Jan 30, 2024 7:05 PM

Samsung Galaxy S24, S24 Plus, and S24 Ultra Camera Samples

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
01
Samsung Galaxy S24\+, 3X optical zoom with portrait mode. I have a secret. The light fixture in the back of this photo doesn't look anything like that at all. It was previously covered by an ugly big box I was storing, but I used Samsung's Generative Edit feature to erase it, and the AI came up with this solution, which … kind of works? The photo itself is a bit grainy but decently exposed with nice colors.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
02
Samsung Galaxy S24\+, main camera with night mode. It's not the sharpest low-light photo ever, but this night mode image has most of the details you'd want and makes the colors pop in dark scenes. There's a lot of noise reduction, which creates this smooth look that also feels like it removes some detail in the shots.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
03
Samsung Galaxy S24, 3X optical zoom. The standard optical zoom function on the S24 series delivers well-exposed results like with this shot of the above-ground subway line.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
04
Samsung Galaxy S24, 3X optical zoom with portrait mode. I tried taking a portrait mode photo with the Pixel 8 Pro at the same distance and it didn't quite work, so that's a point for Samsung. The blur effect is great here, accurately working around the subject, though it struggles in the spaces on the bench.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
05
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, ultrawide camera. Samsung opts for cooler tones in this shot. Compare it with the following image and I can tell you that the Pixel's colors overall, while a bit more muted, are more accurate. Zoom in on my dog and he's not as sharp as Google's photo.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
06
Google Pixel 8 Pro, ultrawide camera. My dog is much sharper if you zoom in on him here, and the colors overall are more natural.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
07
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, 3X optical zoom with portrait mode. Compare this with the following OnePlus 12 photo. Both are sharp, but the OnePlus accentuates the colors more, which ends up looking nice if a bit *too* saturated compared to real life. Samsung has better white balance here.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
08
OnePlus 12, 3X optical zoom with portrait mode. It's a beautiful image that's a tad oversaturated. The color temperature is a bit bluer than it was in real life.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
09
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, 10X digital zoom with night mode. Samsung got rid of the 10X optical zoom and added a 5X optical instead, but you can still digitally zoom to 10X. The results are solid, but not as good as the S23 Ultra's 10X optical. Zoom in and you'll see it's a little fuzzy on the details here, and it's not exposed too well.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
10
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, 10X optical zoom with night mode. It's still not tack sharp—it's really hard at such high zoom levels with night mode—but it's a tad sharper than the S24 Ultra, and the exposure is better as the bench doesn't look like it's glowing.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
11
Samsung Galaxy S24, main camera with night mode. Samsung is aggressive on the white balance here and ends up with a nice shot that pulls out the colors of the subjects in the scene, though the following Pixel photo has a more accurate color temperature (one that makes more sense with the hues from the street lamps).
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
12
Google Pixel 8 Pro, main camera with night mode. The white balance and color temperature are more fitting here. The colors are more natural too.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
13
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, 10X digital zoom with night mode. There's more detail in the following S23 Ultra photo, but everything else about it is also better. The colors, the exposure, the contrast. I miss the 10X optical zoom.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
14
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, 10X optical zoom with night mode. This photo much more accurately resembles the real scene.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
15
Samsung Galaxy S24, selfie camera with night mode. Compare this with the following photo from the Pixel 8 Pro. My skin looks a bit brightened here, but the details are overall sharper.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
16
Google Pixel 8 Pro, selfie camera with night mode. The Pixel makes a strong showing, and I think my skin tone is more accurate here. It's just not *as* sharp as Samsung's image.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
17
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, 5X optical zoom. The 5X optical zoom produces sharp results. The colors, on the other hand, are a bit oversaturated.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
18
Google Pixel 8 Pro, 5X optical zoom. It's not as sharp as Samsung's photo, but the colors look more natural.

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
19
Samsung Galaxy S24, selfie camera with night mode. I wasn't expecting Samsung to take a win here, but it handled the bright window like a champ. My face is fairly well-exposed and sharp, and you can see a lot of other details in the background.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
20
Google Pixel 8 Pro, selfie camera with night mode. The Pixel's image has my face looking quite blotchy, though it does a reasonable job with the background. Still, it's not as good as the Samsung photo.

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