I took over 500 photos with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Oppo Find X9 Ultra to find out which is the better camera phone the winner was clear

Date:
Sun, 21 Jun 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Description:
I compared the cameras on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Oppo Find X9
Ultra, and while Oppo beat Samsung in several scenarios, the Galaxy stood its own.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a balanced flagship phone, but can it compete with Ultra-branded camera
phones from China? To find out, I pitted the best Samsung phone against the Oppo Find X9 Ultra , which is widely considered the best camera phone available right now. But while the Oppo flagship was the favorite going into my photo walk, the Samsung surprised me in a few ways.

With the S26 Ultra, the Korean giant doubled down on software and bundled it with larger apertures on two sensors, whereas Oppo went all-in on hardware upgrades and paired them with meaningful software advancements. It also added 10x optical zoom, making the Find X9 Ultra the only Ultra phone with this feature in 2026. Oppo says its 10x telephoto camera is 3x more
light-sensitive than the Galaxy S23 Ultra's 10x camera. The resulting camera system beats the Galaxy S26 Ultra in most scenarios, but Samsung's flagship phone surprised me on multiple occasions. It's certainly a better camera
phone than the Galaxy S25 Ultra , despite having seemingly similar hardware. Latest Videos From Watch full video here: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. Oppo Find X9 Ultra: Specs The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra covers 13-111mm focal lengths. It has a 50MP 13mm f/1.9 ultra-wide camera with a 1/2.5-inch sensor, a 200MP 23mm f/1.4 main camera with a 1/1.3-inch sensor, a 10MP 67mm f/2.4 3x telephoto camera with a 1/3.94-inch sensor, and a 50MP 111mm f/2.9 5x periscope telephoto camera with a 1/2.52-inch sensor. It looks formidable until you see what Oppo has on offer this year.

The Find X9 Ultra covers focal lengths from 14mm to 230mm. It has a 50MP 14mm f/2 ultra-wide camera with a 1/1.95-inch sensor, a 200MP 23mm f/1.5 main camera with a 1/1.2-inch sensor, a 200MP 70mm f/2.2 3x telephoto camera with
a 1/1.28-inch sensor, and a 50MP 230mm f/3.5 10x telephoto camera with a 1/2.75-inch sensor. You may like Oppo Find X9 Ultra review: simply the best camera phone ever made Oppo Find X9 Ultra photo gallery: I've taken 2,000 photos, here are my faves The Oppo Find X9 Ultra phone takes telephoto
cameras to new extremes

I took more than 500 photos on each phone and narrowed down this comparison
to 25 images. Here's how the two Ultra phone cameras compare: Main camera
Both Samsung and Oppo shoot pixel-binned images from their 200MP sensor by default. I recommend using a higher resolution mode (like 24MP or 50MP on the Galaxy S26 Ultra and 50MP on the Oppo), but I kept the default settings for this comparison. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Image 1 of 6 1x on Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) 1x on Oppo Find X9 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) 1x on Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) 1x on Oppo Find X9 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) 1.2x on Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) 1.2x on Oppo Find X9 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) The Galaxy S26 Ultra boosts color saturation
to add a pop, whereas Oppo's shots look more natural. While I like Samsung's contrast, there's some artificial color sharpening going on, making it look less natural.

On the other hand, the Find X9 Ultra gives you a more pleasing bokeh, thanks to a bigger sensor. Both phones captured good amount of details, as you can see the texture on the leaves.

However, I prefer Oppo's color science and Master Mode, which give me natural tones with minimal phone-like color processing. What to read next Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: which flagship smartphone is best? I shot the Champions League on the Oppo Find X9 Ultra with its teleconverter here's what happened Image 1 of 2 1x evening shot from the Galaxy S26 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) 1x evening shot from the Oppo Find X9 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) In evening shots, the Galaxy S26 Ultra gave my photos
a teal hue, whereas the Find X9 Ultra had a pink hue. My skin tone was better captured by the Oppo phone, and it had more details. In comparison, the Samsung shot looks slightly noisy and less appealing overall. Image 1 of 3 Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra night shot (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future)
Oppo Find X9 Ultra night shot (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) Master mode photo on the Oppo Find X9 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) Samsung has been working on improving its night mode photos for a few years now, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra beats its rivals in this scenario on most occasions. I want my low-light photos to look like low-light shots instead of artificially brightened photos. That's why I like Samsung's saturated colors on the entrance board versus Oppo's brightened picture quality at night.

However, if you switch to the Master Mode, things change drastically. The
Find X9 Ultra handles night light well and doesn't overexpose the shots to brighten every detail. In my testing, Master Mode consistently delivered better results than Oppo's default processing, and I relied on it for night shots. Telephoto cameras Image 1 of 3 3x portrait shot on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) 5x portrait shot on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Ultra. (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) 3x portrait shot on the Oppo Find X9 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna/Future) This is one of the scenarios where Samsung surprised me. I like its cooler tone
versus Oppo's warmer look, which gave my skin a yellow tint. It doesn't look bad, but I'm simply not that pale. Again, this could be fixed by using the Master Mode, but I expected better color science from the default processing. However, Oppo's shot captured rich details as compared to a slightly smoother-looking skin on the Samsung flagship. Image 1 of 3 3x Portrait on Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna) 5x Portrait on
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna) 3x Portrait on Oppo Find X9 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna) In challenging lighting situations like the above, when the setting sun was directly hitting my face, Samsung processed the photo better than Oppo.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra managed to get the golden hour look, while the Find X9 Ultra's shot looks washed out. Both photos were captured with tap and shoot, so the focus was set, and the cameras didn't struggle to find the subject automatically. Again, I wish Samsung captured more details with a more natural-looking bokeh. It looks soft and slightly artificial in comparison to the Oppo's. Image 1 of 2 3x tele Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna) 3x tele Oppo Find X9 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna) Oppo's bigger lens and smarter processing comes in handy when you need rich details in shots like above. Samsung struggled to focus on the thick webbing, while the Find X9 Ultra focused and captured even the single strands. And
this extends to the 10x telephoto camera. 10x macro on Oppo Find X9 Ultra (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna) Oppo demolishes the Galaxy S26 Ultra in macro shots. This was a tricky subject because the small flower kept moving in the slightest breeze. I struggled to get it in focus with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which it simply couldn't do. That's why I don't have a comparison photo for this shot. The Oppo Find X9 Ultra, by contrast, focused on the same subject with a single tap and even captured those white threads in the picture. Image 1 of 3 More telemacro shots from the Oppo Find X9 Ultra (Image credit:
Prakhar Khanna) (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna) (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna) One of the reasons I love having big telephoto cameras, like the one on the Find X9 Ultra, is that they allow me to get so close to small subjects and capture things I'd never be able to focus on with my eyes. Oppo's macro mode is right up there with Vivo's, and Samsung doesn't have a match for it. Ultra-wide camera Image 1 of 2 (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna) (Image credit: Prakhar Khanna) When it comes to my ultra-wide testing, the Oppo Find X9
Ultra was able to get more contrast and highlight the blues of the sky
without blowing out the green leaves as the Galaxy S26 Ultra did.

Overall, I prefer Oppo's shot here because it has more details on the tree trunks and didn't overexpose the leaves. However, Samsung's processing
focused on better exposing the leaves and didn't have the same halo effect as its rival. Verdict The Oppo Find X9 Ultra consistently captured richer
details compared to the Galaxy S26 Ultra. However, the Samsung flagship stood its own and even beat the Oppo phone on a couple of occasions. While I prefer having bigger sensors, the Galaxy phone surprised me in the best ways.

That said, Oppo easily wins in most scenarios. It is, hands-down, the current king of smartphone telephoto cameras. TechRadar's Cameras Editor Timothy Coleman also compared the Find X9 Ultra to two dedicated cameras and concluded, "It feels like this flagship Chinese phone renders most travel
zoom compacts redundant," which can't be said about the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The Master Mode is an added benefit if you like shooting film-like colors. I simply can't stop shooting with this phone. Today's best Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Oppo Find X9 Ultra deals Contract Deals Sim Free Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 36 months Unlimited mins Unlimited texts 1GB data 50 upfront 57 /mth View at Vodafone Ltd See all prices gift Oppo Find X9 Ultra 24 months Unlimited mins Unlimited texts 25GB data 29 upfront 46.99 /mth View at Mobiles.co.uk See all prices We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra-vs-oppo-find-x9-ultr a-camera-comparison


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