Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Desk of contents
Google’s picture processing prowess has lengthy earned the corporate a status as top-of-the-line at cellular pictures. That accolade has been examined in recent times, owing to stagnant {hardware} and high-flying opponents. With the arrival of the Google Pixel 6 Professional, we’re anticipating a return to kind and probably even a brand new gold customary for smartphone cameras.
To place the telephone to the take a look at, we pitted Google’s handset towards the ultra-premium Apple iPhone 13 Professional Max and Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely smartphones — two handsets considered among the many finest within the enterprise in the case of pictures. In addition they value $200 or greater than the Pixel 6 Professional, so a win right here for Google’s handset would signify distinctive worth for cash as properly.
Whereas we’ll be speaking you thru our picture evaluation, you should definitely try the properly over 200 full-quality picture samples on this Google Drive folder for your self.
Google Pixel 6 Professional vs Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely vs iPhone 13 Professional Max: Digicam specs
Google Pixel 6 Professional | Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely | Apple iPhone 13 Professional Max | |
---|---|---|---|
Primary Digicam |
Google Pixel 6 Professional: 50MP (12.5MP binned) |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely: 108MP (12MP binned) |
Apple iPhone 13 Professional Max: 12MP |
Extremely-Large |
Google Pixel 6 Professional: 12MP |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely: 12MP |
Apple iPhone 13 Professional Max: 12MP |
First zoom |
Google Pixel 6 Professional: 48MP (12MP binned) |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely: 10MP |
Apple iPhone 13 Professional Max: 12MP |
Second zoom |
Google Pixel 6 Professional: N/A |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely: 10MP |
Apple iPhone 13 Professional Max: N/A |
Focusing |
Google Pixel 6 Professional: Laser AF system |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely: Laser AF system |
Apple iPhone 13 Professional Max: 3D ToF Lidar |
Selfie digicam |
Google Pixel 6 Professional: 11.1MP |
Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely: 40MP |
Apple iPhone 13 Professional Max: 12MP |
Coloration and white stability
As ordinary, we’ll begin with the quintessential elements of any good {photograph} — shade, publicity, and white stability. Let’s get proper to our batch of samples from the primary cameras.
As we’ve come to anticipate from Samsung, its digicam loves a little bit of punch and you’ll undoubtedly spot vivid yellows, greens, and reds in our first very colourful snap. The impact isn’t as excessive as earlier years nevertheless it’s undoubtedly the punchier of the three. Each Apple and Google add some robust blues to the primary snap, and Google takes its publicity up slightly notch, which you’ll be able to see within the scene’s blacks. It’s truly laborious to make out the Nintendo Swap controller emblem within the iPhone’s image. Typically talking, Samsung is the punchiest, and Apple is essentially the most color-conservative of the three.
Our verdict: Google Pixel 6 assessment | Google Pixel 6 Professional assessment
The rule extends to our second image, the place the Galaxy S21 Extremely indulges within the scene’s heat hues greater than its opponents. Our iPhone 13 Professional Max leans on a yellow tint indoors, which makes the blue of the bottle label tackle a inexperienced look. You’ll typically see this yellowing of grass, too. The Pixel 6 Professional strikes a advantageous stability in our second snap and is the extra reasonable looking of the three right here.
Shifting open air, issues change fairly dramatically in the case of Apple’s handset. The iPhone’s hues are persistently on the cooler facet, with extra noticeable greys and bluer-looking skies current when taking photos open air. It might be chilly and drab in my homeland right here within the UK, however this impact is excessive. Apple additionally goals for a excessive distinction impact, with notable deep shadows across the pink telephone field and exaggerated highlights on the bottom leaves. Equally, the water ripples and flower highlights are cranked up in our lake-scape, however this considerably washes out the background picture. The digicam’s publicity isn’t at all times spot on, as you’ll little question spot all through the remainder of this shootout.
Google and Samsung’s outcomes are hotter. The Galaxy S21 Extremely tends in the direction of the reds slightly, whereas Google’s shade pallet generally verges into the yellows, which you’ll be able to undoubtedly spot within the leaves and wooden of each the outside snaps. They’re additionally each slightly higher with their publicity, avoiding overly darkish shadows or clipped highlights in these outside scenes.
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As you in all probability anticipated, all three telephones snap great-looking photos indoors and open air. There’s actually nothing obviously mistaken with the way in which any of those flagship telephones current their photos, however they do every produce a barely totally different look.
Element
With 50MP and 108MP high-resolution cameras, we’d anticipate ultra-fine particulars from the Pixel 6 Professional and Galaxy S21 Extremely, respectively. Nevertheless, all three of those cameras output 12MP photographs, with these two using pixel binning to mix gentle knowledge from a number of adjoining pixels. That is simply as properly, as we doubt any of those sensors can truly resolve such a excessive decision as a result of they’re prone to be diffraction-limited. The iPhone’s picture sensor makes use of a extra conventional Bayer filter. Does that make a distinction? Let’s check out some 100% crops.
Beginning with a well-lit macro shot, there’s little or no to inform between these three telephones. The iPhone is the least detailed within the first pattern, with notable smudging on the leaf. We make out way more advantageous particulars with the Pixel 6 Professional. In the meantime, Samsung’s flagship offers the perfect general focus and a good degree of element, however advantageous traces aren’t fairly as crisp as Google’s photograph.
These totally different ranges of element seize and sharpening are rather more noticeable within the second shot of a e-book. The iPhone’s textual content is barely legible and there are clear indicators of noise cleanup on the picture panels. The S21 Extremely exhibits signature indicators of sharpening halos across the textual content, so it’s the Pixel 6 Professional that’s the cleanest right here, albeit nonetheless slightly heavy on the sharpening.
The Pixel 6 Professional and Galaxy S21 Extremely seize spectacular ranges of element.
Turning to extra advanced scenes and we see a greater variety of element seize points throughout all three telephones. The Pixel 6 Professional is fairly smudged trying within the tree shot, with some noticeable blockiness that may very well be a results of inadequate gentle seize. Sadly, you’ll be able to spot this impact in fairly a number of photos captured by the Pixel 6, notably in dimmer lighting situations. The Galaxy S21 Extremely is barely cleaner by way of noise however with a barely extra noticeable sharpening cross on the grass and bushes. The iPhone 13 Professional Max is the softest and most pure trying on this outside shot, albeit with some clear indicators of noise too.
The roles reverse in our advanced indoor scene. Right here, Apple’s newest iPhone is essentially the most aggressive by way of sharpening and processing, producing ugly highlights and smudged textures. The Galaxy S21 Extremely is the softest right here whereas the Pixel 6 Professional finds itself in between the 2, managing to extract the marginally higher minor particulars. Once more although, we’re speaking advantageous margins in these cropped examples.
Earlier than leaving this part, I need to spotlight a number of issues I’ve seen with the Pixel 6 digicam that you just undoubtedly don’t see from both of those opponents. Fairly a number of of the images I’ve taken include artifacts, starting from random texture smudging to blue and pink specular highlights (see some examples beneath). I imagine these are as a result of pixel-binned picture sensor though they is also a results of Google’s picture cleanup algorithms. These are fairly uncommon occurrences however crop up persistently sufficient that they’re clearly an ingrained drawback with the digicam.
Total, the iPhone is repeatedly the weakest by way of advantageous particulars, whereas the Pixel 6 Professional appears to battle with advanced textures and has some extra obvious however particular points. The S21 Extremely is essentially the most constant throughout all these environments — though both method it’s a must to crop in to identify these variations, and all three will serve most photographers very properly for element.
Excessive Dynamic Vary
Google’s Pixel smartphones helped pioneer a few of the finest HDR expertise within the enterprise — it’s one of many causes its earlier handset remained aggressive regardless of ageing {hardware}. Nevertheless, the competitors has undoubtedly caught up, so let’s see if the Pixel 6 Professional can recapture the crown.
In our first extremely dynamic shot, we see by far essentially the most foreground element in addition to extra saturated colours captured with the Pixel 6 Professional. There’s a small quantity of spotlight clipping, however that’s to be anticipated when capturing into the solar, and that is current in all three outcomes. In contrast, the foreground bushes are fully black within the iPhone 13 Professional Max’s image, though the telephone does seize slightly extra of the dawn’s orange hues. The Galaxy S21 Extremely sits simply behind the Pixel 6 by way of exposing the foreground.
It’s an identical state of affairs on this second shot. Once more, the Pixel 6 Professional captures essentially the most shade and element in the dead of night foreground whereas additionally balancing the brighter parts of the scene with out a lot clipping, though the telephone suffers from some smudging within the finer particulars which we don’t see from the opposite two. The power of the HDR impact can also be arguably slightly excessive and the shadow areas needs to be darker.
Digicam shootout: Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely vs Apple iPhone 13 Professional Max
The iPhone once more is the darkest general, nevertheless, it avoids clipping within the cloud and sky highlights. If the colours weren’t fairly so washed out, it will be essentially the most reasonable of the three. The Galaxy S21 Extremely once more falls within the center, exposing extra of the foreground and offering large shade saturation in trade for essentially the most clipping out of the three.
The final instance is a a lot nearer run competitors between the Pixel and the iPhone. Google’s topics are slightly underexposed however the digicam doesn’t clip the cloud highlights as strongly as Apple’s handset. Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Extremely gives the perfect of each — a well-exposed foreground and minimal overblown highlights.
In abstract, Google and Samsung supply the extra highly effective HDR capabilities, though Google’s, specifically, is just not at all times essentially the most reasonable search for the scene. The iPhone has the weakest HDR implementation. It struggles with spotlight clipping, blacked-out shadows, and washed-out colours way over the opposite two handsets.
Low gentle pictures
Following on from HDR, low gentle and nighttime pictures is one other space that Google’s software program prowess helped popularize. Mixed with an even bigger sensor, now we have excessive hopes for Google’s newest digicam right here.
Nevertheless, it’s fairly clear that with out Evening Sight mode enabled, the telephone doesn’t seize as a lot gentle as its opponents. The primary snap beneath could be very darkish and missing in shade. The iPhone 13 Professional Max does a greater job with publicity, though its colours are nonetheless fairly washed out and it’s fairly noisy. Samsung’s digicam is the noisiest of the bunch, probably owing to an excessive ISO degree, however does seize the perfect colours and publicity right here.
Flicking Evening Sight on closes the hole. The Pixel 6 Professional’s picture is now as brightly uncovered as daylight photographs and there’s a giant enchancment to element seize and shade, though the impact is probably slightly too excessive, as the colours are barely washed out. The iPhone’s night time mode improves its general publicity and shade however not by loads. The trade-off is way extra smudging — see the wood cabinets — and a typically much less detailed end result than its opponents.
The winner within the first shot is the Galaxy S21 Extremely. There’s a wonderful degree of shade and element on supply, whereas the publicity retains the looks of depth within the scene that’s lacking from the Pixel 6 Professional’s picture.
Google nonetheless leans closely on Evening Mode for low gentle image high quality.
Turning the lights down decrease showcases the identical development, though all three do very properly given the dearth of sunshine. The Pixel 6 Professional is marginally darker with out the help of Evening Mode, though it extracts a barely higher dynamic vary than the iPhone 13 Professional Max. It and the iPhone are additionally slightly too yellow in comparison with the S21 Extremely. Enabling Evening Mode sees the Pixel 6 Professional lean extra into the yellows, which is a little bit of a constant drawback for its digicam in the dead of night. You may manually regulate the temperature earlier than capturing however shouldn’t must when Apple and Samsung robotically grade the sunshine accurately. Apple’s handset will get the colours spot on with Evening Mode enabled.
Associated: Ideas for bettering smartphone low gentle pictures
The extra fashionable sensor contained in the Galaxy S21 Extremely is the perfect for a fast snap in the dead of night and it’s persistently good with Evening Mode enabled. Google’s newer sensor, whereas a lot improved over the Pixel 5, doesn’t carry out fairly as properly, probably owing to the narrower lens aperture. Google’s telephone performs significantly better with Evening Mode enabled, maybe simply pipping the iPhone into second place. However reliance on software program smarts means your mileage could fluctuate relying on the scene.
Taking pictures these ultra-wide angles
All three cameras boast ultra-wide angle capabilities to suit extra into your shot. Proper off the bat, you’ll be able to squeeze extra into your scene with the iPhone 13 Professional Max and Galaxy S21 Extremely. Their 120-degree subject of view bests the 114-degree subject of view on supply from the Pixel 6 Professional. The latter additionally gives a hard and fast focus level, which means it’s ineffective for macro pictures and should look unfocused at lengthy distances too. However let’s check out the snaps.
As anticipated, the Pixel 6 Professional continues to be large sufficient to suit much more in. Nevertheless, the iPhone 13 Professional Max and Galaxy S21 Extremely grant an even bigger step again from the primary digicam. By way of picture high quality, Google’s handset gives the perfect publicity, though the tree texture from its ultra-wide digicam is slightly smudged on shut inspection. Samsung’s digicam additionally boasts a good dynamic vary however is simply too heavy on the denoise and sharpening cross. Apple’s major and ultra-wide cameras look slightly washed out right here, however the particulars are strong.
See additionally: The whole information to ultra-wide digicam telephones
The selection of a wider subject of view has its drawbacks, which may be seen within the picture beneath. Element high quality falls off in the direction of the sides of the picture for each the iPhone and Galaxy flagships, and there are extra apparent indicators of lens correction making an attempt to disguise the warping impact of an ultra-wide subject of view.
There aren’t any such indicators on Google’s narrower digicam and it gives the perfect particulars right here regardless of its mounted focus level, though that undoubtedly isn’t at all times the case. It’s additionally value highlighting the crushed dynamic vary from Apple’s ultra-wide lens — it produces very darkish shadows and clipped highlights. You’ll see this in different ultra-wide snaps in our library.
Sadly, Google’s seemingly cheaper wide-angle digicam has some obvious issues in the case of chromatic aberration (purple fringes and halos). You could have already noticed indicators within the photographs above. It’s notably noticeable in HDR scenes with patches of vivid gentle, such because the examples beneath.
The impact is plainly noticed between the tree leaves at each the highest and left sides of the images above. Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Extremely additionally suffers from an identical challenge within the very corners of the lens, nevertheless it’s far much less pronounced. Halos apart, the Pixel 6 Professional and S21 Extremely once more clearly supply higher dynamic vary from their ultra-wide lenses than the iPhone, which once more struggles with darkish shadows and overblown highlights.
Chromatic abberation severely lets down the Pixel 6 Professional’s ultra-wide digicam.
Identical to the Pixel 5, the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional’s ultra-wide digicam is a significant letdown in high quality in comparison with its major digicam, not to mention its opponents’ ultra-wide implementations. The iPhone can also be considerably disappointing, because it gives respectable particulars and a large FOV however photos repeatedly seem washed out. The Galaxy S21 Extremely is, as soon as once more, essentially the most constant shooter in the case of its ultra-wide lens.
Even on a dim, overcast day, all three zoom digicam setups handle affordable publicity, dynamic vary, and element seize, though it’s Samsung’s telephone that palms within the extra constant shade grading and publicity when transferring between zoom ranges. Apple’s wide-angle and major cameras underexpose, even for this gloomy day.
By way of element, all three cameras are spectacular from the wide-angle digicam proper out to 5x. At the very least on this first set of photographs, the iPhone 13 Professional Max seems to be the cleanest at 3x, the Pixel 6 Professional is the winner at 5x, and Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Extremely holds on to the finer particulars finest at 10x, as we’d anticipate given the {hardware} on supply.
Tremendous-Res Zoom sees the Pixel 6 Professional punch properly above its weight at lengthy vary.
Switching to a transfer advanced scene offers us a greater thought of how element holds up at intermittent and longer ranges. At round 3x, none of those three cameras is especially clear within the scene beneath, with very noticeable over-sharpening from Samsung and slightly from Google, too. Apple’s picture is missing element as a result of the 3x lens hasn’t kicked in, probably as a result of lighting — it may be finicky.
Surprisingly, all three look higher at 5x, though Samsung’s picture is once more oversharp. The iPhone stays aggressive right here, because the telephoto lens has turned as much as assist out this time. Nevertheless, it’s the 4x lens on the Google Pixel 6 Professional that produces the cleanest picture by fairly a margin.
At 10x, the iPhone 13 Professional Max falls off the tempo fairly noticeably. The Galaxy S21 Extremely’s 10x periscope digicam offers a softer, extra pure look than at its earlier zoom ranges. Google’s Pixel 6 Professional can also be superb at such an excessive distance. There’s little or no in it versus Samsung’s photograph, regardless of the dearth of optical {hardware} at this distance.
To showcase simply how spectacular Google’s long-range zoom capabilities are utilizing simply 4x optical {hardware}, right here’s a 20x picture comparability with the S21 Extremely. Samsung’s telephone seems to be ever so barely cleaner however the Pixel 6 Professional is clearly succesful at excessive zoom distances too.
Though Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Extremely excels at ultra-long vary, the photographs produced between 3x and 10x aren’t of the identical top quality. Likewise, Apple’s 3x telephoto sensor is aggressive out to about 5x however not a lot past. Google’s Tremendous Res Zoom and 4x lens mixture gives the perfect of each worlds. Whereas beneath 4x isn’t spotless, it’s at the least pretty much as good because the competitors, and the Pixel 6 Professional retains the tempo with Samsung’s dearer flagship at lengthy vary too. Google’s onto a winner right here.
Learn extra: These pictures ideas will take your pictures to the following degree
Portraits and selfies
Outside selfies look nice regardless of which digicam you’re capturing with. Pores and skin tones and textures are largely respectable, though the iPhone can add slightly an excessive amount of pinkness to my pores and skin generally and prefers a really vivid publicity. Google provides some further pop and sharpening to its selfies and portrait photos, whereas Samsung’s outcomes are the softest of the bunch. However general, it’s down to non-public choice which seems to be the perfect.
All three telephones help entrance digicam bokeh blur and edge detection is superb on all three telephones. Stray hairs nonetheless journey up these cameras nevertheless it’s not as noticeable as in years passed by. Bokeh blur seems to be good, though Google’s bokeh seems to be a bit extra like a smudge than a blur within the above instance, therefore why Apple errs on the facet of a brighter publicity — it brings out these highlights that kind good glowing circles. Google’s digicam additionally pumps up the colour in portrait mode and it’s only a fraction too heat right here. Likewise, Apple’s is a tad cooler, however that’s extra some extent of choice than a criticism.
In decrease gentle, Apple’s selfie seems to be slightly noisier, leading to a degradation of pores and skin texture and tone. The digicam is clearly struggling for gentle, though the bokeh edge detection holds up properly. Ditto for the Pixel 6 Professional, though Google’s digicam collects rather more gentle and retains a hotter pores and skin tone. The Galaxy S21 Extremely festivals properly too, though it seems to be maybe slightly extra washed out than Google’s added portrait pop, and advantageous face textures are slightly smudged.
Associated: One of the best selfie digicam telephones you should buy
You too can shoot portrait photos utilizing every telephone’s rear digicam. Edge detection is usually good right here too, though the iPhone is marginally weaker in our first instance. It’s too aggressive on the foreground and background separation and misses the pumpkin stalk because of this. The Pixel 6 is barely cleaner at choosing out the pumpkin edges, however Samsung has a extra refined blur between the background and foreground that’s pleasing to the attention.
With an individual in our scene, we once more see the iPhone 13 Professional Max go for a brighter presentation, and it captures very reasonable pores and skin textures. Though the pores and skin tone is once more too heat/yellow there’s the odd error in edge detection each on the hair and the appropriate shoulder. The Galaxy S21 Extremely handles edge detection, white stability, and publicity higher however facial textures are too gentle. It’s completely advantageous at a fast look however isn’t a flawless image on nearer inspection.
Google sometimes provides an excessive amount of pop to its portraits, however they’re nonetheless a few of the finest I’ve ever seen.
This leaves us with the Pixel 6 Professional as the general finest shot right here. Hair edge detection isn’t 100% excellent, however the pores and skin texturing is extremely detailed. The telephone additionally nails pores and skin tone, white stability, and topic publicity, and it’s undoubtedly essentially the most reasonable of the three. I’ve taken loads extra pictures of family and friends with the Google Pixel 6 Professional that I couldn’t embody on this shootout. However I’ll say it takes a few of the finest portraits photographs out of all of the digicam telephones I’ve used through the years. It could look merely unbelievable, though my one criticism can be that the telephone can apply an excessive amount of sharpening and distinction in some conditions.
Google Pixel 6 Professional digicam shootout: The decision
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
Google has undoubtedly upped its pictures recreation this 12 months, however in the end it’s not sufficient to eclipse the market leaders. I extremely advocate the telephone to those that take a whole lot of portrait and zoom snaps. It recaptures the crown right here due to Google’s newest machine studying smarts. Nevertheless, the ultra-wide digicam is way beneath par and I’d keep away from this telephone if that’s your most popular capturing model. Likewise, there are some common element points with the primary digicam that want addressing too. Right here’s hoping there’s a software program patch quickly.
Even taking these drawbacks into consideration, I’d fee the Pixel 6 Professional as a touch higher shooter than the iPhone 13 Professional Max. Apple’s newest premium smartphone prices much more, but struggles with publicity, HDR, and low gentle capturing. It additionally doesn’t deal with long-range zoom or ultra-wide colours in addition to these opponents, though, to Apple’s credit score, it does take some good portraits. It’s additionally an outstanding handset for capturing video, so if you happen to’re extra into transferring photographs over photos, Apple’s telephones are an excellent selection.
By way of sheer versatility, nevertheless, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Extremely is the perfect out of the three. It gives glorious day and night time pictures from its major digicam, strong selfies, glorious long-range zoom, and a sturdy ultra-wide lens too. There’s nothing it does badly, despite the fact that I sometimes choose a number of of the images taken with different telephones. We’re nearing the tip of the 12 months and Samsung’s prime telephone continues to be the one to beat.
Which digicam telephone do you assume takes the perfect photos general? Tell us your ideas within the feedback beneath and solid your vote within the ballot above.