Camera Phone Shootout: HTC One (M8) vs. Samsung Galaxy S5 vs. Sony Xperia Z2

Smartphone Shooters

With the recent release of the trio of premium 5-inch Android smartphones - HTC One (M8), Samsung Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z2 - it's only inevitable that we wanted to find out who's the best overall of the three newcomers. However, the imaging prowess of these smartphones required more effort to assess and so that's what we did in our spare time over the last few weeks to present you today's feature article. After all, the best camera is the one you have with you, and we’re sure you will never leave your smartphone aside.

Before we begin the comparison, we'll roundup the key camera-centric features of each smartphone to get you up to speed if you're not already familiar with them.

HTC One (M8)

Similar to its predecessor, the HTC One, the One (M8) also features a sensor size of 1/3-inch (the smallest in this line-up), pixel size of 2µm, focal length of 28mm and a maximum aperture of f/2.0. It is however slightly improved with a more refined UltraPixel sensor powered by a new HTC ImageChip 2.

The sensor’s large pixel size is due to the fact that HTC has opted to stick to a smaller resolution (4 megapixels) while also increasing the size of each pixel in order to capture more light. This should theoretically result in less noise and a better dynamic range in images.

If you take a closer look at the One (M8)’s rear, you will notice that there’s a smaller lens located above the main camera. The main camera and this smaller lens make up HTC’s Duo Camera feature. The smaller lens doesn’t actually capture images, but  helps record more imaging information such as range and depth perception. This results in vastly faster autofocus times and also lets you separate the foreground from the background in post-production. The One M8 does not come with optical image stabilization (OIS) though, because HTC claims that OIS is incompatible with the stereoscopic rangefinder technology used by the Duo Camera in the One M8.  For a quick demo of its Duo Camera function with its imaging software, jump to the 45-second mark of the video below, and if you would like to read-up more on the Duo Camera and its related features, we've covered them at length in our hands-on article of the phone.

Play

Samsung Galaxy S5

The Samsung Galaxy S5’s camera comes with increased resolution compared to the S4, going from 13 megapixels to 16 megapixels. Similar to sensor resolution, the Galaxy S5’s sensor size also falls in the middle for this shootout, at 1/2.6 inches.

Maximum aperture is at f/2.2, and focal length is at 31mm, which gives it a narrower field of view compared to the Sony Xperia Z2 and HTC One M8. But what’s unique about the Galaxy S5’s camera is that it utilizes phase detection autofocus, unlike point-and-shoots and other smartphones, which use contrast detection autofocus. Phase detection autofocus is generally faster than contrast detection autofocus, especially in low light situations.

While HTC has opted for a lower resolution sensor with larger pixels in the HTC One (M8), the common practice is for smartphone manufacturers to squeeze in more pixels into the sensor. The problem with smaller pixels is that they have smaller dynamic range, meaning that less detail is captured in the darker or lighter part of the image. It doesn’t help that the Galaxy S5 does not come with optical image stabilization, which will affect shooting in low light.

Another concern is that smaller pixels are susceptible to crosstalk. Tiny light detectors in the camera called photodiodes turn light into a current, which the sensor’s chip processes into an image. Crosstalk occurs when some photons from light shining onto the pixels leak into the surrounding pixels. The surrounding photodiodes will turn the leaked light into a current even though there should be no light hitting these photodiodes, leading to a distortion of the original image. For example, light hitting a blue pixel results in photons leaking to the red and green pixel surrounding the blue pixel, which will lead to an incorrect color representation in the image which rightfully. shouldn’t occur but it's difficult to control with increasingly smaller pixels.

Fortunately, Samsung understands this issue and had implemented ISOCELL image sensor on the Galaxy S5 where each pixel is isolated via a physical barrier. The barriers serve to ensure that no light leakage occurs. The end result is improved color accuracy.

Sony Xperia Z2

Similar to the Xperia Z1, the Xperia Z2 carries on the tradition of having a relatively high resolution 20.7-megapixel camera and a 1/2.3 Exmore RS CMOS sensor that’s the same size as most sensors in modern digital point-and-shoots, which should, in theory, lead to some pretty impressive pictures for a smartphone. But not everything depends on size; sensor design, image processing and optics all play a part in the quality of images, so it’s hard to determine where the camera performance stands based on the specs alone.

The Sony Xperia Z2’s camera has a focal length of 27mm, slightly edging out the HTC One (M8) (which has a focal length of 28mm) in terms of having a wider field of view. The Sony-branded G lens has a maximum aperture is at f/2.0, and like the other two smartphones, the Xperia Z2 does not feature optical image stabilization so you might have to wait out for the next generation of smartphones in the hope that they may come with this feature to improve photo taking experience.

Camera Interface

HTC One (M8)

The HTC One M8’s interface is pretty straightforward with various modes for users to choose from, such as HDR, portrait or landscape modes. The One M8 also comes with a manual mode, which lets you adjust the white balance, ISO, shutter speed and even a manual focus option. The relevant shooting mode settings are arranged in the usual vertical scrolling list, which would prove familiar for all users.

Due to the extra sensor in the One M8, the camera is able to defocus your background based on the information captured. The ability to defocus the background is provided as an option when you edit your shot, making it easy to achieve the effect as well as greatly improving the speed of capturing photos. This is better as opposed to the slow photo taking experience on both the Samsung and Sony phones to achieve this same effect. More photo taking experience and examples are relayed in our review of the HTC One (M8) where we talk about imaging software usage. Unfortunately, there's only so much a 4MP sensor can offer in terms of imaging quality and this is the phone's only sore point.

Samsung Galaxy S5

Instead of following the usual drop-down or tabbed menu interface, the Galaxy S5 fills the entire screen with boxes so you can see many of the options available at a glance. Users who prefer a more hands-on approach will be disappointed as the Galaxy S5 does not feature a manual mode, and even the number of shooting modes seem awfully restrained according to Samsung’s usual standards.

There’s a panorama mode, burst shot mode and a portrait mode but we reckon users will probably spend the most time shooting in Auto. Auto mode does have a selective focus option, which lets you blur the background for a shallow depth of field effect. Here's an excerpt of its selective focus functionality in our review of the phone:-

Like the Xperia Z2 and the HTC One M8, the S5 camera also includes a faux bokeh mode, which will artfully blur the background of a photo for a shallow depth of field photo effect. Samsung's Selective Focus seems to have a few more restraints than either the Z2 or HTC One M8, and the mode warns you that the subject in focus should be less than 50cm away, while the background should be at least three times the distance. Once you've done the math, you can set up your shot, by pressing the selective focus button at the top of the camera app. Like the Z2, the S5 will then take two shots at different focal lengths.

For more experiential findings, check out our imaging experience conveyed in our review of the Samsung Galaxy S5. In nutshell, while the effect is easy to achieve, your results may vary depending on the situation.

Sony Xperia Z2

The Sony Xperia Z2 offers an Auto mode as well as a manual mode for those who like to tinker with their settings. The camera also has other video recording modes in addition to the standard video capture, such as the ability to capture 4K video and the option to create looping, six-second videos similar to those found on the social network, Vine.

Settings for the camera are arranged in a tabbed format, but our main issue with the various preset modes was the amount time it took for the Xperia Z2 to apply an effect or save a photo. It seems the other modes are opened as a separate app outside of the camera app, and this causes the phone to slow down. For example, when shooting in the background defocus mode, it takes a while to apply the defocus effect, and then you will have to wait a few more seconds to save the image. You can read more about our experience in our review of the Sony Xperia Z2.

Verdict

Overall, while all three phones implemented a slightly different presentation of their controls and functions, none were particularly outstanding and choosing one would pretty much come down to personal opinions. From our usage and observation, HTC One (M8) seemed to offer the cleanest interface with the most number of creative functions. Sony's Xperia Z2 was straightforward, but adding creative effects is a chore. Samsung's Galaxy S5 works adequately for most needs, though a cleaner presentation of options would improve it.

Resolution and Sharpness

All images on this page are 100% crops of the original images.

When shooting the resolution test, we are not only looking for the highest resolution possible, but also for the corner-to-corner sharpness. Not many users actually pay attention to corner sharpness since most shots have their subject framed in the middle, or users have manually focused on their subjects.

But corner sharpness is desirable when shooting landscape or architecture, so for reference’s sake we have taken a look at the corner sharpness for all three cameras. However, since we are unable to manually set the aperture setting and that all the smartphones shoot at the widest aperture, the chance for having soft corners is increased.

 

HTC One M8

While megapixels aren’t everything, having a higher count helps in capturing more detail. And that’s where the HTC One M8 falters, as its 4-megapixel camera isn't able to capture as much detail as the other two smartphone cameras. It scored 1100 LPH vertically and 1000 LPH horizontally, with the camera unable to capture the finer details in our resolution chart. Viewing images on the HTC One M8’s screen may not show much, but viewing them on a monitor, especially against the other two cameras, reveal a lack of detail. There was also a high frequency of moiré appearing in our test shots. The lens is reasonably sharp from corner to corner.

Samsung Galaxy S5

With the Samsung Galaxy S series being in its fifth iteration, Samsung has had lots of time and practice to improve on the on-board camera. The Galaxy S5 scored 1800 LPH both vertically and horizontally, and images were generally the cleanest and sharpest of the three. The lens did display some softness once you moved out from the center towards the four corners.

Sony Xperia Z2

In terms of resolution Sony Xperia Z2 did pretty well, scoring 2000 LPH horizontally and 1800 vertically. The problem was its lens exhibited the worst corner sharpness, with sharpness dropping off quickly once you moved out from the center. When reviewing the full 20MP shot, we noticed the Xperia Z2’s aggressive noise control also smudged out details, and when you combine that with its corner softness, the corners of the image looked like a grey mess of lines.

Shooting in Superior Auto resulted in a smaller, lower resolution shot, captured at 8MP. The noise control wasn’t as aggressive but the corner softness still remained.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S5 had the best performance for this round. Images were the sharpest, though it still suffered from softness when you moved away from the center of the frame. The Sony Xperia Z2 also performed reasonably well but image quality took a huge hit as it had the worst corner sharpness among the three cameras. The HTC One M8's low resolution proved to be a major weak point when it came to capturing detail, especially when the other two cameras were capable of more than twice its resolution.

ISO

All images on this page are 100% crops of the original images. 

HTC One M8

There’s a manual mode for the HTC One M8, so you can manually set the shutter speed, ISO and white balance. Image quality is not negatively affected when you shoot below ISO400. However, the smudging of details and noise starts to get obvious at ISO400 for the HTC One M8. Image artifacts also start popping up at ISO400.

Samsung Galaxy S5

The Samsung Galaxy S5’s image quality starts to deteriorate when you hit ISO 400. But the more obvious loss starts to occur at ISO800; details start to get lost and you can see the edges of objects start to blur or get smudged. 

Sony Xperia Z2

Similar to its predecessor, we experienced a peculiar issue with the ISO setting for the Sony Xperia Z2 - somehow the Xperia Z2 will label the ISO setting for the EXIF data incorrectly. For example, when we shot at ISO400, the EXIF data shows it at ISO500. Similarly, shooting at ISO800 showed that the EXIF data recorded it as ISO1600.

The Xperia Z2 retains detail well until you start shooting at ISO400, after which details start to get lost. However, the loss of detail isn’t that bad until you shoot at the highest ISO setting, ISO800 (which the smartphone records as ISO1600 in its EXIF data). Oddly, there are image artifacts in the black areas of our test shot at ISO400, but these artifacts are not present at ISO800.

ISO 200 - Image Quality Comparison

ISO400 - Image Quality Comparison

Other Notable Observations

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S5 had the best performance for our ISO test. It was capable of a better level of detail retention, where image quality only takes a visible hit from ISO800. The Sony Xperia Z2 improved on its ISO performance when compared to its predecessor but image artifacts still appeared in the darker areas of the our test shots. The HTC One M8 struggled to retain details after ISO400, and sadly it also suffered from image artifacts appearing in our test shots.

Colors

Click the images to view the full-sized versions.

In terms of colors, the Sony Xperia Z2 produces more natural colors, while the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One (M8) favor a more saturated outlook. We did notice that the HTC One (M8) has an issue with metering, as it copes poorly with any additional source of light in the frame. For example, we shot a sheltered fruit stall which had its lights on, and the result was that the image was over-exposed with parts of the image washed out.

Conclusion

The HTC One (M8)’s camera offers a very interesting approach to the megapixel race, but unfortunately its low-resolution sensor affects the amount of detail captured, and this flaw is made more obvious when you compare the output from all three premium smartphones. Another issue is that the camera, ironically, performs poorly in bright light. When there are multiple light sources, the environment appears brighter, but the outcome isn't positive. Images tend to get over-exposed with parts of the image washed out. Imaging color accuracy doesn't seem better than the original HTC One as observed in our review. This is not acceptable from a leading 5-inch smartphone device of today.

The Sony Xperia Z2 fixed some issues plaguing its predecessor, such as better noise control. Colors are more natural among the trio compared (or muted if you happen to prefer more saturation), but the camera is slow to process and save images - especially when special effects are invoked. It also suffers from softness in the lens once you move away from the center of the frame, which affects image quality of certain photos. Beyond image quality aspects, don't forget that the Xperia Z2 has an overheating issue when it comes to shooting 4K videos and the company recommends recording shorter bursts. While HTC doesn't have 4K video recording support, Samsung does and there have been no negative aspects reported (yet).

So it seems in this shootout, we found the Samsung Galaxy S5 to be the most consistent in terms of image quality and the best in terms of overall performance. Users who prefer to have more control over their shots may want to shoot with third-party apps. While some some may not be fans of Samsung’s saturated colors seen in in the images captured, it offers the most pleasing quality right out of the camera without any editing. In that respect, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is currently ahead of the other two phones.

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