Which of Samsung’s two flagship phones is the superior shooter? Find out in this Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Galaxy S20 Ultra camera shootout.
Samsung has not one, but two phones vying for top camera of the year. The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is a photography monster, but the Galaxy S20 Ultra is a picture-taking beast too. These two flagships from the same company have lots of similarities when it comes to their cameras, but there are also plenty of differences. Can the newer Note 20 Ultra’s upgraded specs give it the edge? That’s what we aim to prove in our Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs Galaxy S20 Ultra camera shootout. See also: Best Samsung phones you can buy On the surface, it would appear that the two phones share almost identical camera specs. Both have 108MP main sensors, for example, and each shoots with what looks to be the same 12MP ultra-wide sensor. The focusing systems are wildly different. The Note 20 Ultra has a laser autofocus system, which is being used to sidestep the problems created by the S20 Ultra’s time-of-flight camera. Another spot where the two phones differ is the telephoto. The Note 20 Ultra has a conservative 12MP telephoto with 5x optical and 50x hybrid zoom, while the S20 Ultra has a 48MP telephoto sensor with 4x optical and 100x hybrid zoom. If there’s any difference in how these cameras perform, it will be zoom. Video capture capabilities are the same with 8K at 24fps for the main cameras at 4K at 60fps for the front cameras. Here are the details: Let’s start with an indoor shoot. Here we can see wildly different white balance. The Note 20 Ultra gets it right, while the S20 Ultra skews a bit too far in the warm direction. Focus is also better in the Note 20 Ultra shot. You can see the details in the painting just a bit more easily in the shot from the Note 20 Ultra. Related: The best Android camera phones you can get Here are two shots taken at 108MP. What strikes me about these images is the detail visible in the brick, which is good across both shots. You can see the contouring of each individual brick. The Note 20 Ultra took a slightly brighter image that looks a bit more natural.
