- What's up, guys?
Saf here on SuperSaf TV
and welcome
to the SuperSafStyle camera comparison,
the one you've all been waiting for,
the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
versus the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
We'll be testing out all the different cameras.
We'll be looking at video,
images, low light.
You guys know the drill.
Let's do it.
We're going to kick off with the images,
and after taking hundreds of pictures
with both devices.
From the primary cameras,
as always,
it is very, very close in good light.
Both have excellent detail
and a very, very good dynamic range.
Now there were certain situations
where I did find that the iPhone
did have better dynamic range.
You can see in this example here,
if you look towards
the highlight areas of the building,
the iPhone has maintained those better
compared to the S24 Ultra.
Now a new thing
that we've got in the iPhone 15 Pro Max
is that it shoots at 24 megapixels by default,
keyword there is default.
So when we do compare these side by side
and go in 100%,
you are going to be able to get more detail
on the iPhone 15 Pro Max
compared to the S24 Ultra at default.
Now, the S24 Ultra, of course,
does have a high resolution camera.
So it goes in two steps.
You can go either at 50 megapixels
which matches the 48 megapixels
of the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
and here you can see that with both images
you can get lots more detail
when you shoot at those high resolutions.
Now with the S24 Ultra,
of course you can go all the way
up to 200 megapixels
and that's going to give you way more detail.
This works best
in environments that are well lit,
so, outdoors in good light.
But again,
it is nice to have that option there
to be able to shoot at full 200 megapixels.
Right, now,
low light from the primary cameras.
Now, things were close
in some situations like here,
but when it did come
to some tricky situations like this one
where we've got some light
coming in from the background,
I did find that the iPhone
does tend to balance things better
compared to the S24 Ultra
when we're using night mode.
This indoor low light shots,
the S24 Ultra really struggling here
and I couldn't actually see
what I was shooting,
because on the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
when you are shooting in low light,
it really brightens up the scene
so you can actually compose the shot nicely.
With the S24 Ultra,
you are pretty much shooting blind
as you can see in this example.
It also takes longer for the S24 Ultra
to capture the shot
compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
and this can sometimes result
in not as sharp of an image
because it's very difficult
to hold your hands still for many seconds,
especially when it's so cold
like it is right now in the UK.
So for low light,
I would have to give the edge
to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Now with the ultra-wide cameras,
very, very close,
I think both
have excellent detail and dynamic range.
Now, usually,
I do find that the Samsung devices
do have better dynamic range,
but this time it was very, very close.
I think Apple
has definitely done some software improvements
to their ultra-wide camera,
because in some situations,
like this one,
I did find that the highlight details
were better maintained on the iPhone 15 Pro Max
compared to the S24 Ultra.
For low light from the ultra-wide cameras,
I would say it was very, very close
looking at multiple examples,
neither of these were great
and I can't really pick a winner between the two.
Now both ultra-wide cameras
do have auto focus,
which means that you can focus in very close
and get macro photos,
and both do really, really well.
Now you can focus in closer
with the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
but I do find that the S24 Ultra processing
is a bit more pleasing
and I do prefer the macro shots
that generally come out of the S24 Ultra
compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Right now let's look at zoom,
because this I know
a lot of you guys are interested in.
So the iPhone 15 Pro Max
has a 5x telephoto camera.
The S24 Ultra has a 3x telephoto camera
and now it has also
a 5x periscope telephoto camera.
The S23 Ultra from last year
had a 10x periscope zoom camera,
so this has changed
and let's see what the results are.
Now the first stage
that you have on the iPhone is 2x zoom.
Now this isn't using a special lens,
it's just cropping
into the middle part of the sensor.
You can also do this on the S24 Ultra
and results are quite similar in good light.
Now the next step for the S24 Ultra
is 3x zoom
because you do have that dedicated
optical zoom camera,
and when we compare this
to the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
it is using digital zoom at 3x.
So you do get more detail with the S24 Ultra.
Now if you continue on to up to 4.9x zoom,
then the S24 Ultra, once again,
is going to give you better zoom
because it's going from 3 to 4.9,
whereas on the iPhone
you're going from 1 to 4.9.
So that particular zoom range
between 3 and 4.9,
you are going to get better results
thanks to that optical zoom camera
of the S24 Ultra.
Now when we switched to 5x zoom,
this is where the optical zoom cameras
of both devices kick in,
and I think both
do an excellent job in good light
as you can see here.
Now we can extend the zoom
to really see how well these do,
and we can go to 10x on both devices.
Now both devices
do have slightly different focal lengths,
so even though you are at "5x" or 10x,
they will be slightly different.
But here,
although things are quite close,
I do think that the S24 Ultra
does have slightly sharper results.
Now if we do extend to the max
that the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers,
max-max,
which is 25x zoom
and we compare that to the S24 Ultra,
you can see
that although both are doing well,
the S24 Ultra does have more detail,
especially if you look
towards those solar panels.
I'm assuming
because Samsung has been doing extended zoom
for a longer period of time,
it has better software algorithms.
With the S24 Ultra,
you can also extend
all the way up to 100x space zoom.
Now, how good this is,
we're going to have to compare it
to the S23 Ultra
which goes from that 10x periscope zoom camera.
I know you guys want to see that comparison
and I'm working on that,
so be sure to subscribe
and hit that bell icon.
I'm also working on a hands-on comparison
between the S24 Ultra
and the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
looking at all of the differences,
you're not going to want to miss it.
Now zoom in good light
is all well and good,
but how do these compare
when it comes to zoom in low light?
So, using the primary cameras initially,
we are going to go to 2x zoom
to see which one of these process them better.
Now we are going to have to blow these up to 200%
to really see the differences,
and you can see
that the iPhone 15 Pro Max
has done a better job
with that digital zoom at 2x.
Now if we go to 3x zoom,
remember this is where that optical zoom camera
of the S24 Ultra kicks in,
and when we look at this
and blow this up 200%,
you can see that we do have more detail now
on the S24 Ultra,
and this is going to continue
until we are at about 4.9x zoom.
When we go to 5x,
you can see
that both of the 5x optical zoom cameras
have kicked in
and we have pretty good results on both.
But when we go to 10x,
once again,
you can see that difference in focal length.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max
does seem to have more detail
and it's a better overall image
with some more contrast.
Now if you go all the way to 25x zoom,
this is even clearer
that the iPhone is doing better
with zoom in low light.
The S24 Ultra does go all the way to 100x,
even in low light,
but I wouldn't even bother doing it
in this situation
unless you want to take pictures of the moon,
you're not really going to be using
that 100x zoom in low light.
So for zoom in good light,
I'd have to give the win
to the S24 Ultra
with that dedicated 3x optical zoom camera.
But for low light,
I'd have to give it
to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Now let's look at portraits,
because things are very interesting.
So in this example,
I do prefer the colors on the S24 Ultra.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max
is a little bit washed out.
But in terms of edges
on the overall picture,
both are doing excellent.
Now, with the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
when you do take a portrait image
at 1x in good light,
it is going to give you a 24 megapixel image,
so you are going to be able to crop in much further
on the iPhone 15 Pro Max
compared to that of the S24 Ultra.
Both devices also let you take portraits at 2x,
which is using the middle part of the sensors.
I think both do excellent
as you can see from these examples here.
Now the S24 Ultra by default has options
to take portraits at 1, 2, 3x
as well as 5x.
With the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
you do not have an option
to take portraits at 3x.
However, you can go into the image
after you've taken it
and then add the portrait effect.
You can also do this on the S24 Ultra.
So in this example,
if we do take a standard iPhone 15 Pro Max image
and add the portrait
and compare it to the portrait image
from the S24 Ultra,
you can see that both are doing good.
We do have differences in color,
which we'll talk about in a second,
but the S24 Ultra does give you a sharper image
thanks to that 3x optical zoom.
Now let's test out portraits at 5x,
which I think is my new favorite
optical zoom length for portraits,
and you can see
that both are actually doing very good here.
Now, both do handle skin colors
a little bit differently.
I think this one is going to come down
to your personal preference.
But in this image,
I'd say that the color of my top
is better maintained on the iPhone,
it's a bit more black.
But the iPhone does tend
to go for more of an orange look,
which a lot of people I know don't like.
The S24 Ultra has gone more for a yellowish look,
so I'd say my actual skin tone
is in between here.
But when we look at the edges,
although both are doing excellent,
take a look at some of the wisps of hair
on the iPhone 15 Pro Max portrait.
It's been able to still maintain those
and it looks a lot more realistic
because of that reason.
I'm not sure what software magic
Apple are applying,
but it's so, so good.
Now, portraits in low light.
So this is using the primary cameras.
I do prefer the S24 Ultra
because the iPhone 15 Pro Max
has completely taken off my hair.
It's kind of like hinting to me that,
"Hey, Saf,
you're starting to recede quite a bit.
Just get rid of the hair altogether."
Thanks, Apple.
The S24 Ultra
has actually maintained that much better
compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Now we can do the 2x portraits, as well,
with both devices.
Here I actually prefer the iPhone
compared to the S24 Ultra,
which has overexposed things a little bit.
Now we can take portraits
with the 5x telephoto cameras of both devices
and here it's a clear win for the S24 Ultra.
You've got a much sharper result,
and for some reason
the iPhone 15 Pro Max
really does struggle with portraits
at 5x in low light.
It straight up refused a few times,
saying either use the flash
or don't bother.
So, for low light portraits,
I'd say the edge overall goes to the S24 Ultra.
Now, for selfies.
I think both take excellent selfies.
We do have differences in skin color.
In this one,
I do prefer the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max
is also a little bit wider.
In this image,
I think the iPhone 15 Pro Max
does have some better dynamic range,
it's boosted those shadows,
but in doing so,
it's made my beard look very gray.
I mean, I've just dyed it,
so, you know,
thanks, Apple, for making it look gray.
The S24 Ultra on the other hand
has maintained colors on my top
and my beard better
compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
In this example,
I think things are very close.
I think both are doing a good job.
Now we can use portrait mode
from the front-facing cameras of both devices.
When you do this on the iPhone,
it kind of crops in a little bit for some reason.
But you can just take a regular selfie
and then turn it into a portrait later,
which I've done here.
And both are doing
really, really well overall.
However, I do think the edges,
once again,
are better on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
You can see those wisps of hair,
and the S24 Ultra,
if you do look closely,
it has kind of cut out
my sunglasses a little bit, as well.
Now for selfies in low light.
This is quite difficult to take
because you have to really keep your hand still.
I used both of my hands
because it does take a longer shutter speed.
Now in this example,
although the iPhone is brighter,
it's got a lot more noise.
So the S24 Ultra
I would pick in this instance,
it's a sharper image overall,
and although it's not as bright,
it's not as noisy.
Using the front-facing flash on both devices.
Again, the iPhone 15 Pro Max
might appear to be brighter,
but it's very, very noisy,
so I do prefer the S24 Ultra.
Now before we move on to video,
just to quickly highlight,
that the S24 Ultra
now does have lots of AI features
that you can use in post.
So like you can do on the iPhone,
on the S24 Ultra,
you can now just select a regular image
and turn it into a portrait image.
You can also do things
like remove reflections and shadows,
but as well as that,
you can actually go in
and edit the picture further
by selecting the subject,
changing the position of it,
the size of it.
And I think my favorite thing
is using AI to rotate an image
and fill in the spaces.
If you've got friends
who can never take a straight image,
this is going to be so, so useful.
A lot of these features
we have seen on the Google Pixel devices,
but it's nice that we've now also got them
on the S24 Ultra.
Right, for video.
Traditionally when I go through video,
it's an easy, easy win
for the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
but Samsung fans will be pleased to know
that this year
things were much, much closer.
So when we're shooting in good light at 4K,
things are very close.
I think we've got excellent detail
and dynamic range on both.
I did really try to test dynamic range
by shooting into the sun
in these examples,
and I also tested using HDR on both devices
then exporting them out to SDR for this video.
Once again,
I think both are doing very, very good,
especially from the primary
and the ultra-wide cameras.
Now I would still give the edge
to the iPhone 15 Pro Max
because in other situations
such as from the selfie camera in particular,
I do think it had better dynamic range.
Also, you saw
the cinematic video at the beginning,
and once again,
the colors were much better maintained
on the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
whereas things were getting very yellow
on the S24 Ultra.
Speaking of cinematic video,
the iPhone 15 Pro Max
also allows you to adjust things
after you've taken the video
when you're using cinematic mode,
you can't do this on the S24 Ultra.
And you've also got continuous zoom
when using cinematic mode
on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Now for low light,
things were very, very close.
I would say that they're the closest
that they've ever been.
I would still say
that the iPhone is better
in very, very dark situations
like you can see here.
And while we're on the topic of low light,
both have excellent auto focus
as you can see,
but when we do have low light,
the iPhone does seem to be a little bit faster.
And I think that is down
to the dedicated LiDAR scanner
that we've got on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
For stabilization,
I think our 4K both are excellent.
I definitely cannot pick a winner
between these two
because both are very, very stable,
and yes, guys,
I know I run like a "GTA" character.
That's just the way I run.
Okay?
Now we do have action mode
and super steady,
so these will shoot
at a slightly lower resolution
but they will give you much more stable footage.
Now with both of these at default,
it does use the ultra-wide cameras,
so 0.6 and 0.5.
And as you can see,
both, once again,
do such a good job with stabilization.
I really cannot pick a winner between these two.
However, when we use action mode
and super steady
with the primary cameras,
then the iPhone is more stable
as you can see here.
This was a similar situation
when we did some previous tests.
So it looks like for stabilization
when it comes to the primary camera
with the action mode
then the iPhone is better.
Now the S24 Ultra does have the ability
to shoot 8K video,
something that the iPhone does not have.
Now with the S23 Ultra,
as well as the S24 Ultra,
we have much more usable 8K video
compared to previous generations
because it is not cropping in massively.
This gives you so much detail
and it also gives you the ability
to crop in further
if you do want to change your angle.
Now, testing out the 5x zoom cameras
on both devices for video,
I did find that the S24 Ultra was sharper
compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
and then testing these out in low light,
the iPhone 15 Pro Max was brighter,
but you did have more noise.
Now we do have lots of pro features
for both devices.
So with the S24 Ultra
you've got pro video mode,
so this is going to allow you to go in
and really change all of your settings
like white balance and ISO.
On the iPhone 15 Pro Max,
you will have to get an external app
if you want to do something like this.
But the iPhone 15 Pro Max
does have the ability
to record ProRes video with log.
So this is a flat picture profile
which you'll be able to color in post.
Now, although a lot of you guys
probably will never use this feature,
if you are a pro film-maker,
then this might be something
that's vital for you.
Now, for slow-motion,
I actually think both are really good,
but we've got some improvements on slow motion
on the S24 Ultra.
So you can do 1080p,
240 frames a second on both devices,
but Samsung has now
got rid of the Super Slow-mo feature,
which used to give you 960 frames,
but in very, very bad quality.
They've replaced this now
with 120 frames a second at 4K.
You can see here
that we do get a lot more detail
in slow motion at that 4K resolution.
However, with the iPhone,
you can shoot slow motion
with all of the different lenses.
So with the ultra-wide,
with the primary,
as well as the zoom.
With the S24 Ultra,
you can only shoot slow motion
with the primary camera.
Now, for audio,
I'll let you guys have a listen.
Audio test on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
There are lots of cars in the background.
There's a crazy guy shouting, as well.
So let's see how much of that background noise
that actually comes through.
Let me know what you think.
Now I think both actually record great audio,
but with the noisy background,
I do think that the S24 Ultra
had better noise cancellation.
Let me know what you guys think.
So that is the SuperSafStyle camera comparison
between the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Let me just say
that both of these have excellent cameras.
You really can't go wrong with either,
and they are
some of my favorite smartphone cameras.
I have no problem
shooting with either of these as my daily.
Of course,
there are certain areas
where one is better than the other.
I would say that the iPhone
has better low light overall,
as well as better dynamic range,
and we still do have better video
in some situations,
especially from the selfie camera
as well as cinematic video.
But come on,
we got to give some credit to the S24 Ultra.
Samsung has done a great job
of improving video on the S24 Ultra.
You also do get things like 8K.
And let's not forget that the S24 Ultra
also has that dedicated 3x zoom camera,
which is going to give you a much better zoom
in that range between 3 to 4.9 times
compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
I'd also say that the S24 Ultra
does have better extended zoom in good light,
and I think that's thanks to Samsung's work
on extended zoom over the past few years.
And Samsung also has
a lot of these new AI features,
which I think can be useful for a lot of people.
Now there are lots of other features as well
that both devices have,
which we'll be comparing
in the SuperSafStyle hands-on comparison
of both devices.
That's going to be coming very soon,
so be sure to subscribe
and hit that bell icon
if you don't want to miss it.
If you are thinking
of buying any of these devices,
you can use my exclusive affiliate link
down in the description below
and that will give you
up to double the storage
as well as up to $150
in instant Samsung credit.
This is what I think, anyway.
What do you guys think of the cameras
of the S24 Ultra
and the iPhone 15 Pro Max?
Do drop me a comment below.
Let me know your thoughts.
I hope you enjoyed this video
and found it useful.
If you did,
then please do hit that thumbs up button for me.
I haven't slept properly in many days
trying to get these videos done,
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would be appreciated.
Thanks for watching.
This is Saf on SuperSaf TV.
I'll see you next time.