I compared the 30× telephoto performance of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S26 Ultra, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. It is quite clear that Samsung’s telephoto optimization has already reached its limit, and there is little room left for real improvements in image clarity.
Under these circumstances, the S26 Ultra relies on heavier sharpening to make photos look “clearer.” At first glance the images may appear sharper, but the processing leaves obvious artificial traces and often makes the photos look unpleasant and unnatural.
In this comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro Max performs the best. Its images look more natural and show no obvious signs of aggressive processing.
The result suggests that Samsung’s telephoto development has reached a bottleneck. In that sense, the leadership changes inside the division may have been the right decision.
No comment.
Same locations.
Same low-light zoom test.
Same auto-switch left untouched.
Same dramatic outcome.
Different year. And somehow…those exact “special” shots go viral every time.
Nice consistency. 🤣
@9lekt and that's the Find X9's only zoom lens. I'd like to see you try to fit 2 periscope zoom lenses with that big of a sensor in the s25 form factor without creating too large of a camera bump, with an spen inside
@MitchellN2002_@encoword If it has a continuous x3 sensor like the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, okay. But if it's just an x3 and an x10, between the x3 and the x10, the quality will be bof. I find an x3, an x5 and an x10 of optical qualities more useful. And Samsung, even on the x20, x30, is still very good.
Cameras :
Phone A
- 1/1.28" Main
- 1/3.94" telephoto 3X
- 1/2.55" Periscope 5X
- One UI 8.5
Phone B
- 1/1.12" Main
- 1/1.28" Periscope 3X
- 1/2.75" Periscope 10X
- ColorOS 16.1
Which one would you pick ??
Comment 🤔
This photo was taken with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.
The bird is called a Bohemian waxwing. It kind of looks like Donald Trump.
The shots were taken at 1×, 3.2×, 10×, and 30×.
What do you think?