The Nokia 9 PureView and Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus are undoubtedly two of the best smartphone cameras in the business.
Nokia’s latest camera powerhouse is certainly a device that has been crafted around its camera capabilities, whilst the Samsung S10 Plus is probably classed as more of an all-rounder. So how do the two really compare? We’ll look at depth sensing abilities, low light photography, video recording and editing, amongst a whole range of other features.
Now, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is readily available from Clove at £899 including VAT, whilst first stock of the Nokia 9 PureView will be shipping on the 20th March and can be pre-ordered for a smaller £549 inc-VAT. So head on over to our website to check that out.
- Specifications
- Standard Shots
- Depth Sensing Abilities
- Low Light Photography
- Front Camera
- Video Recording
- Editing
- Other Features
- Specifications
So, before we get started, it’s important to know exactly what each device is packing.
The Nokia 9 PureView comes with that striking five lens setup on the rear that is quite unlike anything else on the market. Now all five of these lenses are 12MP sensors with an f/1.8 aperture and fixed focal length of 28mm. Where the difference lies then, is in the fact that two of these are colour sensors, whilst the remaining three are monochrome.
Not only do monochrome sensors allow for pure black and white photography, but they’re also capable of capturing twice the amount of light as RGB sensors, meaning the Nokia 9 PureView could theoretically deliver up to 10 times more light overall.
Now, the Nokia 9 PureView is actually the first phone capable of shooting images from 5 different lenses before fusing them into a single photo. This results in one ultra-highly detailed 12MP photo.
In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus has a triple-lens setup consisting of a 12MP telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture and 2x optical zoom, a 12MP wide-angle lens that comes with Samsung’s famous dual aperture technology, ranging from f/1.5 and f/2.4, and finally a 16MP ultra-wide-angle camera with a 123-degree field of vision and an f/2.2 aperture.
Nokia 9 PureView:
- Five 12MP sensors, f/1.8 aperture, 28mm fixed focal length
- Two colour sensors
- Three monochrome sensors
- Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus:
- Triple lens setup
- 12MP telephoto lens, f/2.4 aperture, 2x optical zoom
- 12MP wide-angle lens, dual aperture tech (f/1.5 to f/2.4)
- 16MP ultra-wide-angle lens, 123-degree FOV, f/2.2 aperture
Standard Shots
So, let’s begin with some very basic shots from the rear camera. None of these have any filters applied, any zoom or any fancy software tech, they are simply as they come.
You can see that the pictures both devices take are really quite impressive and are genuinely some of the best that we’ve seen from smartphones. There is a slight distinction though, because the photos that we took with the Samsung S10 Plus tended to be lighter and a little more saturated in colour. In comparison, the images from the Nokia 9 PureView are probably more natural, we don’t know if you would agree?
We might also tend to argue that the images from the Nokia 9 are a little crisper, but that’s really clutching at straws as it’s barely enough to notice at all.
Depth Sensing Abilities
Now, one of the clear advantages of having multiple lenses is that they allow for incredible depth, since numerous layers can be created.
Nokia actually claim that the Nokia 9 PureView is able to capture more than 1200 layers of depth data for a distance of up to 40m – to put that into perspective, most devices capture around 10. This means bokeh should be more realistic, since the blur would gradually be stronger the further away a scene is from the camera.
Samsung’s Bokeh mode is called Live Focus and uses advanced technology to detect humans, letting you soften the background shots and adjust depth of field for some fabulous images.
Both the Nokia 9 and S10 Plus allow you adjust the intensity of background blur, whilst the S10 Plus actually has a number of different bokeh effects – blur, spin,
Overall, the bokeh effect of Samsung is very good, however it’s very hard to achieve to achieve the same effects simply with software and so the Nokia 9 PureView definitely has the edge in this respect. The blur is slightly tidier and looks that little bit more professional.
Low Light Photography
The other theoretical benefit of the Nokia 9 PureView is its low light performance, since monochrome sensors can capture a lot of light. That said, again we’ve touched on the fact that this is a purer photography experience, but there is no dedicated low light mode.
The S10 Plus in comparison does have bright night mode that is activated automatically in darkness and the results have been pretty good. A powerful processor automatically combines multiple frames of the same low-light moment into one final shot and both front and back manage to capture an impressive amount of detail.
Alongside this, the S10 Plus does come with Samsung’s dual aperture technology that provides day to night light control, adjusting and optimising light before you tap the shutter.
Front Camera
If selfies are more your thing, then the front setup of both these devices are also pretty impressive.
Samsung’s front setup has undergone a makeover and now consists of two front lenses; a 10MP main lens with an f/1.9 aperture and an 8MP RGB depth cam that has an f/2.2 aperture. In contrast, the Nokia 9 PureView has just the single 20MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture.
Both devices focus pretty quickly for some decent self-portraits. The dual lens of the Samsung S10 Plus has the added benefit of being able to shoot in normal or wide-angle mode which is great if there are a number of you in an image. It also allows you experiment with depth of field and a number of artistic effects, including beauty mode in which you can change effects such as warmth and thinness of face.
Being more of a pure photography experience, the Nokia 9 PureView has slightly less fancy software effects but does come with HDR support for a complete range of colours in portraits.
Generally speaking, we have found the selfies of the Samsung S10 Plus to be more flattering, but that’s mostly because of the effects and software that is readily available. As we’ll discuss later in this video, one of the big benefits of the Nokia 9 PureView is it’s editing abilities after a picture is taken, so it depends if you want a ready made selfie or to perfect it yourself.
Nokia 9 PureView:
- 20MP front lens, f/1.8 aperture
- Beauty mode
- HDR support
Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus:
- Dual front setup
- 10MP main, f/1.9 aperture
- 8MP RGB depth cam, f/2.2 aperture
- Wide-angle mode
- Beauty mode
- Video Recording
When it comes to recording video, both the Nokia 9 PureView and the Samsung Galaxy S10+ are capable of 4K UHD recording both front and back. But what you’ve probably noticed already, is that Nokia’s camera powerhouse doesn’t come with stabilisation and so handheld video recordings can be incredibly shaky.
In comparison, Super Steady Video has been enabled on the S10 Plus and offers really effective digital video stabilisation. The device also uses dynamic tone mapping which means that colours stay accurate in each scene.
Either way, the actual quality of image of both recordings is brilliant.
The Samsung S10 Plus does have the added advantage of being able to shoot both in slow and super slow-mo at 90fps with HD support. The results are pretty impressive; however the actual quality of the picture is slightly lost when compared with standard shooting – but that’s hardly unexpected.
Low light video recording with both is also pretty impressive. We would argue that the results of the Samsung S10 Plus are probably that little bit lighter, however the Nokia 9 PureView probably captures that little more detail. Again, you’re hardly going to be disappointed with either.
Editing
Now as a pure photography experience, the editing capabilities of the Nokia 9 PureView are superior to pretty much every other device on the market right now. This is because you can save images both as the finished JPEG and as a RAW image, meaning that you can edit every tiny detail as you see fit. RAW images typically take up between 30MB to 50MB of memory but are perfect for more advanced photographers.
If you’re not quite at that level yet, then you can adjust basic blur and colour saturation, amongst others in Google photos. This is the same with the S10 Plus which allows you to apply filters after the shot as well as adjusting blur as we have seen previously.
Other Features
Now outside of this, the Nokia 9 PureView is more of a pure photography experience as we have covered, so there aren’t as many fancy bits, so to speak, such as AR stickers or novelty shooting modes.
That said, as three of its sensors are monochrome, the Nokia 9 PureView is capable of pure black and white photography that really gives a brooding look. Some of the images we’ve taken with the monochrome setting have been great and are definitely something that we would use.
That said, we’ve been equally impressed with the super-wide-angle lens of the S10 Plus. The Nokia 9 doesn’t come fitted with a similar lens and the images that we’ve taken, really benefit the actual picture taken and don’t come with too much distortion.
Alongside this, the S10 Plus also comes with an intelligent photo assistant called shot suggestion which is unlike anything we have used before. If you’re tilting your camera slightly, it will suggest straightening it and will take the image automatically once your camera is pointed at the right angle as you can see here.
AR emojis are also back, allowing you to use a selfie to create an emoji that looks just like you and follows your movement.
Conclusion
So, overall, we really cannot pick these two apart.
If you’re a more serious photographer and are looking for a pure photography experience from your smartphone, then the Nokia 9 PureView is probably the device for you. Being able to save images in the RAW format is a really big bonus and the depth sensing abilities of the device really are extraordinary. Colour reproduction is incredible and we’ve been seriously impressed with the images that we’ve taken. It’s also important to remember that the Nokia 9 PureView is also £300 cheaper!
In comparison, if you prefer a ready-made image and editing isn’t too important to you, then the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus might be better for you. The software tech has been very impressive and produces some images that are perfect for Instagram without any tinkering. We’ve been really impressed with the Super Steady Video mode and its wide-angle capabilities are really something.
The Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus is currently shipping from Clove Technology with a variety of memory variants, starting at £899 including VAT. Similarly, the Nokia 9 PureView is shipping from Clove from the 20th March for £549 inc-VAT and all UK orders will be shipped with a free pair of Nokia True Wireless Earbuds.