Just because you want to pay less for your phone doesn't mean you should compromise on the quality of the photos that phone captures. Google has proven that time and again with its A Series midrange devices, with the Pixel 8a the latest release to make the case that it's the best camera phone for less than $500. But Samsung's Galaxy A35 is a midrange model that has designs on supplanting that Pixel as the bargain hunter's choice.
I've been testing the Galaxy A35 for an upcoming review. (You can read the Galaxy A35 hands-on my colleague John Velasco did for some first impressions of that phone.) And part of that testing has included taking photos — a lot of photos — alongside a Pixel 8a and comparing the results to which camera setup is better.
The Galaxy A35 has its work cut out for it if it wants to beat out the Pixel's cameras. In our Pixel 8a review, we singled out the camera performance for praise, despite the fact that Google made few changes from the Pixel 7a's hardware. That's a testimony to how good Google's computational photography features are and how they work behind the scenes to optimize the images you've captured.
Which camera phone should you turn to if you don't want to spend big bucks on a flagship phone? Our Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35 200-photo face-off can get to the bottom of that by looking at dozens of photos shot under different conditions.
Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35 camera specs
Before we dive into the photo comparisons, let's look at the camera setups we're comparing. Both the Pixel 8a and Galaxy A35 feature two rear cameras that merit most of the attention, though the Samsung phone throws in an extra sensor to try and gain an edge on the Pixel.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Google Pixel 8a | Samsung Galaxy A35 |
| Main rear camera | 64MP (f/1.9, 1/1.73") | 50MP (f/1.8, 1/1.96") |
| Ultrawide camera | 13MP (f/2.2, 120-degree FOV) | 8MP (f/2.2, 123-degree FOV) |
| Macro sensor | None | 5MP (f/2.4) |
| Front camera | 13MP (f/2.2) | 13MP (f/2.2) |
Like its predecessor, the Pixel 8a features a 64MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide camera. The front camera has the same 13MP rating as the Pixel 7a, though Google increased the field of view to a 96.5 degrees instead of 95 degrees. If you can spot the difference, you've got sharper eyes than me.
Those same camera types adorn the Galaxy A35, though the megapixel ratings are different on Samsung's phone. The Galaxy A35 offers a 50MP main lens and an 8MP ultrawide shooter. There's also a 5MP macro sensor, giving Samsung's phone one edge over the Pixel 8a, which offers no macro features. Up front, a 13MP camera handles selfies.
In the U.S., the Galaxy A35 replaces the Galaxy A54, which was a slightly more expensive phone that had a slightly better ultrawide camera, at least on paper. I had been impressed with the performance of that older phone's cameras when I reviewed the Galaxy A54 last year, so I'm interested to see if the less expensive follow-up cuts any corners.
Google Pixel 8a vs Samsung Galaxy A35: Outdoor shots
I tested out the cameras on the Pixel 8a and Galaxy A35 on multiple days under different lighting conditions — sometimes it was bright and sunny, other times cloudy, with more than a few photos captured just before dusk. I took the above photo of a local mural in early evening, as a matter of fact, and it really reflects the different approaches taken by both phones to dealing with ambient lighting.
The Pixel 8a comes the closest to reflecting the actual quality of light when I took the shot, but that has the affect of darkening the overall photo. Check out the frog on the right side of the mural and how he almost blends into the background. The outlines of the frog are much more distinctive in the Galaxy A35 shot, and the colors are brighter as well. Samsung's phone has the better overall photo, though I do appreciate the richer color tones on some of those mushrooms in the Pixel image.
As you can see from the photo gallery below, the Galaxy A35 does tend to go for lighter shades in its pictures, pumping up the color to compensate for any unfavorable lighting. Some times that works, like in the mural photo at the top of this section or in the photo of a ferry boat where the boat's green stripe really stands out in the Galaxy S35 shot. But sometimes, the emphasis on color can veer toward hyper-realistic — in a photo of cable car, the Galaxy A35 tries to lighten the trees in the background to the point where they're bathed in an angelic light. The Pixel 8a shot is much more realistic and better composed.
I think the Piel 8a strikes the better balance in colors, as you can see in the shots of a breakfast sandwich on a picnic table or of a harbor near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, but in many of these outdoors shots, the phones are evenly matched. The Galaxy A35's lighter hand with shadows does work to its advantage in some cases, as it revels more detail in the face of the Gandhi statue.
Winner: Google Pixel 8a
Google Pixel 8a vs Samsung Galaxy A35: Indoor shots
Lighting can vary wildly when you're indoors, but of the two phones I've tested here, the Pixel 8a is better positioned to deal with the vagaries of harsh or inconsistent lighting. The Galaxy A35's desire to make colors pop turns the focus in the above photo of a bowl of pho to the chilli pepper in the center of the bowl. The Pixel 8a levels out the lighting, and as a result, the broth in the pho takes center stage, with a nice rich color. I know which bowl of pho I'd rather eat based on the two images.
This happened again and again when I took photos indoors with the Galaxy A35 and Pixel 8a. A black-and-white vase shot against a white background looks balanced in the Pixel 8a shot, but the lighting becomes overly harsh in the Galaxy A35's image. Shooting the lobby of a Fisherman's Wharf tourist trap, there's a blue tint to the Galaxy A35 that distorts the overall tone of the picture; compare that to the Pixel 8a shot where the color of that 49ers jersey on the horrible statue is a lot more true-to-life.
The Galaxy A35 isn't totally hopeless indoors. Sometimes, it got the better of the Pixel 8a in dealing with lighting, like with the Acme Bread sign and the display case full of cakes. (That these photos were shot in the same indoor marketplace may explain why the Galaxy A35 behaved more consistently.) But I think the Pixel 8a proves more dependable indoors, as it's able to balance both light and color to create generally pleasing results.
Winner: Google Pixel 8a
Google Pixel 8a vs Samsung Galaxy A35: Dynamic range
Looking at dynamic range really gives the Pixel 8a a chance to flex its muscle. Google's camera phone does a terrific job balance light and shadow, highlighting colors in a realistic way. It's a challenge the Galaxy A35 doesn't seem to want to contest.
Take the above photo of a ferris wheel that I shot during the Golden Hour — that period just before sunset when the light is softer. The Pixel 8a photo reflects that both in the tone of the sky and the light bouncing off the ferris wheel. The Galaxy A35 looks like its trying to remove any indications that the sun is getting ready to set, and you get a flat, less dynamic image as a result.
That happened consistently any time I tried taking photos with these two phone where any bit of shadow was present. A statue on the University of California, Berkeley, campus looks all right in the Galaxy A35 photo, but the Pixel 8a doesn't darken the statue so you can still see details, despite the grove of nearby trees affecting the ambient lighting. In a photo on the shore of the San Francisco Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge poking out of the far background, a bit of lens flare crept into the Galaxy A35 shot that's not present in the Pixel 8a photo.
That same problem crops up in a photo of the Ferry Building captured by the Galaxy A35, which also adds a blue tint to the scene. To be fair, there's lens flare in the Pixel 8a shot, too, though the overall colors are warmer and more inviting.
Google Pixel 8a vs Samsung Galaxy A35: Color reproduction
Who wins the color category depends in large part whether you like bright, colorful photos or more true-to-life images. While the Galaxy A35 doesn't go overboard with boosting color, its colors tend to pop more than the muted, realistic hues you get from Pixel 8a photos.
More often than not, it works like in this picture of a Blue Hawaii cocktail next to a tiki mug. The brick color of the tiki isn't as bright as the Galaxy A35 makes it out to be, but Samsung's tendency to pump up the color gives you a brighter cherry, and a swirl of some of the juice the the bottom of the glass. The Pixel 8a photo, while accurate, lacks some pizzaz.
You see other instances where the Galaxy A35's insistence that color is king pays dividends like the balance of blue and brown from the National Park service sign and the brighter blue of the water around the Bay Bridge. The Pixel 8a isn't overmatched here — I think its reproduction of the kayak benefits from a richer green, and I think it handles the leaves on the tree in front of that giant mural with greater aplomb. But the Galaxy A35 certainly can churn out some eye-catching and pleasing colors under the right circumstances.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy A35
