The Samsung Galaxy Camera essentially pairs one of Samsung's regular compact digital snappers with one of its Android phones, making features like in-camera photo editing and instant social sharing available over 3G.
At nearly £400 though, it's not cheap -- especially as it doesn't also function as a phone -- so let's take a look at how it stacks up against the behemoths of the smart phone world. I pitted the Galaxy Camera against Samsung's own Galaxy S3, the delightful and super-cheap Nexus 4, Apple's iPhone 5 and the Nokia Lumia 920.
Best for outdoor -- Galaxy Camera
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the bigger lens and sensor on the Galaxy Camera resulted in the sharpest overall picture while providing natural colour tones.
There was little difference in quality between the Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5, but the S3 just managed to capture the natural, cold January morning tones more accurately. The Lumia 920 meanwhile seemed to bring a soft-focus touch to the scene, while the Nexus 4's shot was both too dark and too blue.
Click all images to enlarge.
Best for zoom -- Galaxy Camera
With a 21x optical zoom on board, it's again unsurprising that the Galaxy Camera came out top in this test. All the other contenders had to make do with digital zoom which simply enlarges the image, thereby reducing the quality.
None of them were great, but the iPhone provided more zoom while still retaining a fair amount of detail.
Click images to enlarge.
Best for HDR -- iPhone 5
Update: A previous version of this article said the Galaxy Camera doesn't have a high dynamic range (HDR) mode as standard. Samsung got in touch to point out that it does, it's just called 'Richtone'. I got the Galaxy Camera back in and have added an HDR test for it below, and updated the comparison. The Lumia 920 definitely doesn't have HDR. I triple checked.
The iPhone 5 captured the best-looking original image in this scene, and did an excellent job of rescuing the darker areas on the bridge, resulting in an even exposure overall. The Galaxy Camera's attempt came in a close second but it didn't quite have the same warmth to it that the iPhone's shot did.
Hover your mouse over the image to see a before HDR and after shot. Click image to see full-size HDR version.
Best for low-light -- Lumia 920
Nokia proudly boasted of the Lumia 920's ability to handle low-light situations and it seems that those boasts weren't hollow. Even in the dim lighting situation I constructed it was able to capture a huge amount of light, making the scene perfectly viewable while maintaining an impressive amount of detail.
It was difficult to make a final judgement between the iPhone and Galaxy Camera. On the one hand, the iPhone's image was much brighter, however the Galaxy Camera captured a much clearer picture. It's up to you whether you'd be happy to sacrifice image quality for brightness.
The Galaxy S3's attempt was simply way too dark and the Nexus 4's noisy, discoloured image was laughable.
Best for macro -- Galaxy Camera
The Galaxy Camera's 16.3-megapixel sensor managed to do a good job of capturing fine detail in this macro test. The closest twigs were kept in sharp focus and the detail on the bark toward the edges of the pictures wasn't compromised.
The iPhone 5 provided sharper focus than the S3, which tended to blur away from the centre focus point. The Nexus 4 sometimes struggled to achieve sharp focus, as did the Lumia 920. The latter also seemed to provide wildly differing colour casts across different photos.
Click images to see full size.
Conclusion
The Galaxy Camera's optical zoom and better sensor made it the top dog in much of my testing. It's not perfect though by any means. I found the iPhone's camera was able to achieve a more even exposure across many scenes and the Lumia 920 did a much better job with low-light shots.
While the Nexus 4 didn't come out on top in any of my categories, it still deserves a kind word as it provides at least adequate photos, coupled with the smarts from the latest Android software while being roughly half the price of all others in the test.
In general, while it did produce more detailed shots, I found the Galaxy Camera didn't bring consistently better results in terms of exposure or colour balance . If you already own an iPhone 5 or a Galaxy S3, I certainly don't think it's worth buying the Galaxy Camera as well.
If, however, you have a cheap Android phone like the Huawei Ascend G300 and want a feature-packed snapper with a good zoom to go with it, the Galaxy Camera is worth a look.
- Thanks to Carphone Warehouse for lending us the Nexus 4 for this test.
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anonymous 14 January, 2013 16:27
Doesn't look like the Lumia 920 in this test is running the latest firmware update ('Portico'). Pictures are much sharper with the new FW.
Neilc28 14 January, 2013 16:56
You mention in one section that the iPhone 5 and Galaxy Camera came in at a draw as the iPhone had the brighter image and the Galaxy Camera had a cleaner and more detailed image. In photography it would almost always be the cleaner and more detailed image that would be considered, exposure can always be adjusted afterwards, loss of details cannot.
I would put the Galaxy Camera above the iPhone 5 camera in that part of the test, but that's just me ;)
Andrew Hoyle 14 January, 2013 17:12
Thanks for the comments guys!
All devices were updated to the latest available firmware and all camera settings were set to automatic, with maximum available resolution.
Neilc28 -- From a photographer's perspective you're absolutely right -- quality is paramount -- but from a phone snapper's perspective, they might just want the brightest photo when taking a picture of their food in a dimly-lit bar. Depends what you need really so I left that one wide open!
anonymous 14 January, 2013 21:02
I really dont see the point of the galaxy camera being in this comparison!
anonymous 14 January, 2013 22:43
It would be really interesting to see how the Galaxy Camera compares with the Nokia 808.
dorix 15 January, 2013 08:59
Very interesting Mr Hoyle.You and your other friends might be interested in the comparison that was done on the Pureview club with the above items PLUS the Nokia 808 Pureview.
anonymous 15 January, 2013 11:57
This is rubbish, obviously the camera makes better photos as it's sole purpose is to make them.
anonymous 15 January, 2013 12:00
The Galaxy Camera has a HDR setting, it's the "Rich Tone" in the presets, the file name actually states HDR. You will also find that the ability to download programs like FV-5, gives you the ability to do post-processing HDR through Luminence HDR (PC program).
1000122378 15 January, 2013 12:54
You say you're running the latest firmware available on all devices. For the Lumia 920, that would be 8.0.10211.204 (Portico) which hasn't been released outside of the US and Canada yet. I assume that's what the first poster was getting at. Unless CNET UK installed the update themselves or got a recently shipped handset with it preinstalled, the latest version available is not the version that fixes some of the problems you're seeing.
The shots look good to me but they do seem overly softened and that was a problem before the update.
Denisas Pupkevicius 15 January, 2013 13:11
Every time when I see comparisons like this, I can not understand why theres Iphone, which using Sony camera/sensor, but no Sony Xperia model, which actually not worst at all or even better?
anonymous 15 January, 2013 15:55
@ 1000122378
But this is Cnet UK In the UK not US or Canada. The UK. So this update was the latest available for the UK.Just picking at nails now.
anonymous 15 January, 2013 16:10
I've been a serious amateur photographer for 40 years. Even if you have an 8-12 MP camera phone, at best you are using the equivalent of a through away camera. Your also comparing a sub $200 camera to phones that cost $500 without a contract. For what an iPhone or S3 cost without a contract, you could buy a Canon Rebel T3 ($500) that would slaughter any camera phone made. Do I ever use my S3 to take "snap shots"? Sure ,when I'm so fraking wasted and brain dead that I can't even use my camera on point and shoot mode
anonymous 15 January, 2013 16:28
You guys didn't use the low light setting on the GS3 , which you receive after you perform a software update. If you would have used that, it would have blown all the other cameras out of the water on the low light
CaptainPicard 16 January, 2013 09:46
I would have really liked to have seen the Nokia Pureview on this test, software and connectivity wise the Galaxy Camera is better but the Pureview probably produces better photos.
anonymous 27 January, 2013 08:57
Why is a galaxy camera being used. If you wanted a cheap camera with great zoom and wifi and smartphone and tv link and internet upload apps then something like a samsung wb850f would be better and cheaper. Zoom and sensor is same as galaxy camera and it has android and ios apps. Low light quality isnt great.
anonymous 31 January, 2013 08:14
So you're including a camera with mobile phone camera's. Seems legit.
brackvakic 12 February, 2013 18:26
These CNET comparison tests are completely useless. The reviewer (obviously an iPhone user) never really knows how to operate the other kit and makes mistakes like using out of date software, not knowing the Galaxy Camera had HDR and failing to use the GS3's low light mode. Work out how to use something before you test it you moron!
The iPhone always ends up way higher placed than anything because it's the only one being tested the reviewer knows how to use properly. Complete waste of time.
anonymous 25 February, 2013 10:55
I dont own ip5 and gal camera but have s3 , 920 , ip4. S3 camera is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than lumia 920. This is The user xp.
Flobamor Maran 2 March, 2013 17:48
This the good slim camera digital,.thanks you for the reviews
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anonymous 11 May, 2013 05:38
I Have galaxy S3 and from my xperiance it is better than iphone 5 and the lumia 920........... Guys the smat choise is Galaxy s3 it RockZzZ...........!!!