One of the big draws to flagship smartphones these days is the camera, so companies can’t afford to skimp in this area. YouTuber SuperSaf pitted the Sony Xperia 1 vs the Galaxy S10 Plus camera to see which device comes out ahead. His video places images and videos from both smartphones side by side so it’s easy to see which is the winner.
Before embarking on the Sony Xperia 1 vs Galaxy S10 Plus camera shoot-off, we should note that the two handsets have fairly similar cameras. The rear-facing cameras on both are triple-lens cameras. Both have 12MP primary and telephoto lenses, while the S10 Plus’ ultra-wide lens is 16MP. However, the S10 Plus has a dual-lens front-facing camera, while the Xperia 1 has a single-lens front camera. The second lens on the S10 Plus’ front camera provides more depth in portrait mode.
When shooting in 4K, the image stabilization was much better on the Galaxy S10 Plus with almost no movement even while running, although when shooting in 1080p, the Xperia 1 is much closer to and perhaps even slightly ahead of the S10 Plus.
In 1080p, the Xperia had cooler colors grey water and dark green trees. When shooting on 1080p, the S10 Plus had much more defined colors. The S10 Plus also had bluer water and better-defined trees. The water ripples in the images were clearer too. Overall, the S10 Plus simply shoots more vibrant photos with more details. SuperSaf said he had to tap to focus the Xperia 1 on the flowers because it wouldn’t focus on them automatically.
He also said the ultra-wide lens on the S10 Plus makes a big difference, especially in the dynamic range. Samsung’s handset is better at maintaining the shadows. One good thing about the Xperia 1 is that it does take slightly wider images. The S10 Plus’ autofocus was also much faster than the Xperia 1.
As far as the selfie cameras, the two devices are a draw, until the user takes a photo in direct sunlight. The Xperia 1 actually offered better dynamic range than the S10 Plus. However, going into portrait mode gave the preference back to Samsung. After entering portrait mode, the Xperia 1 eliminates the dynamic range it had before. The sky was overexposed, and whites were just washed out.
In low-light images, the Xperia 1 took on an almost greenish, warmer tint, although the front-facing flash on the Xperia is better than the one on the S10 Plus. He also notes that the Xperia 1 has more manual camera controls through the Cinema Pro app, which could make it a better phone for photographers who prefer to adjust settings themselves. However, those who prefer to just use the camera as it is may find Samsung to be the winner in the Sony Xperia 1 vs Galaxy S10 Plus camera shoot-off.
For more details, you can view his full review of these two devices below. You can also see how the two devices compare on other specs here.
