For the past few months, I’ve been using my Google Pixel 10 Pro XL as my daily driver, and there are very few things I’d change about it. As a photographer and someone who likes capturing candid moments, I love my Pixel 10 Pro XL’s cameras, and this smartphone is one of the best camera phones out there. But for the past week, I’ve been using a phone that’s been making me question my loyalty to my Pixel, and it’s all because of its cameras.
On February 28, Leica revealed its first-ever smartphone called the Leitzphone, and it’s powered by Xiaomi. It packs a triple-camera system designed by Leica, and borrows imaging tech from the German giant’s best mirrorless cameras, and the photos it captures are vibrant and stunning.
Naturally, I was curious to see how the photos compared to my Pixel, so I decided to put the Leitzphone — which costs around $2,100 — and the $1,129 Pixel 10 Pro XL through a head-to-head showdown to determine which is better.
Nikita Achanta
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: the cameras
Before we dive into the comparison, let’s talk about the two contenders’ cameras, starting with the Leica Leitzphone. The Leitzphone features four cameras: three on the back and one selfie camera on the front. The triple-camera system around the back comprises of a 50MP f/1.67 main camera with a 23mm full frame equivalent focal length; a 50MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera with a 14mm full frame equivalent focal length; and a 200MP 75-100mm f/2.39-2.96 telephoto camera with an optical zoom resulting in up to 400mm (17.2x) optical-level zoom.
All three cameras feature optical image stabilization which enables you to shoot handheld, even at the maximum focal length/zoom, and autofocus which is quick to lock onto wildlife and humans. You also get access to Leica’s 13 color profiles, including Chrome, Vivid and Monochrom High Contrast, and unlike on the Pixel 10 Pro XL where these filters can be applied only during editing and after the fact, you can use these while shooting, so they’re much better than software filters and don’t flatten images.
Next up, the Pixel 10 Pro XL. This phone also features four cameras. Around the back, you’ll find a 50MP f/1.68 main, 48MP f/1.7 ultra-wide, and 48MP f/2.8 5x telephoto camera, and a 42MP f/2.2 selfie camera is located above the screen on the front. To take photos in 50MP, though, you’ll need to enable it via the ‘Pro’ settings in the camera’s menu. These photos are labelled as ‘hi-res’ and take up more space on your phone.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL packs a 5x optical zoom and 100x Pro-Res Zoom which uses AI to upscale the image. While it does a solid job, you obviously lose some detail in processing, which I’ll talk about in one of the sections below.
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Daytime
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The photos of the flowers were taken just as the sun was rising, and while the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL has captured a lovely photo, it’s a bit dull and looks like it was taken at dusk instead of daybreak. The Leica Leitzphone, on the other hand, has done a great job of casting light on the flowers, making them pop. Light is spread evenly through the Leitzphone’s shot, as even the tree in the background appears detailed and bright.
There’s also a noticeable difference in the sharpness of the two shots. The flowers in the Pixel 10 Pro XL photo look like they’re slightly out of focus, and the image looks flat. The Leitzphone image appears full of life and character, and the camera has even captured the tiny water droplets well.
Winner: Leica Leitzphone
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Dynamic range
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Dynamic range performance is fairly strong on both the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL and the Leica Leitzphone. The Pixel 10 Pro XL has captured an image that’s a little low on contrast but it has boosted the shadows and revealed more details, such as the guitar strings — but the image looks quite noisy, with noticeable grain in the guitar’s body.
The Leitzphone image is more high on contrast, which I like, and the light emitting from the lamp doesn’t appear blown out, and it is evenly distributed through the tube-like shape. Both phones do well to balance the light and shadows, in my opinion, so we’ll call this a tie.
Winner: Tie
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Colors
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When it comes to capturing colors, there’s a very clear winner — and it isn’t even close. The Leica Leitzphone captures colors in a similar way to many Leica cameras, and by that I mean they’re vibrant, vivid and popping. In the photo of the purple flowers above, all the shades of green, purple and orange have been reproduced accurately, and the image appears true-to-life. The camera has also done well to ensure the flowers look like the primary subject, thanks to great subject separation.
The image taken on the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, on the other hand, appears flat and dull. The flowers lose character because they look washed out, and look almost like a RAW file you’d edit or color-grade in post-production.
Winner: Leica Leitzphone
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Macro
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Macro photography is another area the Leica Leitzphone upstages the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL in. While the Pixel 10 Pro XL has done a decent job at capturing the details in the robin ornament, the Leitzphone has done better. The wooden carvings and etching appears more highly detailed, and you can make out each individual one. It’s also more in focus compared to the Pixel 10 Pro XL.
Personally, I don’t use macro mode on my Pixel 10 Pro XL much, and I’ve found it to be mostly hit-or-miss. Doing the comparison test against the Leitzphone has only furthered that belief. The Leitzphone image is more high on contrast as well, which gives the photo a dramatic effect that I love.
Winner: Leica Leitzphone
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Digital zoom
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Both the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL and the Leica Leitzphone feature powerful digital zooms. The Pixel 10 Pro XL has a 100x ProRes Zoom and the Leitzphone has a 120x zoom. But when it comes to capturing detail and ensuring subjects are in-focus, the Leitzphone is the winner. The Leitzphone’s version of the photo of the European robin is sharper and brighter, and you can make out the individual kinks in its feathers too.
The Pixel 10 Pro XL has added a watercolor effect to the image, so the bird has lost all its sharpness. The branches in front of it are low-res too, especially compared to the sharp and detailed branches captured by the Leitzphone.
Winner: Leica Leitzphone
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Optical zoom
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The Google Pixel 10 Pro XL features a 5x optical zoom and the Leica Leitzphone packs a 17.2x optical zoom. Both are great as they can help you get close to your subjects (such as wildlife) without disturbing them, but when it comes to image quality, the Pixel 10 Pro XL is the winner. It has a tendency to reveal more details in shadows, as you can see above, and the 5x optical zoom has done well to capture the macro threads as well as the different colors in the Eurasian blue tit ornament.
Don’t get me wrong: the Leitzphone image is good too, but it’s darker than the one taken on the Pixel 10 Pro XL so if you want to reveal more detail, you’ll have to lift/boost the shadows in post-production.
Winner: Google Pixel 10 Pro XL
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Selfie
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When I showed the selfies taken on the Leica Leitzphone and the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL to my partner, she said she preferred the one taken on the latter, so it depends on the style you prefer. Personally, I think the Leitzphone selfie looks better as the lighting is more evenly distributed and my face is lit up better.
In the Pixel 10 Pro XL selfie, it looks like the light doesn’t cover the entire frame, and stops about a third of the way to the right. The Leitzphone image also looks a little softer but doesn’t do so at the expense of losing any detail.
Winner: Leica Leitzphone
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Portrait
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The Leica Leitzphone performs beautifully when capturing portraits, as you can see in the photo of my partner above. The Leitzphone captures more detail, such as the dimples and lines around her mouth, and her eyebrows appear sharper than they do in the photo taken on the Pixel 10 Pro XL. Light distribution and exposure seems more even too.
While the Pixel 10 Pro XL has done a good job, it has softened her face so some detail has been lost. Both cameras have also done well to add some background bokeh, but the Leitzphone has excelled at blurring the green blanket and the kingfisher plush.
Winner: Leica Leitzphone
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Ultra-wide
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The Leica Leitzphone’s and Google Pixel 10 Pro XL’s performance is almost on a par with one another’s, but I think the latter takes the cake here by a small margin. The Pixel 10 Pro XL’s ultra-wide camera has a wider 123° field of view compared to the Leitzphone’s 115° FOV. This difference isn’t massive and won’t always be noticeable, so both phone cameras are good for photographing landscapes.
In terms of colors and image quality, I think the Pixel 10 Pro XL does a better job of making the building on the right appear brighter, and there isn’t as much flare from the street lamp on the left either, especially compared to the photo taken on the Leitzphone. The Pixel 10 Pro XL has also captured more detail in the shadows, such as the defined edges of the trees.
Winner: Google Pixel 10 Pro XL
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Low-light
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While the Leica Leitzphone’s low-light performance is solid, the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL’s is ever-so-slightly better. These photos were taken right after dusk on an overcast day, so it was the perfect test for the cameras. As you can see, the Pixel 10 Pro XL does a better job of balancing exposures throughout the scene, and it makes the river appear more true-to-life compared to the Leitzphone.
The reflections of the lights in the water are also captured better on the Pixel 10 Pro XL, as they seem to flow into the water and not look like they’ve been stamped on, especially compared to the Leitzphone’s photo. And once again, edges of the trees and the buildings appear more defined and much brighter.
Winner: Google Pixel 10 Pro XL
Leica Leitzphone vs Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: Verdict
In this 10-round photo shootout, there’s a clear winner, and the Leitzphone takes the crown by a score of 7-3.
Both the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL and the Leica Leitzphone feature formidable cameras, making on-the-fly photography easy while packing plenty of detail into images. The Pixel 10 Pro XL performs better than the Leitzphone when it comes to ultra-wide, low-light, and optical zoom performance.
But in practically every other area, the Leitzphone performs better — whether that’s revealing hidden details in macro photography or capturing beautiful colors and portraits. This doesn’t come as a surprise to me, as this phone has been developed by a premium brand known for its imaging tech and incredible cameras.
For more comparisons, check out my Leica Leitzphone versus Leica Q3 Monochrom article to find out how the smartphone fared against a mirrorless camera.
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