OnePlus launched the OnePlus 12 a few weeks back which will serve as its top-end offering for this year. While it competes with the top dogs such as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra isn’t very far behind in this competition, considering it has a similar camera system as this year’s S24 Ultra. As a result, we are comparing the OnePlus 12′ camera system with last year’s Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra to find out whether OnePlus can beat one of the best camera systems out there.
Camera Specs
The OnePlus 12 has a triple camera setup at the rear, including a 50MP f/1.6 Sony LYT-808 primary sensor, a 48MP Sony IMX581 ultra-wide angle sensor, and a 64MP periscope telephoto camera with OIS. On the front, there is a 32MP IMX615 f/2.4 sensor for selfies and video calls.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a quad-camera setup at the rear, including a 200MP ISOCELL HP2 primary wide camera with dual pixel AF, f/1.8 aperture, a 12MP ultra-wide camera with 120-degree FoV, f/2.2 aperture, a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x Optical Zoom support, f/2.4 Aperture and another 10MP telephoto sensor with 10x optical zoom support and f/4.9 aperture. In addition, there’s a 12MP front sensor with an f/2.2 aperture for selfies and video calls.
Outdoor regular shot
Under outdoor conditions, you can observe in the photos above that both devices produce impressive photos that play well with dynamic range. We’d say that the exposure levels are slightly better on the Galaxy S23 Ultra shot with marginally better details. However, the comparison in such a case is quite neck-to-neck when it comes to the overall presentability of the photo. While the OnePlus 12 adopts a more natural look, the Galaxy S23 Ultra opts for a more vivid tone with colours that pop. If the Galaxy S23 Ultra is 8.5/10, the OnePlus 12 is 8/10.
Ultra-wide angle shot
In ultra-wide angle photos, the OnePlus 12 again misses out on accurate exposure levels as the photo begins to look slightly dull. The Galaxy S23 Ultra puts out a photo that is brighter with a slightly better dynamic range as well. The detailing in shots from both phones is impressive, while the distortion at the edges is also well contained. In terms of colours, both of them did a decent job.
100x zoom
Shots from the telephoto Sensors on both of them look fantastic. However, when comparing the 100x zoom shot (in case you ever want to click a photo that’s zoomed in so much), the shot from Galaxy S23 Ultra is much more usable, thanks to better detailing.
Portraits
Portrait photos that make use of the telephoto sensor look great on both. The detailing levels are high, while the colour tones remain different. They remain warmer on the OnePlus 12, while the S23 Ultra is cooler in artificial lighting conditions. In addition, the Galaxy S23 Ultra slightly messed up the EDGE detection, while the OnePlus 12 handled it perfectly. Overall, the colours were closer to natural on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, while the OnePlus 12 was better with the bokeh effect.
Low-light
In low-light conditions, the OnePlus 12 and Galaxy S23 Ultra were quite different as the former lacked behind in details while the latter handled them well. The colours look better on OnePlus device.
Selfies
Selfies for OnePlus have always been a weak point, and while the situation has improved in OnePlus 12, it still isn’t on par with the competition. The shots have low detailing, while the skin tones are warm. Colours, on the other hand, are well reproduced. On the other hand, the Galaxy S23 Ultra handles skin tones much better, which look closer to natural. The detailing is far better than the OnePlus 12 selfies, and the colours look better, too.
Night shots
As for night shots, the Galaxy S23 Ultra does a better job once again. While it does have a halo effect, it still spits out better details along with a brighter shot with superior colours when compared to shots from OnePlus 12, which lack detailing of any sorts and fail to brighten up the photo properly. Do note that both of these photos were taken with Night mode turned on.
Verdict
If we keep aside the comparison for a second, we can say that both the OnePlus 12 and the Galaxy S23 Ultra have a very capable camera system and produce great shots in most lighting conditions. However, with the comparison in mind, the Galaxy S23 Ultra does a better job in the majority of the scenarios, while the OnePlus 12 isn’t very far off behind.
