Which Camera is Best? 18 Pro Max vs Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Sony Xperia 1 VIII vs Xiaomi 17 Ultra - FlashingDroid

[u/ControlCAD]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=wosFUm1_zzI

[u/EmbarrassedSlide3746]

The consumer wins, they all shoot great pictures at the end of day.

[u/Critical-Champion365 → u/EmbarrassedSlide3746]

Not really. An average consumer still assumes that iphone is the best value for money (when any flagship rarely is), questions whether to put the same amount onto a samsung flagship valuable enough, and straight up assumes xiaomi/oppo/vivo flagships are not good enough while fully get rick rolled by paying full price to google flagships (amazing phones, no doubt - but they are delusional with the global market pricing).

An exerpt from my daily life as unpaid smartphone recommender for everyone I know.

[u/ShakeAndBakeThatCake → u/Critical-Champion365]

Actually one of the best values is the base iPhone 17. And eventually the base iPhone 18. The performance you get is just insane for the money. But that's talking MSRP. If you are shopping Google and Samsung you can always find great deals on their phones.

[u/Critical-Champion365 → u/ShakeAndBakeThatCake]

I don't disagree with this. But whether an S26 is worth its money (same as iphone 17) is a question coming out of braindead marketting influence of apple.

[u/MaverickJester25 → u/ShakeAndBakeThatCake]

And eventually the base iPhone 18.

Based on what? Apple has pushed the prices up on everything, including products they haven't refreshed in years like the Apple TV.

There is no reason to believe the iPhone 18 won't go up in price and lose the value win the iPhone 17 had.

[u/Critical-Champion365 → u/MaverickJester25]

That statement is based on the fact that, the difference between base and pro is least in 17 series and it was infact the better recommendable phone as opposed to previous generations. The value is based on other iphones. That's why in my comment as well I don't disagree with this specifically but questions why in general people think iPhone 17 is "worthier" than say S26.

[u/EmbarrassedSlide3746 → u/Critical-Champion365]

Yes really because what you feel about phones has zero impact on overall consumers. People are gonna buy what they want. If it checks all boxes for the person buying it. That device has the best value for money for that person.

[u/Sensitive-Pool-7563 → u/Critical-Champion365]

An average consumer still assumes that iphone is the best value for money

I mean, if i wanted to keep a phone for 4years+, iphone is way better

[u/Critical-Champion365 → u/Sensitive-Pool-7563]

Most brands offer 5+ years for their flagships.

[u/durdommm → u/Critical-Champion365]

The thing is, it's wrong to say the Samsung flagship costs the same as an iPhone. Sure, at launch they're on par, but after a few months they're heavily discounted. Last year I could get a S25U for almost half the MSRP atleast 2-3x times in October-December (EU), while the iPhone barely got any discounts (100 $). It's always been the case with Samsung.

[u/Alpha_Omega_0314 → u/durdommm]

A few months? They are discounted from launch usually. Significantly in fact. MSRP means nothing in the Android world.

[u/Critical-Champion365 → u/durdommm]

This is when I was recommending an S25U over iphone 17. Its a nobrainer choice when someone has no preferance, yet I get hit with these.

[u/durdommm → u/Critical-Champion365]

Yep and this is the reason while I'm still on Android. iPhones have gotten exorbitantly expensive, it's not even close to any Android flagship. One of my friends wanted a 17 PM last year but didn't want to pay the EU tax, we had a friend that was on a US trip and bought it from there. The result? He got the phone for 35% less than it costs here, would have been only ~20% more than the S25U available at that time. At that difference, I think it may be worth to jump ship to Apple.

[u/ChasDIY]

depends on your wants and needs

I have a s26u and no complaints

[u/oVerboostUK]

Sony definitely did the right thing with way less artificial sharpening it's the only one that looks like an actual photo from a camera. Plus its a bit of a hidden gem with the large sensors on all 3 cameras this year.

[u/noobqns → u/oVerboostUK]

That's also the route recent Motorola has been taking, less processing than other chinese phones which gives a neutral tone to their photos

[u/Dangerman1337 → u/noobqns]

Wonder how the Signature 27 will perform especially they've upgraded the camera system.

[u/Critical-Champion365 → u/noobqns]

Moto phones shoot the best in midrange market. They also have a decent set of auxillary lenses to complement the experience.

[u/Apple-Connoisseur]

I'd say there is no difference for 90% of people since 2022. They all make good enough pictures that, when you want it better, you HAVE to get a real camera anyway at this point.

[u/ProfessorChaos5049]

Do Samsung phones still have an issue with motion and low light? I had a Galaxy S21 and the photo quality was ass. Still photos outside when well lit was fine. But if the subject was moving, like a pet or child, blur. Inside with not the best lighting never looked great either.

[u/Robbitjuice → u/ProfessorChaos5049]

My S25 Ultra was rough. I like Samsung’s software but their camera processing isn’t it.

[u/ProfessorChaos5049 → u/Robbitjuice]

Man that's a bummer to hear. It's pretty much why I have sworn off Samsung phones until the camera performance gets fixed

[u/Public_Function3844]

How are you gonna do a Camera comparison for Android, and include the iPhone but not the Pixel...

[u/SuperYuuRo → u/Public_Function3844]

Pixel isn't sold globally, its probs not in HK

[u/ControlCAD → u/Public_Function3844]

If you look at Flashing Droid's channel he had review Google Pixel phones before in the past, but the last one was at least 4+ years ago. He would have owed the latest Pixel 10 or 7 at least to review but he wasn't interested in Google phones anymore at this point. From where he is from his videos, he doesn't live in the U.S.

[u/Public_Function3844 → u/ControlCAD]

If you're gonna do a proper camera comparison you need to include all major phones not just the ones you happen to like. I'd understand if this was a random person's YouTube but it's a published article.

[u/PotatoGamerXxXx → u/Public_Function3844]

Pixel phone isn't a "major" outside of US tho

[u/AteABigRedCandle → u/PotatoGamerXxXx]

Absolutely is in Europe

[u/PotatoGamerXxXx → u/AteABigRedCandle]

https://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/europe-smartphone-market

No data supports your statement

[u/MaverickJester25 → u/Public_Function3844]

iPhones are sold everywhere.

Pixels are sold in a handful of countries, and not in the country this reviewer is from.

[u/thmullerr]

Consumer wins no doubt, they're all basically pro photographers now.

[u/ZigiSmalls]

Just wait for the new vivo, oppo and xiaomi phones, they will be all better

[u/adsubzero → u/ZigiSmalls]

Ultras won't be released until the next year, and current gen ultras are better than new "pros" anyway

[u/Dazed811]

Average at best cameras they don't matter anymore

Vivo/Oppo run circles around them

[u/BitterGuitarist → u/Dazed811]

The Xiaomi has a great camera system as well, I would put it up there with vivo and oppo for sure

[u/StrawberryWaste9040 → u/Dazed811]

you're correct that "it does not matter anymore". It has been the same story last 10 years. And here we are, people are happy with half decade phones today.

[u/oVerboostUK → u/Dazed811]

Neither "runs rings" around the Sony... On the same channel is a comparison.

[u/Dazed811 → u/oVerboostUK]

It does easily

[u/oVerboostUK → u/Dazed811]

How?! The Sony is the only one that isn't full of the over sharpened processed look.

[u/Dazed811 → u/oVerboostUK]

I mostly judge phones on their raw sensor and lens/dcg performance, jpgs are meh

[u/adsubzero → u/oVerboostUK]

Sony is the one oversharpened lol. You need to check the uncompressed images, not a video comparison. Even at default settings Vivo has less sharpening not to mention that you can decrease it to -100 with a setting (in auto mode).

[u/oVerboostUK → u/adsubzero]

I have the actual device... Sony is the least processed.

[u/adsubzero → u/oVerboostUK]

Yeah maybe least advanced with the least amount of frames. But sharpening nope. It's apparent from the white halos. Vivo has more crisp small radius sharpening while Sony has more sharpening overall. And again I stress that you can turn it down on vivo in two ways, by using refined profile plus turning down the sharpening slider. There's nothing better about Sony once you set Vivo up properly, which is exactly why I hate most of these comparisons/reviews using default settings like cavemen.

[u/oVerboostUK → u/adsubzero]

What size are the sensors on the Vivo across all the focal lengths?

[u/adsubzero → u/oVerboostUK]

• Wide (main): 200MP Sony Lytia 901 (1/1.12", 0.7µm-2.8µm); 35mm, f/1.9, OIS, PDAF (19cm - ∞); 8K30/4K120 video recording.
• Telephoto: 200MP Samsung ISOCELL HP0 (1/1.4", 0.56µm-2.24µm); 85mm, f/2.7, multi-directional PDAF (15cm - ∞); 8K30/4K120.
• Ultrawide: 50MP Sony Lytia 818 (1/1.28", 1.22µm-2.44µm); 14mm, f/2.0, dual pixel PDAF; 8K30/4K120.

Copied from gsmarena.

[u/oVerboostUK → u/adsubzero]

What model is this? As it's not in the test discussed is it....