With the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra came a 200 Mpx photo sensor, but is such an increase in resolution necessary compared to the 108 Mpx of the Galaxy S22 Ultra? Answer these two modes that offer a lot of pixels in our photo comparison.
Source: Frandroid
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has a main photo sensor with a maximum resolution of 108 Mpx and Samsung is even stronger with its Galaxy S23 Ultra whose main sensor resolution can reach up to 200 Mpx. To find out whether this development really made sense, we compared the two high-end smartphones.
The 108 and 200 Mpx modes of the latest Samsung Galaxy in the Ultra version
On the one hand we have a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra with a 108 megapixel main sensor with wide-angle and autofocus optics, for a field of view of 85° and an f/1.8 aperture. Enough to create recordings of 9000×12000 pixels at a weight of 10 to 30 MB.
On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a 200-megapixel main sensor with a field of view of 85° and a slightly larger f/1.7 aperture. The photos taken measure 12240 x 16320 pixels and weigh between 15 and 50 MB. This model has obviously joined our guide to the best smartphones for photos.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra // Source: Anthony Wonner – Chloé Pertuis
The main benefit of having a high-resolution sensor is not having photos with as many pixels as possible. The more megapixels placed on a sensor, the more the size of the photo’s sides is reduced, capturing less light. The main interest of these dimensions is to achieve the so-called pixel binning: the pixels of the photos are merged to capture more brightness while reducing digital noise (the ISO increase is lower).
Day photos in 108 Mpx vs. in 200 Mpx
108MP mode
200MP mode
In this example we see what the 200 Mpx can really bring: during the day it manages to capture more light than the previous version, although it seems less capable of handling the strong exposures. However, it seems that the stitches on my college sweater have a resolution that is significantly higher than the 108 Mpx mode.
108MP mode (Galaxy S22 Ultra)
200MP mode (Galaxy S23 Ultra)
108MP mode
200MP mode
Also in this exercise we see that the Galaxy S23 Ultra recovers much more detail in dark areas and against the light: we notice it with the store whose interior we can better distinguish. However, the algorithmic processing is worse when it comes to text highlighting. That of the shop front is more legible in the 108 Mpx photo. Which isn’t necessarily an advantage: we don’t find the editing of the photo to be entirely natural.
108MP mode (Galaxy S22 Ultra)
200MP mode (Galaxy S23 Ultra)
The night shots of the Galaxy S23 Ultra vs. the Galaxy S22 Ultra
108MP mode
200MP mode
In some night photos we see that the 200 Mpx sensor also recovers more details than the 108 Mpx sensor. This can be seen particularly well in this grid attached to a building. Also, the texture of the wall is less noisy and the small barriers come out less darkened. We also see that the Galaxy S23 Ultra produces more lens flares at streetlight level, and we will see that it can be much worse.
108MP mode (Galaxy S22 Ultra)
200MP mode (Galaxy S23 Ultra)
108MP mode
200MP mode
These two photos perfectly show the small flaw of the 200 Mpx mode: lens flares – or flare factor in French. These are the visual bumps that light sources appear in a photo, creating rays that degrade visual quality. In fact, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is not as good at blast measurement in high-definition mode as its predecessor. In reality, this is only the case if we do not touch the settings and do not select a location for the inventory. In other situations where you control this, it performs better than the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
When it collects more light, we realize that this can also be at the expense of details: in the images below we can barely make out the grid of the left wall, which is not the case in the photo taken in 108 Mpx. The lens flares are always bigger, but we see more detail at the office level
108MP mode (Galaxy S22 Ultra)
200MP mode (Galaxy S23 Ultra)
Which of Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra or Galaxy S22 Ultra will win the battle for high-resolution photos?
Finally, what should be considered in this comparison? Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 200MP mode is better. Firstly because it offers a really greater definition and this can be useful in certain situations. Thanks to better management of the dynamic range, more details can be recovered: dark and light areas are more detailed. It offers this while generating less digital noise than its predecessor.
However, there’s one situation where it performs worse than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: in low light and when it’s not being told where to focus. In these situations, it tends to set its brightness in the wrong place and create lens flare. Luckily, by helping him take better shots, we manage to do it. The verdict is clear: the Galaxy S23 Ultra is better.
In conclusion, one has to agree that these modes are reserved for those who want to go far in smartphone photography: for most applications, these very high resolutions are not useful unless you really want to saturate your memory. Also, the lower resolution modes allow the use of pixel binning and therefore better overall photo quality for easy use.
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