6 blows iphone6 away. Both great cameras
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Ummm, no, when you want a large print smaller file size is not an advantage.
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For printing larger prints, yes. For backing up on Google+ photos and sharing online, not so much. I do the latter much more often. The beauty is there are options; Different strokes for different folks. The unfortunate thing is MP count is a marketing scheme. Backing up, sharing online, and uploading to photo printing sites usually downsize an image anyway (yes there are options for full resolution). What I loved about the HTC one m7 was you had a decent picture at a file size less than 1mb. Super convenient for those not needing to print out physical prints larger than 4x6 or wanting to crop. Now on the m9 you get just about the same photo quality with a much bigger file size. But that's an entire different story. In this case, iPhone vs galaxy, the iPhone has a file size benefit.... For me at least. Personally, I rarely print larger than 5x7. When I do, it usually involves a dslr and a tripod.
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I'd argue that a phone isn't the right tool for larger format printed photographs at all - the tiny sensor and tightly packed pixels create a lot of noise, plus you miss out on the dynamic range (less chance of blown out highlights or stuff lost in shadow) and feeling of depth that a larger sensor gives you. When I use a phone to shoot, the end product is Facebook 100% of the time. The subject matter is always stuff like "look how this idiot parked" or "check out this dog". The Lumia 1020 I just traded in for a N6 was far better than either of these phones as far as a camera goes, and the end result was a 5MP jpeg (41 was to capture data and then downsample for a much cleaner 5MP shot than any 8 or 16MP camera on any other phone). The problem was that it took 30 seconds to activate and shoot and then 5-10 seconds between shots, so it sucked as a cameraphone. It also lacked compared to any m4/3 or APS-C camera I've owned for the past 10 years, so it was in an awkward middle ground that ended up not being super useful. I'd say the point of a cameraphone is to go from off to shot to shot to shot as quickly as possible and produce a sharp enough image in enough lighting conditions that you can effectively share what you're doing right now. If you have more time or know you're going somewhere that you want a great photo of or know you want to keep that memory long-term, take a dedicated camera :)
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Well I agree. But you can't lug a DSLR (or comparable) camera every where you go. Life happens and it can happen quickly. A phone camera is NOT an ideal camera to be printing from...however...when you do happen to snap a quick pic with your phone and it turns out to be a great photo of your loved one...you just might want to print it out and place it on the wall. Not trying to get into schematics here, just trying to say that a 16 or 20 MP camera will result in a better 8x10 or larger printed photo as it doesn't have to "crop" up the photo to fit the photo paper. The largest photo I can print without pixelating using the iPhone 6 (yes I have one) is 5x7.
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Yeah, I get that too. Believe me - photography is my hobby, and I still have issues with keeping a small enough kit that I'm willing to take it out. My point about the megapixel thing is that it's more about the quality of the data than the number of pixels - five million clean pixels will still scale up and look nicer than sixteen million noisy ones :) Noise and artifacts created by overstuffing a tiny sensor, plus the high ISO and serious compression they apply so that your phone doesn't fill up in 10 shots are just as apparent as any issues you'd have enlarging. I'm not saying that less is necessarily better, since there are 20 other factors that determine the overall quality, but adding more just to get bigger numbers on the box for the marketers without balancing all the other factors can cause poor shots.
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The best camera is ALWAYS the one you have with you. Twenty years from now when phone cameras exceed the capabilities of the best of the current DSLRs there will be those who insist that those phones can't take an acceptable picture. In the hands of a skilled photographer the Galaxy S6 camera could easily produce stunning works of art, in the hands of an amateur a Hasselblad cannot. I wonder what Ansel Adams would have said, and what he could have created, if offered the chance to wander Yosemite with a GS6 instead of haulling around his massive view camera and plates? Sigh, we are so, so, spoiled...
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There are a lot of options for the camera you always have with you, so it makes sense to compare them. While the skill of the photographer does have a large impact on the end result, whether or not said photographer trusts the gear, enjoys using it and is willing to work within the limitations of it also has an impact on whether or not the photograph is even taken. Personally, I'd rather miss a shot than take it with a camera I know can't capture it in a way I'd be happy with. Not sure Ansel Adams would have either, so I imagine he'd lug around a Hasselblad rig (or who knows, maybe even that plate camera) instead of a GS6 if he were shooting today.
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I absolutely love that you used a good standard camera as a control. So many camera comparison get this wrong IMO. Please continue to do it this way in the future. :D
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X2! It's great to have a reference. Posted via the Android Central App
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This is great work by the AC team! Well done! I've never been much of a Samsung fan, but congrats to Samsung for ousting Apple from the long held throne of camera quality! Would love to see other direct photo comparisons versus the S6 and Apple, i.e. LG, Moto, etc... These types of pieces are very informative for the reader to choose the best device for their needs. Again, well done.
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Nokia is going down with the s7. Posted via the Android Central App
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Good apple sucks!! Posted via the Android Central App
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Wait for the LG G4 with f1.9, Samsung and Apple will fall behind.
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That would be nice. Also, it would be hilarious if the G4 stomped both of them, after all of these non stop comparisons. lol. The last month has made it seem like no other phone exist. Posted via the Android Central App
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I thought it was supposed to be f1.8 (better, but not much different than the S6 1.9). I hope it's a great camera, though. I like LG phones.
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"Samsung Galaxy S6 versus iPhone 6"
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! ... -
Apple iPhone 6 vs Samsung iPhone 6...FIGHT!!! Posted via My htc One M8
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Samsung iPhone vs Samsung Gs6...FIGHT!!!
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With Apple, LG, and Samsung having pretty good cameras on their flagships, this really makes me wonder... HTC, what the hell are you doing?
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You're in for a treat...just wait and see. Posted via My htc One M8
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See what? All the tech sites say it "SUCKS". Treat? Naw....more like a trick to me....
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The cool part about your comment is this, your opinion doesn't matter ;) Posted via My htc One M8
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Opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one.....but you seem to have two....;) Besides, it's not an opinion...it's fact. Go check all the tech sites....I'm not going to find them for you, you're not helpless....
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Opinions are not facts.
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Except the HTC One camera has proven to objectively inferior to the competition. I love HTC but you seem to be a bit delusional.
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wow, S6 killed that "competition" ... not even a contest Posted via the Android Central App
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And they both bend!! Yaay!
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The cameras don't bend...../s
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To me, the real test of low-light is taking pictures of your friends in bars-- this is invariably where you wind up begging for your phone to focus, then take the shot 8 times because the first 2 are out of focus and in the next 5, everyone's blind from the flash. How about going back out for one more test? I'll pick up the first round.
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You're gonna want to grab that One M8 for those low light bar shots ;) Posted via My htc One M8
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Samsung wins hands down Google+ All Day Everyday
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How well does each photograph moving targets? My iPhone 5 takes ok photos but my kids never sit still so half are blurred. A phone that could take "action shots" would be huge in my book
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There is an action mode in the camera settings on Samsung phones
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Its clear to see the S6 is the overall winner because the Note 4 which I am using got a 2014 camera of the year samsung all the way 100%
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"Taken on their own, anyone would be happy with each of the pictures shown above". Not me. The iPhone pictures are washed out, and some of them almost look like you smeared vaseline on the lens. You can see that especially in the monorail pic. The S6 pictures have so much definition they almost look 3D.
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I noticed that too. Looks like the pics that I get when the lens has finger grease on it. Posted via the Android Central App
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Low light tests without motion are virtually useless, IMO. Show me a current phone camera that also does not take decent images in broad daylight.
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iNO Mobile iNO 2: http://inomobile.com.sg/product/ino-2-non-camera-phone/
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Clearly The s6 has better photos then the iPhone6 plus. Posted via the Android Central App. On my Samsung Galaxy device.
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Both look great, but I prefer the S6's slightly crisper, brighter photos. The iphone 6 is noticeably darker...
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I own both the Note 4 and iPhone 6, the Note 4 takes better photos and videos than the iphone 6. My SGS6 is ordered and have not yet received mine, I ordered the regular SGS6 with 128gb of storage, very happy to hear the camera takes fantastic pictures
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Great news but really, was there ever going to be any other result? Posted via the Android Central App
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Would like to see imore do their own independent review to see if they get same results, or if their fanboyism will cause them not to look at photos objectively.
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Or they won't do it because they know which one is better, and don't want to admit it... Posted via the Android Central App
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+1
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Why no pictures of humans?
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Because humans are ugly and bad for comparisons like this one.
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In before Renee Bitchey comes here and cries. Posted via the Android Central App
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Oh, snap!
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I don't even know why this article needed to be done, if you watched the S6 premiere it basically showed this with video. I personally would choose a shitty camera over Apple regardless. But to each his own...
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Looks like the Galaxy S6 improved on the already great Note 4's camera. Definitely one of the very best shooters.
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Except I have a 128GB MicroSD with my Note 4 to store all my photos. I think I can live with the difference.
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If the f 1.8 photos are even close to what we can expect with the G4 I am excited. Great job to to Samsung and Apple here. All pretty good pictures. Samsung seem a bit better. Posted via the Android Central App on my 5.1 X Pure
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I prefer Motorola smartphones over all others (although the HTC phones are a very close second), but Samsung has always been ahead of all other smartphone cameras in my opinion. This camera has been no exception as Samsung clearly produced a phenomenal camera in the Galaxy S6 Posted via the Android Central App
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I do think that the S6 beats the iPhone 6 in most of the photos, but somehow I like more the low light photos of the iPhone 6. They do give me the feel that it is a photo taken at night, while the S6 photos make me think it was another time in the day.
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Just dial in some underexposure on the Samsung and you will solve that issue (or darken the shots in post).
Removing the noise from the iPhone shots will be much harder to fix ;) -
HUH? My head is starting to hurt...
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Nope. Winner- the Olympus. Anyone disagree?
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I disagree - I can't play Crossy Road or check Facebook on the Olympus :)
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S6 got better camera than iphone 6 Posted via the Android Central App
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Wow, the low light results are really impressive. The iPhone 6 shots are a lot noisier!
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When I compared G3 with iPhone 6+ in low light, I still found G3 better, so no surprise here. IPhone probably has the most natural daylight photos. via AC App on VZW Moto X DE/N7
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These tests are good and all but everyone only does still static images. What about people with kids and pets that want to take pictures indoors of them. They are two subjects don't exactly sit still for a picture very long if at all. Plus being able to capture candid shots is even better. I love my android devices but they have never been able to take these type of pictures with any android device. Yet friends with iPhones have no problem getting clear pictures in these situations. Can the S6 do this or does it still fall flat?
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It looks like the GS6 is zoomed in a little closer than the i6 Posted via Android Central App
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When are we to get new update of lollipop 5.0 to lollipop5.1 had nothing but problems since downloading lollipop 5.0 on my s5 having trouble starting it up just get message recovery boot mode and other bits had enough of it now I contacted Samsung nearly 3 weeks ago and I was assured new update would be reaching us in 2 to 3 weeks nothing yet come on Samsung this is getting rediculous
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Samsung won hands down.
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HTC thinks speaker is more important than the camera, they are still clueless
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People say the S6's white balance is too warm. I think the iPhone's WB is also a bit too cold (as mentioned in the article). And please do yourself a favor and check out the higher resolution photos in the G+ post. The iPhone 6's 8MP sensor is showing its age. The S6 is vastly superior when it comes to capturing light and details.
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Samsung s6is th best... . I prefer Samsung
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What type of Olympus camera did you use for this comparison? I still have an S4 phone so I think a lot of you are on a way better boat than I am.. :(