Phone Review

Goohgle Pixel 6 Pro vs. Galaxy S21 Ultra: Which phone has the best camera?

Gone are the days when the mobile phone was for communication, and the digital camera captured pictures and videos. Today, phones have replaced cameras, and now phone cameras are one of the critical features of any phone. Some people even decide which phone they want to buy based on the camera results. So, a phone is as good as its camera, do you think so?

Now, Pixel 6 Pro has been hyped as the best camera phone 2022 because of its hardware and the great support of Google's software excellence. Now let's discuss this and see if it can beat the new Samsung Galaxy 2022.

samsung s21 camera

Samsung's Galaxy S21 Ultra and Google's Pixel 6 Pro are among the top-rated phones in 2022. They have brilliant performance statistics, excellent displays, and phenomenal camera results. But which phone bags the best camera phone 2022 award.

Pixel 6 Pro Camera vs. Galaxy S21 Ultra Camera

Google is a king in processing and software, so when we talk about the best camera phone 2022, Pixel 6 Pro seems like the best candidate. It was crowned as the best camera phone for a long time. But as compared to the Pixel 6 Pro, it tends to oversaturate its images. The Google Pixel 6 Pro pictures are great need minimal editing, but Samsung Galaxy S21 is not far behind by any means.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra has an excellent telephoto setup because of its two zoom lenses. One is a 10MP f/2.4 telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom, and the other is a 10MP f/4.9 sensor with 10x optical zoom. The Galaxy S21 Ultra offers up to 100x digital zoom, but its results are not praiseworthy. On the other hand, the Google Pixel 6 Pro has a single 48MP f/3.5 telephoto lens with 4x optical zoom bit and 20x Super Res Zoom.

The Pixel 6 Pro has a selfie phone with an 11.1MP f/2.2 84˚FoV. The other contender for the best camera phone 2022, the Galaxy S21 Ultra, offers a higher resolution 40MP f/2.2 shooter but with a smaller field of view.

1. Configuration

Pixel 6 Pro Camera	Galaxy S21 Ultra Camera
1/1.31-inch 50MP wide sensor accompanied by an f/1.85 aperturet	1/1.33" 108MP wide sensor with an f/1.8 aperture
Telephoto: single 48MP sensor and a 4x optical zoom	Telephoto: a pair of 10MP sensors, one with a 3x optical zoom lens and the other with a 10x zoom
40MP selfie camera	11.1MP selfie camera

2. Specific comparison

2.1 Comparison of different light and Object Contrast

We found that the new Samsung Galaxy 2022 and Pixel 6 Pro overexposed low-light photos when we tested the Google Pixel vs. Samsung. This overexposure with aggressive noise cancellation makes the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Google Pixel 6 Pro pictures have flat backgrounds and decreases the dynamic range. However, the foreground detail in both the phones remains incredible.

google pixel 6 pro camera

However, about the best camera phone 2022, we see that the Pixel 6 Pro has better results but loses some dynamic range and small detailing. The Galaxy S21 Ultra, on the other hand, has resulted in saturated colors and contrast, however, more toned down than previous versions.

Pixel 6 Pro has an advantage in night shots as it creates better and clearer pictures even in the night mode. Though Galaxy S21 Ultra does better in some cases, that's real. For example, the Pixel 6 Pro captures a great photo of a starry night sky, but Samsung takes a great picture of the night moon.

2.2 Comparison of front and rear cameras

Pixel 6 Pro has triple camera setups, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra has quad rear cameras. The Galaxy S21 Ultra offers the highest resolution for the front and primary rear camera. But the Pixel 6 Pro wins over with more outstanding zoom capabilities thanks to its 48 MP telephoto camera. Samsung offers a 1/1.33-inch 108MP primary camera with f/1.8 aperture, Laser AF, PDAF, and 0.8µm large pixels. Google's Pixel 6 Pro competes for the best camera phone 2022 with a 50MP sensor with OIS, f/1.9 aperture, Laser AF, and 1.2µm large pixels. So, it is a close contest, no doubt.

samsung s21 ultra camera

The front camera of Google Pixel 6 Pro for selfie shooting offers an 11.1 MP sensor sitting behind a fixed focus lens with f/2.2 aperture. This further gets stronger with its unmatched image processing algorithms to optimize image quality regardless of the shooting conditions. In comparison, Samsung S21 Ultra offers a 40-megapixel camera on the front for selfies, with an f/2.2 aperture and a pixel size of 0.7-micron.

Want a Google phone but short on budget? Check our detailed write-up on, Are the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are still worth buying in 2022?

Conclusion

When you compare two phones to identify the best camera phone 2022, Pixel 6 Pro seems to be doing better with a higher resolution primary sensor to capture more details in the image. It does better in low-light photography, resulting in more precise image quality than Galaxy S21.

But the Galaxy S21 Ultra is not a complete failure. It produces excellent images with excellent color contrast and details. Though, our complaint remains that the colors are boosted more to make the forefront object more prominent and dulls the background. Also, the Galaxy S21 Ultra has a hardware advantage with its better zoom lens.

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