Camera Comparison: Galaxy S5 vs HTC One (M8) vs Sony Xperia Z2 vs LG G Pro 2

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Published 1 Apr 2014

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Disclosure

While the HTC One (M8) and the LG G Pro 2 are currently available for sale in a few select markets, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Xperia Z2 are still awaiting their final release. If you’re interested in any of these devices and you care about their camera performance, you should check out the detailed camera comparison posted by ePrice.

With the four flagships of 2014 in tow, ePrice sets out to compare their camera performance outdoors in brightly lit conditions, then indoors and in the dark, while also checking out the focus speeds of each device and its results for various focus distances (macro, mid-range, and far/infinity).

Outdoors, the performance of the Galaxy S5 and LG G Pro 2 seems to be quite similar, with both devices retaining as much color and detail accuracy. The Xperia Z2 suffers from purple and reddish tints in most photos, but brings more details with its 20MP sensor although it does tend to soften them as opposed to the sharp results of the S5  and G Pro 2. As for the HTC One (M8), its UltraPixel technology is of no benefit in well-lit conditions, because there’s already enough light to be captured regardless of the size of the pixel. With the end image being only 4MP, there’s a huge loss in details compared to the 13, 16 and 20MP sensors of the G Pro 2, S5 and Z2 respectively.

Note: The images below were all resized to the same width and uploaded. You can check the full resolution photos and more samples in the original article.

Indoors, and at various ranges, the G Pro 2 gives an accurate focus but suffers from slow focusing times. By comparison, the Galaxy S5 is a lot faster but less accurate. The HTC One’s UltraPixel camera shows some of its strengths in this case, with quick and accurate focus times. Finally, the Xperia Z2 sits somewhere between the G Pro 2 and the One in terms of focus speeds, but is as accurate in its end result.

As for shooting in total darkness, the focus speeds and accuracy remain the same as above, except for one notable difference: the Galaxy S5 seems unable to hold a macro focus in poorly-lit conditions. Also, in the end result, the OIS+ camera of the G Pro 2 seems to capture the most light followed by the HTC One’s UltraPixel. The S5 and the Z2 result in darker images with a lot of noise.

All in all, there seems to be a compromise and an advantage with each device. The LG G Pro 2 is accurate but slow, while the Galaxy S5 is accurate, fast, but has some noise and focus accuracy issues in the dark. The Sony Xperia Z2 adds a red/purple tint to all its photos but captures nice details, and the HTC One’s 4MP camera puts it at a disadvantage no matter how you look at it.

Check out more image samples over on ePrice and let us know which phone’s camera performance won you over in the comments.