In part 1 of this series we have a daylight test between Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro with the 16MP Samsung S5K3P3 sensor camera and the Xiaomi Mi5 with the 16MP Sony IMX298 sensor camera.
It will be 3 images intended to test scenery shots in decent daylight.
Sony IMX298 specs Samsung S5K3P3 specs at a glance
| Samsung S5K3P3 | Sony IMX298 | |
|---|---|---|
| MegaPixels / MP | 16 | 16 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.06″ | 1/2.8″ |
| Pixel size | 1.00 μm | 1.12 μm |
| Phones carrying | Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro Vernee Apollo Lite Ulefone Future | Huawei Mate 8 Vivo Xplay 5 Vivo Xplay 5 Elite Oppo R9 Plus |
| Optical image stabilization (OIS) | No | 4-axis |
| Sensor release date | Q3 2015 | Q3 2015 |
- conditions: clear skies, early evening
- timing: shots from each phone for a given scene were taken within seconds of each other
- settings: HDR off, standard quality, auto, no flash
- focusing: auto, none set
- exposure point: none set, pointed camera at scene and snapped with app button
- processing: none, straight out of camera
- 100% crop: from original 16MP, saved at 75%
- full scene: reduced to 1280 wide, saved at 75%
- 50% crop: from original 16mp, reduced to 1280 wide, saved at 75%
Pixel peeping 100% 16MP images
Set 1
Set 2
Set 3
Both sets look very good, however the Samsung S5K3P3 doesn’t have quite the same level of detail as the Sony IMX298, and there appears to be a bit more artifacting in some areas of the pics with the S5K3P3. The IMX298 is looking a slight step more realistic and detailed.
In images such as these (distance scenery, good lighting), the Sony IMX298 is the winner over the Samsung S5K3P3 pixel peeping at 100%, but not by much and you may have to do some fairly heavy peeping back and forth between the two to see it.
The bolded phrases above are key. Let’s have a look at a more reasonable situation with the images not cropped. The popup should be significantly bigger (on desktop) than what you would see in a post popout on Facebook, far bigger than in Facebook timeline.
Full scene at 1280 wide (reduced from 16MP)
Set 1
Set 2
Set 3
In the 2nd round, we have a tie. In terms of color and sharpness it’s not possible for us to pick a winner.
It’s very reasonable that we’ll want to crop our photos a bit, so let’s see what happens with a 50% crop on the original 16MP images.
50% crop of original 16MP images (then reduced to 1280)
Set 1
Set 2
Set 3
In an interesting turn of events, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro with Samsung S5K3P3 could be the preferred image in set 1 and set 3, though perhaps in set 3 the Mi5 is showing a bit more realistic white balance.
In image set 2, the tonal range has the Mi5 noticeably better, especially up in the high contrast area where the tree branches meet the sky; there’s some minor, but noticeable blue fringing coming from the Samsung S5K3P3 there. In terms of sharpness there’s no clear winner for this portion of the comparison.
Conclusion
For this very limited set of shots, the Sony IMX298 has a noticeable advantage at the pixel level (100% crop). But at full scene and 50% crop there’s only the slight blue fringing in very high contrast areas that set the two sensors apart.
The way we see it is that if you’re shooting most of your shots in good lighting, the Sony IMX298 doesn’t hold much of a real-world image quality (IQ) advantage over the Samsung S5K3P3.
The Sony IMX298 does however have a slightly bigger sensor and OIS, which may help IQ with lower-light shots and when shutterspeed is below 1/30.
Let us know in the comments if you agree with the assessment. We will be having more in this series between the Sony IMX298 and Samsung S5K3P3 within the next couple of days.
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