Galaxy S8 vs $2000 mirrorless camera and DSLR: Ultimate camera face-off

Omitting the seemingly mandatory for this type of article introduction, which usually goes over how far smartphone cameras have come, I'll just say this – we are here to determine whether the Galaxy S8 can hold its own against not one, but two dedicated cameras. Samsung's latest, bezel-less flagship versus the Panasonic GH4 and the older Nikon D5100. Does a smartphone stand a chance against a $2000 mirrorless camera and an entry-level DSLR? We're about to find out.

But first, let's quickly establish why and how we're going to do this. Many people are of the mind that such comparisons are about whether a smartphone can flat-out outperform a dedicated camera across the board or not. I don't think that's the right way to frame things. Instead, consider this: we're here to see whether a versatile, mobile device that you carry on you every day is comparable in one of its functions to a larger device, that's dedicated to a single purpose. Is the smartphone going to decisively outperform both cameras? No. Does it perform better in some areas? You bet!

With that said, we also need to define what a 'quality photo' means in the context of this comparison. As the old proverb says, even the crappiest camera can take great photos in the right hands, and that's as true as ever. In fact, it's true in most all artistic and professional fields, as skill is more often than not much more important than equipment. However, the greatness of this proverbial photo is open to interpretation. Some might say that a perfectly framed picture that almost looks like a painting come to life is great, while others might praise an evenly-exposed, detail-rich shot with no artistic merits whatsoever.

At any rate, I wasn't tasked to go and take photos for an art exhibition at the office, I was tasked to take pictures of different things under different light conditions, and with three different cameras, so we are not going to judge the results by their artistic merits. Instead, we are going to be talking about color, detail, dynamic range, and how "finished" the results look with no post-processing involved. We know right off the bat that both cameras dwarf the S8 in terms of resolution (16 MP vs 12 MP), and we know that editing can change things a lot, but the question is which device produces the best-looking photos straight out of camera.

For the purpose of this comparison, we'll be using the following gear:

• Samsung Galaxy S8 – stock camera app, on “Auto”, with HDR turned off for consistent results
• Panasonic GH4 equipped with an Olympus Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 lens
• Nikon D5100 equipped with a Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5 kit lens

We will be shooting in aperture priority mode on both cameras, with the aperture wide open, and let the cameras adjust shutter speed and ISO automatically. White balance will be set to auto on all devices. The Olympus Zuiko lens is a sharp one, while D5100's kit lens is not the cream of the crop — it's a kit lens, after all — but it should do good to represent the other side of the spectrum.

With all this out of the way, let's cut straight to the chase:

Scene 1: Dandelions up close

If there's one thing smartphone cameras are particularly good at, it's close-ups. For this scene, I refrained from using Samsung's “Selective Focus” feature, which creates an illusion of a shallower depth of field, but it still managed to blur out the background nicely.

Still, the GH4 has the edge here. The bokeh looks creamier in this shot and the colors better convey how the scene appeared to me at that moment (but more on that later). I can't account for how the colors appear on your PC, laptop, or smartphone, though, sorry.

Anyway, the Galaxy S8, like its predecessors, is no stranger to oversaturation and excessive sharpening. This scene is a perfect example of both these “vices” acting full force. The greens are just too much, while the dandelions' florets have undergone unnecessary sharpening. This is not to say that these two traits of the S8's camera and software can't lead to good results, however. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Scene 2: The cathedral

Flat light – one of the worst enemies of a good photo. Barren skies, little to no contrast. But it is something that you'll face very often when taking pictures, so it's worth examining how the cameras compare in this situation.

And this is where the above-mentioned “shortcomings” of the Galaxy S8 actually lead to a better shot. Not only does the S8 photo have more detail in the shadows, but the higher overall sharpness of the image really brings out the intricate details on the cathedral's facade, which is the point of interest in this photo. Further, the S8 has managed to pull out some blues from the dull sky, without going overboard on saturation, while the GH4 has not.

Scene 3: Details, details...

Saw this dilapidated house with vines crawling up its walls in the old town, thought it would be a good candidate for a shot with so much going on its facade and above. I feel like the Galaxy S8 has done a better job at capturing the detail in the leaves above the house, whereas the GH4 has muddled things up quite a bit in this area. On the other hand, the colors in the S8 shot are way too warm. This is also something typical for Galaxy cameras, and in this case, it's doing the picture a disservice.

Further, the S8 has upped the contrast quite a bit this time around, killing some of the detail in the darker parts of the image. This is most evident from the almost pitch-black spot above the narrow window to the right.

Scene 4: Bike lane

This scene struck me as a good opportunity to test how the S8 fares when shooting against the light. I kept my expectations in check, but was very pleasantly surprised by the results. In fact, the Galaxy S8 photo, in my opinion, is a better representation of the scene as it appeared to me when I was there.

The warm light coming through the trees is one of the things that made an impression and the S8 photo makes me think “that was a nice moment”, while the GH4 shot makes me think “oh yeah, I remember what the scene looked like. Too bad the photo doesn't represent it all that well.” It's just too cold, because the camera tried its hardest to compensate for the warmness of the light.

Scene 5: Graffiti

A scene that's both rich in detail and color. The Galaxy S8 absolutely trumps the aging Nikon D5100 in this face-off, delivering more detail and more accurate, pleasant colors. The Nikon is too cold and suffers from a slight loss of detail. The Galaxy S8 photo has some much-welcome “pop” to it, and even when scaled up to fit in the Nikon shot, it still looks decisively sharper.