{"id":218612,"date":"2025-10-12T07:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T07:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/218612\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T07:13:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T07:13:11","slug":"i-took-the-iphone-17-pro-vs-galaxy-s25-ultra-to-the-beach-for-a-video-camera-shootout-heres-the-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/218612\/","title":{"rendered":"I took the iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy S25 Ultra to the beach for a video camera shootout \u2014 here\u2019s the winner"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been spending quite a deal of time with the iPhone 17 Pro<\/a> ever since it launched a few weeks back. One thing I haven\u2019t been able to do more of is putting the phone’s video camera performance to the test, so I thought I\u2019d take it to the beach for an iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy S25 Ultra<\/a> video camera shootout.<\/p>\n

Without a doubt, these two particular models are two of the best camera phones<\/a> around. After all, the iPhone 17 Pro shares the same set of cameras as the iPhone 17 Pro Max<\/a> , and in my 200 photo shootout with the iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Galaxy S25 Ultra<\/a>, Apple\u2019s flagship won more categories on its way to victory. However, you shouldn\u2019t discount Samsung\u2019s flagship just yet because of its impressive zoom camera performance and robust camera interface.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For me to better compare the iPhone 17 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra with this quick video camera shootout at the beach, I decided to record the videos below in 4K 30fps with HDR enabled on both. That way, it\u2019s a fair comparison despite both phones supporting faster frame rates and higher resolutions. Here\u2019s what I found.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy S25 Ultra video camera: specificationsSwipe to scroll horizontallyRow 0 – Cell 0 <\/p>\n

iPhone 17 Pro<\/p>\n

Galaxy S25 Ultra<\/p>\n

Rear Cameras<\/p>\n

48MP main (f\/1.78), 48MP ultrawide (f\/2.2), 48MP 4x telephoto (f\/2.8)<\/p>\n

200MP main (f\/1.7), 50MP ultrawide (f\/1.9), 10MP 3x telephoto ( f\/2.4), 50MP 5x telephoto (f\/3.4)<\/p>\n

Front Camera<\/p>\n

18MP (f\/1.9)<\/p>\n

12MP (f\/2.2)<\/p>\n

Max Video Capture<\/p>\n

4K 120fps<\/p>\n

8K 30fps<\/p>\n

Slow Motion<\/p>\n

1080p 240fps, 1080p 120fps, 4K 120fps<\/p>\n

1080p 240fps, 1080p 120fps, 4K 120fps<\/p>\n

iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy S25 Ultra video camera: what you need to know<\/p>\n

Before I jump into the comparisons, I want to detail how I recorded video with both phones. Even though there are better video capture modes available on both phones, \u2014 for instance, the Galaxy S25 Ultra tops out at 8K 30fps while th iPhone 17 Pro goes up to 4K 120fps \u2014 I kept them both at 4K 30fps because that\u2019s what most people end up using. That also means more manageable file sizes.<\/p>\n

Secondly, I enabled HDR recording on both phones because that helps out with their dynamic range performances. I\u2019ve also kept their color profiles to their default settings, even though both phones have their own flat color profile options.<\/p>\n

Finally, I shot all of the footage handheld without any help from stabilizers, tripods, or gimbals. That way, you get an idea of how they handle real life situations.<\/p>\n

iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy S25 Ultra video camera: Stabilization<\/p>\n

Stabilization: iPhone 17 Pro vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra – YouTube
\n\"Stabilization:<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

The first thing I did on the boardwalk was to test out the stabilization of both phones. In the side-by-side shots above I\u2019ve taken handheld, you can see how they both mitigate shakes with optical image stabilization. Despite holding both phones tightly, I can see just a smidgen more movement with the iPhone 17 Pro. It all pretty much disappears when I switch over to the ultrawide camera, but it\u2019s definitely noticeable with the main camera.<\/p>\n

Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.<\/p>\n

Although the footage from the Galaxy S25 Ultra doesn\u2019t make it look like I\u2019m hovering through the air, it does the better job of minimizing the shakes and movements with my gait. If you\u2019re really looking for that airy look, I\u2019d suggest getting something like the Hohem iSteady V3 Ultra<\/a> that I\u2019ve used with my iPhone 17 Pro \u2014 or even the DJI Pocket 3<\/a> if you want something smaller.<\/p>\n

Winner: Galaxy S25 Ultra<\/p>\n

iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy S25 Ultra video camera: Ultrawide<\/p>\n

Ultrawide: iPhone 17 Pro vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra – YouTube
\n\"Ultrawide:<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

When it comes to capturing more of the scene, you\u2019ll want to switch over to the ultrawide cameras on the iPhone 17 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra. In terms of coverage, they\u2019re both identical with their 120-degree field of view \u2014 but after looking at the footage on my computer, I\u2019d want to stick with the iPhone 17 Pro.<\/p>\n

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Right away at the start of the clips, the iPhone 17 Pro\u2019s footage looks way crisper, like how there\u2019s more definition to the wooden rails and the faraway dunes. The Galaxy S25 Ultra\u2019s footage looks much softer, and as a result, doesn\u2019t capture as much fine detail.<\/p>\n

Winner: iPhone 17 Pro<\/p>\n

iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy S25 Ultra video camera: Dynamic range<\/p>\n

Dynamic range: iPhone 17 Pro vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra – YouTube
\n\"Dynamic<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Dynamic range performance is very similar with both phones, as they manage to cast an even exposure across the entire frame. In order to test this one out, I started recording video with the sun directly in front of me \u2014 with the homes in the distance casting shadows over their facades.<\/p>\n

Initially I\u2019m inclined to say they\u2019re identical, but that\u2019s until I pan to the left when the wooden walkway comes into view more. The Galaxy S25 Ultra appears to have a lower contrast from the start, which helps out when I pan over to the walkway because the areas in shadow are brighter compared to the iPhone 17 Pro.<\/p>\n

Winner: Galaxy S25 Ultra<\/p>\n

iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy S25 Ultra video camera: Vlogging<\/p>\n

Selfie: iPhone 17 Pro vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra – YouTube
\n\"Selfie:<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

I really thought the iPhone 17 Pro\u2019s new 18MP Center Stage camera was going to win this one by some distance, but that\u2019s not the case. In fact, the two manage to have very similar results when it comes to vlogging with their front-facing cameras.<\/p>\n

One thing I realize is that you\u2019re stuck to just one framing option with both of them, which is odd because you\u2019re offered standard and wide options with still photos. Despite this, the amount of detail the front cameras capture is pretty impressive \u2014 especially when the sun hits my face and exposes those fine details.<\/p>\n

Even though the Galaxy S25 Ultra gets a lot of things right, including my skin tone, the iPhone 17 Pro still has a smidge more detail. On top of that, it doesn\u2019t suffer from the same lens flare that ends up being produced when I move so that the sun\u2019s behind me.<\/p>\n

Winner: iPhone 17 Pro<\/p>\n

iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy S25 Ultra video camera: Macro<\/p>\n

Macro: iPhone 17 Pro vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra – YouTube
\n\"Macro:<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

I had to shoot this test differently from the rest because there\u2019s just no way I could illustrate the phones’ performance unless I shoot the clips separately. Additionally, I started off by getting as close as I could to the subject without losing focus.<\/p>\n

I will say that you can get really close with both of them, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra\u2019s footage suffers from being more over-exposed. This causes the detail loss around the wooden grain structure.<\/p>\n

Winner: iPhone 17 Pro<\/p>\n

iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy S25 Ultra video camera: Zoom<\/p>\n

Zoom: iPhone 17 Pro vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra – YouTube
\n\"Zoom:<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Showing off the zoom performances of the iPhone 17 Pro and Galaxy S25 Ultra is a bit tricky because of having to keep my hand as steady as possible to show off each phone at different zoom levels. At 2x zoom, I don\u2019t see much difference in how they capture the seagulls down by the water\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n

Moving onto 3x zoom, however, gives the Galaxy S25 Ultra its first advantage because of how it switches over to its dedicated 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom \u2014 whereas the iPhone 17 does this through sensor cropping and digital zoom using its main camera. As a result, the footage looks fuzzier.<\/p>\n

However, the advantage then flips over to the iPhone 17 Pro at 4x zoom because now the iPhone is relying on its dedicated 48MP telephoto sensor with 4x optical zoom. The footage of the seagulls is much sharper due to this change, especially when I look at the trees and church spire way off in the background.<\/p>\n

The Galaxy S25 Ultra, on the other hand, is now at a disadvantage because it\u2019s forced to apply a digital zoom with its 3x optical zoom camera to reach 4x zoom.<\/p>\n

Things get interesting at 5x zoom because I expected the Galaxy S25 Ultra to show better results switching over to its 50MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom, whereas the iPhone 17 Pro needs a bit of digital zoom to get to 5x. The Galaxy S25 Ultra\u2019s footage looks a tiny bit sharper, but the iPhone 17 Pro manages to keep up here.<\/p>\n

At 8x zoom, I like the iPhone 17 Pro\u2019s footage better because the rocks behind the seagulls have better definition. That\u2019s still the same sentiment I have moving up to 10x zoom, as the iPhone 17 Pro again has the advantage.<\/p>\n

Winner: iPhone 17 Pro<\/p>\n

iPhone 17 Pro vs Galaxy S25 Ultra video camera: Bottom line<\/p>\n

\n

\"iPhone\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Tom’s Guide \/ John Velasco)<\/p>\n

Even though this daytime trip to the beach yields a win for the iPhone 17 Pro, I don\u2019t want to definitively say it\u2019s the better video camera phone just yet because there\u2019s still more I\u2019d want to test \u2014 like how they perform under low light, how well they deal with portrait video mode, and more.<\/p>\n

But I will say that if you\u2019re going to be recording when it\u2019s sunny out, the iPhone 17 Pro certainly proves a point that it\u2019s equipped for the occasion. It\u2019s not just the hardware that\u2019s boosting the performance, it could also be due to the image processing algorithms it\u2019s using to draw out more detail.<\/p>\n

Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News<\/a> and add us as a preferred source<\/a> to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!<\/p>\n

More from Tom’s Guide<\/p>\n

Today’s best Apple iPhone 17 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra deals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve been spending quite a deal of time with the iPhone 17 Pro ever since it launched a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[165,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-218612","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}