[Galaxy S III General] NaimC:
Thought I'd get around to finally posting this. Have access to an S2 as well, but always felt the 4S fared better in low light, so in the interests of time and bandwidth I stuck to a 4S vs S3 comparison only.

So far through testing I've found the S3 more often than not comes out on top in daylight or good light performance vs the 4S, so I've done this test only in low light environments since its here where things differ.

Apple iPhone 4S UK (Voda) 64GB Black | iOS 5.1

Samsung Galaxy S3 UK (Voda) 32GB Blue | 4.04 / ZDFE02

Now and again when the S3 came up a bit dark, I tested Night Mode as well. With respect to ratings, the higher the score /10, the better. 10 being the best.

Layout for each comparison.

4S | S3

4S HDR | S3 HDR

S3 Night Mode (only on a few)

100% Zoom comparison link.

Each column shows a 500px x 500px 100% zoom of a segment of the left, centre, right, top and bottom of each photo.

Please view these in actual size for best results.

Shoot 1.

100% zoom compilation.

Zoom compilation | Test 1

Scores.

4S (46.8) | S3 (48.0) | 4S HDR (45.9) | S3 HDR (49.8)

Overall detail

7.6 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 8.6

Exposure

9.4 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 8.7

Colour accuracy

7.8 | 8.2 | 6.7 | 8.5

Noise

7.8 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.8

Centre focus

7.2 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.1

Outer focus

7.0 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 8.1

Notes: 4S HDR blows out highlights, as does S3 slightly with default. 4S colours slightly overcooked. S3 far more natural and true to life, especially in HDR, but could do with an ever so slight contrast bump.

WINNER | S3 HDR

RUNNER UP | S3

Shoot 2.

100% zoom compilation.

Zoom compilation | Test 2

Scores.

4S (48.9) | S3 (46.0) | 4S HDR (44.3) | S3 HDR (47.5)

Overall detail

7.8 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 6.6

Exposure

8.6 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 9.0

Colour accuracy

8.4 | 8.6 | 7.1 | 9.0

Noise

7.6 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 7.8

Centre focus

8.4 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.8

Outer focus

8.1 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.3

Notes: Same sort of scenario as above. S3 is more accurate with colours, but here the 4S takes it with detail. Even in the outer focus areas too in this test. S3 HDR has the least noise, best colour accuracy and closest to real life exposure, but lacks the detail.

WINNER | 4S

RUNNER UP | S3 HDR

Shoot 3.

100% zoom compilation.

Zoom compilation | Test 3

Scores.

4S (48.4) | S3 (52.0) | 4S HDR (49.6) | S3 HDR (51.4)

Overall detail

8.0 | 9.0 | 8.7 | 8.8

Exposure

7.5 | 8.2 | 7.0 | 8.1

Colour accuracy

8.1 | 8.5 | 7.8 | 8.5

Noise

8.6 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.4

Centre focus

8.8 | 9.0 | 9.1 | 8.8

Outer focus

7.4 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 8.8

Notes: Very similar story as before. 4S on default loses quite a lot of outer focus in comparison to the others, and again burns the colours a bit compared to the S3.

WINNER | S3

RUNNER UP | S3 HDR

Shoot 4.

100% zoom compilation.

Zoom compilation | Test 4

Scores.

4S (48.5) | S3 (53.1) | 4S HDR (47.0) | S3 HDR (52.8)

Overall detail

7.2 | 9.4 | 7.2 | 9.3

Exposure

8.9 | 8.5 | 8.1 | 8.4

Colour accuracy

8.1 | 8.5 | 7.8 | 8.5

Noise

8.5 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.5

Centre focus

7.7 | 9.1 | 7.6 | 9.1

Outer focus

8.1 | 9.1 | 8.0 | 9.0

Notes: In this comparison the S3 takes a sizeable detail lead, with superbly impressive overall focus, even in the edges and outer sections. By contrast, the 4S has a much more shallower range of focus. Colour accuracy again goes to the S3, though the 4S seems to have more accurate exposure, with just a tad more lifelike brightness.

WINNER | S3

RUNNER UP | S3 HDR

Shoot 5.

100% zoom compilation.

Zoom compilation | Test 5

Scores.

4S (42.2) | S3 (40.2) | 4S HDR (43.8) | S3 HDR (44.1) | S3 Night Mode (45.5)

Overall detail

7.2 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 6.7 | 7.4

Exposure

6.5 | 4.8 | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.7

Colour accuracy

6.3 | 6.8 | 6.9 | 7.5 | 6.8

Noise

7.2 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 8.6

Centre focus

7.6 | 7.4 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 7.4

Outer focus

7.4 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.6

Notes: This one all of them sort of fall apart with the extreme low light. S3 at default really drops the ball with the exposure (too dark), luckily in HDR it completely changes this around. Noise is comparable across the board, though the 4S edges it in detail. S3's Night Mode makes a huge difference to noise and exposure, at the expense of colour accuracy and a slower shutter speed.

WINNER | S3 Night Mode

RUNNER UP | S3 HDR

Shoot 6.

100% zoom compilation.

Zoom compilation | Test 6

Scores.

4S (44.0) | S3 (42.4) | 4S HDR (44.6) | S3 HDR (44.2)

Overall detail

7.4 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 6.7

Exposure

7.7 | 6.4 | 7.5 | 7.9

Colour accuracy

6.7 | 7.7 | 6.8 | 8.0

Noise

6.8 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 7.0

Centre focus

7.7 | 7.3 | 7.9 | 7.2

Outer focus

7.7 | 7.3 | 7.9 | 7.3

Notes: A similar story here with the S3 at default settings under exposing, though again, HDR mode seems to solve this. Noise is comparable, with the 4S again taking a slight detail lead whilst the S3 benefits from better colour accuracy.

WINNER | 4S HDR

RUNNER UP | S3 HDR

Shoot 7.

100% zoom compilation.

Zoom compilation | Test 7

Scores.

4S (45.2) | S3 (47.1) | 4S HDR (45.1) | S3 HDR (47.1)

Overall detail

7.6 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 8.0

Exposure

7.7 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 7.6

Colour accuracy

6.8 | 7.9 | 6.9 | 8.0

Noise

7.2 | 7.7 | 7.0 | 7.7

Centre focus

8.1 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.8

Outer focus

7.8 | 8.1 | 7.7 | 8.0

Notes: Slightly different situation here with the S3 taking a lead in colour accuracy and overall detail, along with less noise, especially in shadows and finer details. The 4S still enjoys slightly more accurate exposure.

WINNER | S3 / S3 HDR

RUNNER UP | 4S

Shoot 8.

100% zoom compilation.

Zoom compilation | Test 8

Scores.

4S (42.5) | S3 (44.8) | 4S HDR (46.4) | S3 HDR (44.5) | S3 Night Mode (46.0)

Overall detail

6.8 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 7.4

Exposure

7.2 | 6.8 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 8.0

Colour accuracy

7.5 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 7.3

Noise

7.0 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 8.6

Centre focus

6.9 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 7.6 | 7.4

Outer focus

7.1 | 7.6 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 7.3

Notes: Same lack of exposure with default S3 settings in very low light. HDR again solves the problem. Comparable noise among shots, though 4S HDR adds a good degree more chromatic noise in exchange for added detail. S3's Night Mode far cleaner and more bright, but a bit too over exposed and vibrant.

WINNER | 4S HDR

RUNNER UP | S3 Night Mode

Shoot 9.

100% zoom compilation.

Zoom compilation | Test 9

Scores.

4S (51.0) | S3 (53.6) | 4S HDR (49.5) | S3 HDR (53.7)

Overall detail

8.5 | 9.6 | 8.5 | 9.6

Exposure

8.7 | 8.3 | 7.5 | 8.4

Colour accuracy

8.2 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 8.4

Noise

8.7 | 8.6 | 8.6 | 8.6

Centre focus

8.1 | 9.5 | 8.1 | 9.5

Outer focus

8.8 | 9.2 | 8.8 | 9.2

Notes: All 4 perform well here, though the S3 in particular shows off a greater overall level of macro detail and focus range. Exposure again gets a slight nod to the 4S at default, with 4S's HDR overblowing things. Colour accuracy far more balanced this time, with less obvious red/yellow push from the 4S.

WINNER | S3 HDR

RUNNER UP | S3

Score Totals.

4S (417.5) | S3 (427.2) | 4S HDR (416.2) | S3 HDR (435.1)

WINNER? | Read below

Conclusion.

Contrary to the actual scores, I wouldn't personally announce either phone the low light camera champ. They have different strengths and weaknesses. It actually depends completely on the type of low light condition in question, along with what a user is actually after from the camera. So how would I summarise?

If you're the type of user that doesn't want to play around with settings, and just wants the most accurate default low light camera out of the two, go with the 4S. It's default mode generally gets it right more often than the S3's does at default. Exposure is usually close to accurate, and noise relatively good. Where it lets itself down is poor colour accuracy (far too much saturation and red push), the odd lack of detail and a shallower range of focus, which often leads to a sharp centre, but less sharp edges.

If you're the type of user that doesn't mind playing around with settings, the S3 is probably the better pick. It's HDR mode generally fixes the poorer exposure shown by S3's default settings at extreme low light conditions. Coupled with the fairly decent noise control, brilliant overall focus range and better colour accuracy, it's a decent pick. If you want things dramatically less noisy, cleaner and more bright, you have the option of Night Mode (at the expense of a faster shutter speed) which the 4S does not have at all.

So really, which phone's camera is better out of the two in low light conditions is really a matter of personal choice and preference.

I personally think Samsung should be able to improve the S3's camera further by way of software updates, to bring it's default settings exposure to be more comparable to it's HDR shots. Currently, at default settings, there seems to be a threshold in extremely low light where exposure suddenly goes much darker than required. The only solution to get it closer to what the eye see's is using HDR mode, or Night Mode.