The UK Mobile Phone Blog

Sony Ericsson Satio Vs. Samsung Pixon12: 12 Megapixel shoot out!

November 9, 2009 at 12:57 pm by Dan | In Mobile Phone Reviews

For those of you still getting your head round 8.0 Megapixel camera phones, brace yourselves as there’s a new number in town and that magic number is 12 (not three as a certain pop song might have you believe). Yes, mobile manufacturers are eagerly beavering away on 12 Megapixel camera phones and the first two are now available from Sony Ericsson and Samsung with their Satio and Pixon12’s respectively. So, for the early adopters out there, which one should you choose? Which 12 Megapixel camera has bragging rights as not only the most powerful camera phone but also best performer? Read on as we put the Satio and Pixon12 head to head in our 12 Megapixel shoot out.

First things first, in this review we will only be focusing on the camera’s. The Sony Ericsson Satio is a fully fledged smartphone where as the Pixon12 is merely a feature phone so comparing them in other departments would be unfair. One area we will compare the two though is the design as this directly impacts on the camera. Let’s first look at the Satio. The version we have today is the black which features a nice glossy finish but miraculously manages to stay fairly fingerprint free. The camera buttons sit on the side where we get zoom, capture, play last photo and switch between still and video capture. Each individual button feels nice though the capture key perhaps could have done with being slightly more raised as it can sometimes feel slightly awkward to press when trying to get a spur of the moment snap. The 3.5 inch display acts as the camera viewfinder and while it is a beauty, it does make for a slightly larger phone. The Pixon12 in comparison features a more compact 3.1 inch display making for a more compact overall design. Back to the Satio and on the back we find the sliding lens cover; a large metallic sliding mechanism that keeps the lens scratch free and also activates the camera automatically when opened.

On to the Pixon12 which as we mentioned before is slightly more compact thanks to a smaller screen. Take nothing away from the screen though as it uses Samsung’s AMOLED technology for an incredibly bright display. Again the camera buttons sit on the right side where we find zoom keys, capture and a button to open the camera. The buttons are all of a good quality though it would have been nice to have a few more options such as the Satio’s gallery key. On the back we find the camera which does benefit from a lens cover though unfortunately there’s no physical way to open it other than the aforementioned camera key. This is a shame and between the two it does make the Satio feel more accessible and instantaneous. Comparing the two is difficult. The Satio is bigger but then it benefits from a larger display which means you can see more detail on screen. The Pixon12 on the other hand is much more pocketable yet despite the smaller size is actually similar in weight so it feels more substantial in your hand. Personally, if I had to pick between the two I’d go for the Satio. For those of us with larger hands, the extra size is actually a bonus and it also makes operating and reading the touchscreen a lot easier. The sliding lens cover also won me over though both of these factors are entirely my personal preference with neither particularly unattractive nor uncomfortable to use.

Both phones feature a 12 Megapixel camera. Sony promotes theirs as 12.1 but as both phones capture the same amount of pixels, 4000 x 3000, we’ll put this down to pure marketing fluff. Both phones feature a Xenon flash, Autofocus, Face and Smile detection, Touch focus and an Image stabiliser. The Pixon12 does have some extra perks up its sleeve in the shape of Blink detection and more importantly a 28mm wide angle lens. The former is a bit gimmicky and in my time using the phone, I only found myself using the feature once or twice to test it out. The latter on the other hand is something Samsung are keen to promote. We’ve come across this before in the excellent Nokia N86 8MP. Basically the Pixon12 features a wider lens that is able to capture more information. Let’s say you’re taking a picture of a sweeping landscape. You’ll get more of the landscape on the Pixon12 than you would on the Satio. The negative to this is that objects in the Pixon12 photo are slightly smaller as the camera is trying to squeeze more in. It’s a trade off but the benefits of a wide angle lens are definitely an extra feather in the Samsung phone’s cap. Aside from this, the phone’s feature much the same camera extras so we can’t really separate the two on this basis. On camera features alone, if we had to pick a winner, the Pixon12 just pips the Satio due to the wide angle lens.

Now on to the actual sample shots. These first images were taken with both phones on auto setting with the only tweaks being that I’ve turned off the flash (light levels were good) and turned on the image stabiliser (any one who knows me will know I don’t exactly have the steadiest hands). The first photo was taken with the Satio and the second with the Pixon12. Judge for yourselves which you think looks best as personally I’m torn between the two. For me, the Pixon12 has captured the sharper image but the colours look dull and washed out when compared to the Satio. The Sony Ericsson phone has captured the more natural looking image with brighter and, more importantly, more natural colours. As both these were captured with auto settings, you could easily have a play with the sharpness for the Satio and colour balance with the Pixon12 to get a variety of different results.

The battle of the flashes is an even match as both phones include a Xenon flash.. It’s a close run thing but the Pixon12 just edges it, managing to illuminate the subject more from a similar distance. This is not to detract from the Satio which is still head and shoulders above the rest of the competition and catching up to dedicated point and shoot cameras in the flash stakes. Also on the low light theme and keeping things topical, we also tried to do a spot of photography at this weekend’s bonfire and fireworks display. The Pixon12 features a dedicated “Firework” scene where as for the Satio we had to make do with activating “Twilight Landscape”. The first image is again from the Satio which loses some of the focus but still does well in capturing the colours without being over exposed to the light. You’d expect the Pixon12 to win this competition hands down but the results do come as a slight surprise. Whilst the dedicated feature should work well in theory, once activated it causes a serious delay between pressing the camera button and the Pixon12 actually capturing an image. And so, the second image below is the Pixon12’s some what unique adaptation of the same firework. After several attempts we did manage to capture our target but after all that effort, the quality hardly seems worth it (see third image below).

For the uninitiated, Macro mode alters the way a camera focuses so that objects extremely close to the lens maintain there sharpness. Whilst this may not sound like something you’d need for everyday photography, it’s a good indication of whether a phone’s up to scratch and having a play around with the feature can get you some really nice photos. Especially for nature enthusiasts. Macro on both camera phones was impressive taking little time to focus and showing good levels of detail whilst maintaining a nice crisp image. If we had to pick a winner, it would be the Satio, not for the image quality but for the ease of use. Pressing the camera button on the Satio lets you push partially to focus and then all the way to capture. The Pixon12 lacks this dexterity so occasionally you’ll find yourself capturing an image before the camera has had a chance to properly focus.

Stop the presses, face detection works on dogs! With certain individuals unwilling to model for the camera (you know who you are), the job fell to our resident scruff bag to step up and smile for the camera. Both photos were taken simultaneously (Satio top) with little fuss. Both the Satio and Pixon12 recognised the face in the viewfinder almost instantly and followed it round as our subject trotted around the lawn. The level of focus was good and choosing between the two is nearly impossible. The Pixon12 again does suffer slightly in the lighting stakes as the photo does appear slightly gloomier but there’s little else to separate the two.

The other main feature that came under the microscope with both cameras was the image stabiliser, the impact of which is hard to gauge. Living with both phones would highlight the benefits of having the feature, as taking photos when you’re out and about and particularly on the move would appear crisper and cleaner. From this playtest though, it’s hard to see the effects as most photos were taken in a fairly controlled environment. Smile detection, featured in the Pixon12 but not the Satio, is a nice feature to show off to your mates and some users may find they simply can’t do without it but personally face detection is more than enough for me.

As with any phone (or camera for that matter) both on test today have their strengths and weaknesses. The Pixon12 has a fuller feature set compared to the Satio with no less than 14 different scenes. Yet whilst some of these are great additions (Text for example which lets you take a photo of a text document and focuses accordingly), some, such as the aforementioned ‘Fireworks’ scene come across as a nice idea in theory but fail in practice. The 28mm wide angle lens is perfect for capturing landscapes or group photos as it squeezes more into each photo though this does have a negative impact when taking photos close up. The Satio on the other hand lacks the depth of features enjoyed by the Pixon12 and does lose out to the Samsung’s marginally superior flash. But going in the Satio’s favour, photo’s appear a lot more natural with bright vibrant colours that capture their subject in a much more true-to-life way than the Pixon. Where both phone’s triumph is usability; both are easy to set up and edit settings and new features such as touch focus will soon become second nature. Viewing your photos in the gallery on either phone is also effortless with both allowing you to flick through with ease. Uploading to a PC or Laptop is also easy though the inclusion of PlayNow support on the Satio just pips the Pixon in the usability stakes.

And so we draw to a conclusion. What we should stress is that, firstly, both cameras on the tested phones are incredible, proving that this wasn’t just a case of upping the Megapixel count to sell more handsets. The quality in both the captured images and the features on offer in both phones is mind blowing and really does prove a big step forward from the 8.0 Megapixel range. Both Samsung and Sony Ericsson deserve praise for what they have achieved as they strive to deliver point and shoot photography to in a mobile phone to really rival a dedicated digital camera. But, the point of this exercise was to pick a winner and so, today, I’m telling you that I found the Sony Ericsson Satio offers the best all round package. The 28mm wide angle lens of the Samsung Pixon12 is more of a hindrance than a positive addition as everything in your viewfinder is consequently smaller so you’ll find yourself having to zoom in to match the size of the Satio (which in turn impacts on the quality of the photo). Whilst a close run race, for me the Satio just edges it. The ease of use, larger display and more natural looking results are ultimately more important than the Pixon12’s smile detection and range of scene settings. Whilst which one you go for will take into account the various other aspects of the two phones, on camera alone our pick is the excellent Sony Ericsson Satio.

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