S23 Ultra's Zoom Shines in Solar Eclipse Phone Camera Showdown, But iPhone 15 Pro Max Captures Vibrant Atmosphere
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I used 3 flagship phones - iPhone 15 Pro Max, Google Pixel 8 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra - to photograph a solar eclipse. The S23 Ultra's 10x optical zoom got me the closest views.
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Getting proper exposure was very challenging. I had to place solar eclipse glasses over each phone's camera lens to cut down the sun's glare.
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The iPhone 15 Pro Max produced some of the most vibrant, atmospheric shots by capturing the eclipse with clouds behind it.
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The Pixel 8 Pro had the widest ISO range (16-1536) allowing it to capture details in very dark and bright conditions, but exposure was hardest to control.
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Overall the S23 Ultra won by a nose thanks to its 10x optical zoom, but graininess reduced image quality at high zoom. The iPhone was a very close 2nd.