I took photos of the northern lights with my Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S24 Plus — the results were very different

Derrek Lee
·4 min read
A photo of the northern lights in the night sky.
A photo of the northern lights in the night sky.

Last night, an intense storm gave the world quite a show as it ignited the sky with an array of colors that many south of the Arctic rarely get a chance to see. Many set their sights on the sky, which was ablaze with stunning views of the northern lights (or aurora borealis), now vividly emblazoned into all our minds and on our phones.

I was a bit late to the party, but as soon as I could, I made my way up to my rooftop to try and capture the event. I live in Seattle, so this is definitely not a common occurrence. Fortunately, the skies were much clearer than they were for the recent solar eclipse (save for some light pollution), which was blocked off by the gloomy Seattle weather. So, I grabbed my Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S24 Plus and pointed up, curious to see how both phones would capture the event.

Pixel vs. Galaxy

I tried to shoot the exact scene with both phones each time I snapped a photo, alternating one after the other. Since they were both in night mode, I tried to stay as still as possible, and holding both at the same time wouldn't really work. The Pixel 8 Pro made it easy to see where I was shooting, but the viewfinder on the Galaxy S24 Plus wasn't really doing me any favors, and much of the time, it was just guesswork.

I also had both phones alternate between auto night mode and max night mode to see if there would be any visual difference (there wasn't) with the extra few seconds. Eventually I just kept them both on auto to see how they would fare (the Galaxy would usually take one extra second to capture the scene than the Pixel), and I was a little surprised at the differences between the results.

I chose not to edit the images to compare the raw output from both phones.

A photo of the northern lights in the night sky
A photo of the northern lights in the night sky
A photo of the northern lights in the night sky
A photo of the northern lights in the night sky

The images from the Pixel 8 Pro were much more true to life than what the Galaxy S24 Plus captured. The colors were a bit more muted, and the image was overall much softer, although there was a lot of light pollution where I was, so the auroras were not as vibrant. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24 Plus seemed quite aggressive with its colors, punching up the saturation more than I personally prefer.

A photo of the northern lights in the night sky
A photo of the northern lights in the night sky
A photo of the northern lights in the night sky
A photo of the northern lights in the night sky

I admit it the punched up saturation could sometimes make for a cooler image, but overall, I preferred the photos from the Pixel for being much brighter, even if I wish they had more contrast.

A photo of the northern lights in the night sky
A photo of the northern lights in the night sky
A photo of the northern lights in the night sky
A photo of the northern lights in the night sky

The Pixel 8 also seemed to do a better job of capturing the stars in the sky despite the auroras and light pollution from the city.

Astrophotography mode on the Pixel 8 Pro came in clutch

Before I grabbed my Galaxy S24 Plus, I took a few images of the sky using Astrophotography mode on my Pixel to see if that would provide better results than the default night mode. Unfortunately, they weren't much better than what night mode captured, but the cool thing about this mode is that it also captures a short timelapse in addition to an image, which made all the waiting around more worthwhile.

A timelapse of the northern lights in the night sky
A timelapse of the northern lights in the night sky

I admittedly tried using the Astrophoto mode on the Galaxy S24 Plus, but no matter what capture time I selected, the resulting images just weren't usable.

Many people captured amazing images of the northern lights, which can be found on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and other sites. You can also check out more amazing photos and learn more about the event at Space.com.

Did you capture any good photos of last night's light show? What phones or equipment did you use to take them?

Pixel 8 Pro in Bay front and back square render
Pixel 8 Pro in Bay front and back square render

Google Pixel 8 Pro

Just point and shoot

The Pixel 8 Pro is easily one of the best camera phones you can buy, as it makes taking photos incredibly simple while using complicated algorithms to get you the best image possible. And with features like Astrophotography mode, you can even get some great shots of the stars.

An official product render of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus front and back
An official product render of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus front and back

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus

More Ultra than ever

The Galaxy S24 Plus brings the best of the S24 and S24 Ultra into one phone, with a larger display, great battery life, good cameras, and all the best Google and Samsung AI features. It also comes in some great colors and even has an Astrophoto mode for night shots.