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Camera Comparison: Pixel 7 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max
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How about if you say what the FREAKING FOCAL LENGTHS are? I mean, come on!
Google in October launched the Pixel 7 Pro, its newest high-end flagship smartphone. The Pixel 7 Pro came out just weeks after Apple's new iPhone 14 Pro Max, so we thought we'd compare the cameras of the two smartphones, pitting the high-end iPhone against the high-end Pixel 7.
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On paper, the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Pixel 7 Pro have similar camera systems. The iPhone is equipped with a 12-megapixel Ultra Wide lens, a 12-megapixel Telephoto lens, and a 48-megapixel Wide lens, which Apple calls the "main" camera. The Pixel 7 Pro has a 12-megapixel ultra wide lens, a 48-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 50-megapixel wide-angle lens. The Pixel 7 Pro wins out in terms of raw megapixels, especially for the telephoto lens.
What we've learned from camera comparisons over the years is that high-end smartphones all take similar pictures, and they all turn out great. For the most part, you are going to get stunning images with both the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Pixel 7 Pro, though there are some differences to be aware of.
With standard photos, the shadows are darker in the iPhone images, with the Pixel 7 Pro lightening things up a bit. Images from the Pixel 7 Pro are less saturated, and we are seeing more vibrant colors from the iPhone. In some cases, the images coming direct from the Pixel 7 Pro camera look sharper, though that could be a software effect and a difference in the editing that Google does behind the scenes.
Both wide angle and ultra wide images come out similarly, but the Pixel 7 Pro's telephoto capabilities are much better than the telephoto features offered by the iPhone. Google added 5x optical zoom, compared to 3x optical zoom for the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and it makes a difference. In fact, there's a 30x Super Res digital zoom option that's impressively sharp.
In Portrait Mode, the Pixel 7 Pro offers more depth of field for more background blur, which some people will prefer. It can sometimes have trouble separating the subject from the background, and it works better with people than it does with objects.
As for Night Mode, both smartphones have pros and cons. The Pixel 7 Pro is better at nighttime portrait shots of people because the iPhone tends to be too soft around the face, but the iPhone is better at shots that include the sky. The Pixel 7 Pro is sharper across more images and it wins out when it comes to astrophotography, but there are issues with artifacting in some images.
With video, the iPhone 14 Pro Max does a better job, which is a theme that we've seen for several years now. The iPhone's video is crisper, though Google has made some strides with stabilization. Cinematic Mode on the iPhone has improved in 2022 with support for 24 and 30fps 4K video, while the Pixel's Cinematic Blur is limited to 30fps.
All in all, the Pixel 7 Pro has an edge when it comes to photos, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max wins in the video category, but both smartphones take excellent images and it's often hard to decide which one is better. What do you think of the Pixel 7 Pro? Let us know in the comments below.
Article Link: Camera Comparison: Pixel 7 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max
"...more less depth of field for more background blur..."
The author writes:
But the opposite is true - depth of field must be narrow (or lesser) to get background blur. The "more" depth of field you have, the more objects are in focus.
See, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field
But the opposite is true - depth of field must be narrow (or lesser) to get background blur. The "more" depth of field you have, the more objects are in focus.
See, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field
Or...was the same focus point selected? Or left to the camera to pick one along with exposure?
Strongly disagree. As with any camera, the power/strength and quality of the resulting image is determined by the person *making* (not taking) the photo.
"Tiny sensors with tiny lenses plus horrible interface equals garbage."
And that's pure BS.
Yeah, Pixel 7 pro for the win but both cameras are fine and honestly its not enough for me to switch because the iPhone does other things better and I take a lot of video so iPhone 14 for the win for those reasons
I wish next time MR did a camera comparison it would just label the photos 'Phone A' and 'Phone B', then let people comment on which photos they preferred, before revealing which phone was which later in the day.
It's not as simple as how the image looks straight out of the camera. Both take great photos, but it's what you do with the image that makes the difference. There's a tonne of detail in an HDR image, and it's how you choose to tweak the image.
Also, Hipstamatic, which allows for some excellent filters, just isn't available on Android, so that's a no from me.
Also, Hipstamatic, which allows for some excellent filters, just isn't available on Android, so that's a no from me.
Yes, but the lighting is also completely different. Side lighting for the Pixel and brutal frontal flash for the iPhone?
In the overhead foliage shot, the iPhone looks a bit overexposed and the colors are washed out (maybe black level set a bit high). The tree sculpture shot, again iPhone is overexposed. In the night shot you can see the pizza sign is once again overexposed and blowing out the highlights. The pumpkin shot looks terrible on the iPhone, with that nasty phone camera flash washing out the stone in the foreground, whereas the Pixel shot looks very natural and the lighting balanced (but it looks like the flash fired on the iPhone and not on the Pixel?). Likely some of these issues could be fixed, especially is shooting in RAW, but it'd be nice if Apple could nail basics like proper exposure.
With all the resources Apple puts towards the iPhone camera system and software pipeline, it's a bit disappointing that it still gets bested pretty consistently by the Pixel. It's competitive and the 14 and 14 Pro are capable of taking some fantastic photos for sure, we know that, but that quality seems to be less consistent than with the Pixel. I'm someone who likes to tinker with photos in Lightroom so I think I'll get some great shots, with all the information available in RAW files, but most people aren't going to do that and it does require a lot of time to make it right.
With all the resources Apple puts towards the iPhone camera system and software pipeline, it's a bit disappointing that it still gets bested pretty consistently by the Pixel. It's competitive and the 14 and 14 Pro are capable of taking some fantastic photos for sure, we know that, but that quality seems to be less consistent than with the Pixel. I'm someone who likes to tinker with photos in Lightroom so I think I'll get some great shots, with all the information available in RAW files, but most people aren't going to do that and it does require a lot of time to make it right.
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The solution? Just shoot into 48 Mpixel ProRAWs. Then, at least when it comes to resolution and crop/zomability, the iPhone easily beats the Pixel 7. It's freaking awesome!
The new 14 Pros should NOT be used in the default HEIC / JPG mode, it's SO bad compared to the quality you can achieve with using ProRAWs and using a desktop converter; for example, even MacOS' Preview.
Well, actually, back then, the iPhones had really substandard cameras compared to the Nokia flagships (N95 (2007), N8 (2010), 808 (2012). Of course the 808 was released after Jobs' death, but you still get the point...)
Just compare the N95's imaging quality to that of the 2G/3G/3GS or that of the N8 to the iPhone 4... there's just no comparison, albeit the iPhone 4 was indeed significantly better than the 3GS.
It’s on a downhill ride at least from (my current) iPhone 13 Pro. Can’t trust it as a point to shoot camera, the AI ruins the photo time to time. It gives better (but not as sharp) results if you just pick a new Live Photo frame from the short clip.
No, I won’t ever shoot in ProRAW for 30-75 MB photos.
No, I won’t ever shoot in ProRAW for 30-75 MB photos.
I can mostly agree with horrible interface - I like a grip and a viewfinder on my camera, and ideally a few direct control dials too. It feels awkward to me to hold that slippery slab in front of my face, however good the result is. But results have got pretty good.
You haven't tried the 14P's 48 Mpixel RAWs, have you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have stated that.