The Google Pixel 9 Professional and Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely are two of the very best telephones you should purchase proper now, largely due to how good their cameras are. The query is, which one is the higher digital camera cellphone?
What makes a succesful digital camera cellphone has modified so much through the years. At first, it was merely about extra megapixels, then bigger pixels, then extra lenses at completely different focal lengths, pixel binning, variable apertures, improved types of optical picture stabilisation and most lately, the mixing of machine studying and, by affiliation, AI into the imaging pipeline.
The Google Pixel 9 Professional and Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely supply up all of those applied sciences in various portions, within the pursuit of photographic supremacy. I’ve taken them out and about, taking a whole lot of photographs to intently analyse how they carry out in several situations and eventualities.
Whereas each have already earned their place in Tech Advisor’s rundown of the very best digital camera telephones, this digital camera comparability will provide help to resolve which is the very best digital camera cellphone for you.
Observe: Until in any other case specified, photographs are offered with the Pixel 9 Professional digital camera samples on the left and the Galaxy S25 Extremely’s samples on the best.
Primary Sensor
Beginning easy, let’s see how every cellphone’s essential sensor handles some on a regular basis environments.
Think about you’ve simply seen your shot, pulled out your Pixel 9 Professional or Galaxy S25 Extremely, opened up the digital camera app and tapped the shutter, with out altering any settings. Right here’s what every cellphone produced:
St Paul’s Cathedral
On this vibrant scene, each telephones carried out admirably on the subject of publicity, dynamic vary and element, however there’s a transparent distinction in how these pictures have been processed.
The color science utilized by every cellphone is distinctly completely different, with the Pixel erring in the direction of a magenta tint, whereas the Galaxy sports activities extra distinguished yellow tones. It is a trait that we’ve seen from earlier entries in each cellphone sequence, respectively, but it surely’s all the time a shocking distinction when evaluating like for like.
The Pixel 9 Professional’s shot additionally serves up a tonally extra muted, however higher-contrast picture, that’s nearer to what the bare eye sees, whereas Samsung’s propensity for heavier-handed post-processing provides the S25 Extremely’s shot a extra deliberately ‘HDR look’, together with extra vibrant colors.
If it’s authenticity you’re after, the Pixel has it, however the Samsung served up the extra social media-worthy shot right here.
The Gherkin
In an effort to see how every cellphone extra instantly handles color copy, right here the glass roof on the best of body reinforces the Pixel’s choice for muted authenticity, whereas the dynamic vary processing leaves surrounding parts – just like the painted plum brickwork on the left of body – under-exposed.
Samsung’s HDR processing does a greater job of exposing the entire scene, whereas additionally preserving extra cloud element than the Pixel within the brightest elements of the shot, nonetheless, grain and element loss within the darker areas is way extra evident too.
Atrium
The oblique and synthetic lighting on this atrium shot poses a really completely different problem to every digital camera cellphone. The Pixel captured a extra dramatic scene, which leaves room for the darkest areas of the atmosphere to exist extra authentically, compared to the flatter, general brighter shot taken by the S25 Extremely.
Samsung’s superior HDR processing does handle to retain a few of the sky by means of the massive, vibrant window on the left of body, which is in any other case utterly blown out on the Pixel’s shot (the place the cellphone additionally struggles to reconcile mild defusing by means of that round hanging sculpture).
The Galaxy’s extra heavy-handed processing leaves you with oversaturated colors, however crisper particulars, in comparison with the Pixel (as evident by the rivets within the beams throughout the highest of the body).
Zoom
It ought to come as no shock that, like its predecessors, the Galaxy S25 Extremely is healthier outfitted than the Pixel with regards to {hardware} made for capturing at vary, however that doesn’t imply it is best to rely the Pixel out.
Google’s newest can seize by means of 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x and a peak 30x magnification, with sensor cropping permitting for lossless optical zoom at 2x and 10x, with out the necessity for added sensors.
The Samsung options devoted 0.6x, 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x, 10x, 30x and 100x focal lengths, once more with sensor cropping for 2x and 10x magnification, together with a further 3x telephoto sensor that’s utterly absent from the Pixel’s {hardware}.
As with different photographs, the Pixel adopts a hotter, virtually magenta-tinged set of samples, whereas the S25 Extremely delivers higher white steadiness all through its zoom vary.
Though there’s a consistency to distinction, element and dynamic vary all through every telephones’ samples, when cropping in, the Pixel’s post-processing does a greater job of sustaining fantastic element at any focal size, whereas there’s a transparent distinction intimately retention between the optically-zoomed photographs and the sensor-cropped photographs of the Galaxy S25 Extremely.
Low Gentle
An actual take a look at for any cellphone digital camera is the way it handles low-light capturing.
Much less mild pushes telephones to resort to bracketing and mixing a number of photographs to be able to precisely depict colors whereas minimising undesirable artefacts, likes blur, grain and noise.
Within the case of the Pixel 9 Professional, its magenta-leaning color area leads to a extra dreamlike shot, with a violet sky, transitioning by means of pink to a deep vermillion, whereas the Samsung as soon as once more showcases extra lifelike white steadiness, with more true blues and, once more, a penchant for yellow tones in the direction of the horizon.
High quality element is fairly on par when scrutinising the silhouetted parts within the scene throughout each units, nonetheless, despite its extra creative interpretation of colors within the scene, the Pixel takes the technically superior shot right here, with not one of the color banding seen within the sky on the shot taken by the S25 Extremely, in addition to considerably much less noise and grain within the darkest areas of body.
It additionally manages to seize larger high quality foreground bokeh (most evident within the sand close to the underside of the body) than the Extremely, a facet that Samsung’s prime telephones are identified to be robust in.
Portrait Mode
By default, each of those telephones shoot portrait mode pictures with a 2x crop (which most intently matches the focal size of the human eye for extra natural-looking topics).
If it’s versatility with this mode you’re after, although, the Galaxy S25 Extremely additionally permits for portrait capturing throughout its 1x, 3x and 5x focal lengths too, whilst you’re restricted to simply 1.5x and 2x, with the Pixel 9 Professional.
As for the photographs, the Pixel delivers a extra pure look, with darkish areas remaining darkish, engaging pores and skin tones and good element.
The S25 outshines the 9 Professional, with its superior edge detection, which doesn’t stumble across the wisps on hair close to Ellie’s neck in the identical means, whereas higher separating topic from background and serving up extra engaging, realistic-looking bokeh too.
What isn’t as convincing is the post-processing. The entire shot is uniformly brighter, but it surely’s evident the face and, particularly, the eyes have been brightened and enhanced too.
In consequence, you as soon as once more get a picture that seems to sport an intentionally-HDR look, for higher or worse.
Selfies
Equally to portrait capturing, selfies on these telephones are cropped by default, however for the needs of this comparability, I’ve punched out to indicate you the complete subject of view in a position to be captured by every cellphone’s front-facer; essential for individuals who prefer to take group photographs.
Out of the gate, this highlights the truth that you’ll be able to match much more in-frame with the Pixel.
You seem to get an identical diploma of dynamic vary, based mostly on the above samples, with far more constant color copy between each telephones.
The S25 Extremely does seize the extra vibrant of the 2 pictures, however the distinction is way much less pronounced than with their rear cameras. The HDR processing creates an odd bloom impact across the blossoms on the left of the body, nonetheless, not seen on the extra correct shot taken by the Pixel 9 Professional.
Google’s newest additionally manages extra even publicity on the face, with extra genuine pores and skin tones and superior element, in comparison with the S25 Extremely.
Video
Whereas there’s loads of depth to every telephones’ video capabilities, with methods just like the Pixel’s Video Increase upscaling and the S25 Extremely’s LOG video recording, however for this take a look at, it’s only a case of pitting default 4K/60fps footage out of every cellphone towards each other.
Luke Baker
The Pixel is persistently weaker right here, with extra noise and in darker elements of the body and within the presence of quick movement, as if the corporate’s ingenious picture processing algorithms can’t be tailored to video on-device.
By comparability, the S25 Extremely’s video appears cleaner and a contact extra vibrant (like its photographs), with superior sound, due to somewhat extra depth versus the Pixel’s recorded audio.
Each telephones additionally characteristic an ‘Audio Eraser’, which in each instances does a superb job of isolating completely different sounds (like ‘speech’, ‘nature’, ‘wind’ and many others.) and supplying you with management of the place they fall within the combine. You’ll be able to even take away parts utterly if you want.
Whereas this characteristic works surprisingly effectively, typically preserving sufficient constancy to not come throughout as over-processed or compressed, the S25 Extremely’s rendition sounds fractionally extra convincing than the Pixel’s.
Verdict
It’s clear that in choose eventualities, each telephones make distinctly completely different choices round mild, faces, colors and extra.
The Pixel proves its value for these after extra genuine imagery with larger distinction in most scenes. The color science provides pictures a magenta tinge that seems to change into extra pronounced when the lights go down, however the outcomes are spectacular nonetheless, particularly when noise and grain are involved.
Samsung’s penchant for processing persists with the S25 Extremely’s digital camera system. Pictures persistently sport that distinct ‘HDR’ look, which suggests it generally destroys the dynamism of a scene by brightening all the pieces up.
That mentioned, the {hardware} makes for higher zoom photographs and movies, whereas the processing provides you good high quality bokeh in portraits and higher white steadiness and color administration throughout the board.
Select the Pixel 9 Professional for:
- Low-light pictures
- Macro capturing
- AI photograph/video enhancement
Select the Galaxy S25 Extremely for:
- Portrait pictures
- Zoom pictures
- Video seize
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely used on this comparability was provided by Vodafone UK. Click on right here for Vodafone’s newest Samsung Galaxy offers.