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Google Pixel 3 XL vs. iPhone XS Max: Which Camera Reigns Supreme?

to my untrained eye, Pixel seemed to take the better photos. Video on the other hands looks and sound better on the iPhone. Both very good camera's, clear win here to the consumers for being given a choice. Can't go wrong with either.
 
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It seems like 85% of all photos taken (which was about 1.2 trillion in 2017) are from smartphones. This is in addition to the massive amounts of video, audio, and text and image based communications. Not disparaging professional equipment but in the 21st century, history is largely being recorded by smartphones in the hands of amateurs.

I have a handful of photos of my grandparents. My grand kids will have terabytes of data on their grandparents.
 
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Aren’t the XS and XS Max cameras the same now?

I feel like these articles single out the Max to make the uninitiated think they need the Max to get better photos like a Pixel

The iPhones have taken great photos for a few years now. They’re fine for what you want when it’s the only camera you have on you.

If you want better, get a real camera.
 
The default iOS camera app photos have watercolor effect if you see them at full resolution. If you shoot RAW and process, then it has no watercolor effect.
 
IMHO, both produce highly overprocessed crap that we used to mock Samsung for back in the day. Sorry, but A.I. can't replace good optics and a good eye for composition.
 
Having watched the Mac Rumors vid along with the Brit guy's vid posted around page 5, I reckon this is how it breaks down...

VIDEO and SOUND: XS has superior video and sound recording. Not by a little, but by a very long way.
FRONT FACING CAMERA: Pixel is fantastic. Better edge detection, HDR and far better low light photos + it has the wide angle selfie setting. Very Impressive compared to the Apple FFC.
BACK CAMERA DAYTIME: XS clear winner, but Pixel not bad.
BACK CAMERA NIGHTTIME: PIXEL, but it's close and some photos are better it seems with the XS
BACK CAMERA BLUR: It seems dependant on the actual photo. THe Brit guy gives it to XS, Dan to Pixel.
BACK CAMERA ZOOM: XS for the 2x optical zoom

CONCLUSION

iPhone: better back camera and far better video/audio
Pixel: really impressive front facing camera
 
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Why doesn't anyone care about video quality? I personally rarely shoot selfies—but videos! Here you have an example made by iPhone XS which I recorded two days ago (all in a hurry). Put on your best headphones available and check carefully the sound of natural acoustic instruments (recorded with the four built-in microphones, unaltered sound):


The stereo sound is superb if you ask me!
 
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I think the camera quality are somewhat the same. Some shots are better on one device, and others the other way around.

But in regards to video recording, the recording sound on the Pixel 3 is not great. Sound to high pitched, and tinny.
 
whitedragon101 said:
Whats interesting is that they trade blows in different pictures. For example in the pirate looking round the tree picture the Xs has significantly better detail especially noticeable in the wood of the tree. Also in the picture of the dark street the Xs has a sharper image and more natural colour especially noticeable in the sign. Then the Pixel3 hits back with this hair shot and the shot of the beer bottles. Although I would say for the daytime outdoor shots the Xs takes it for me. Even managing to out dynamic range the Pixel3 in the sunset shot of the beach.
Click to expand...

The first photo with the iPhone is clearly a badly taken picture. I have seen far better pictures from a 3 year old iPhone than that one. The pixel 3 photo is stunning but the iPhone one is just taken badly or the kid moved just as the shot was taken. I don't think there will be a lot between the two cameras honestly.
 
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As mentioned before, judging camera quality by looking at the JPEGs is a waste of time. Shoot raw and then check DR, chromatic aberrations, distortion, vignetting, ghosting etc. And these big photos... :rolleyes:
 
Rogifan said:
Totally subjective but the tech press has decided the Pixel is their camera so the more people hear that the more they believe it themselves.
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Personally, I think both sets of pictures look good in different ways. But hard to see much of a difference in such small pictures.

One thing I did note that I never realised is the aspect ratio of the two phones. The iPhone aspect is suited to single person portraits where the Pixel aspect is more suited to landscapes and multi people shots.
 
Guscat said:
In part because at least in the version I'm looking at the Pixel photo is twice as large.
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Nope, not why. They’re roughly the same size on my device when selected individually. The Pixel photo is just crisper and more contrasty, with more detail in the hair.

This isn’t to say that I wouldn’t be happy with Apple iDevice shots in a vacuum. It also isn’t to say that some people wouldn’t prefer the softer look of the iPhone shot. But the difference is there, at least on these photos.
 
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Years ago when the smartphones were close people would say "OMG man iPhone is miles ahead of Samsung! Go Apple"

Now when the iPhone is losing people say "C'mon man they're close, it's just what you prefer"

Totally bullsh*t, stop playing games and fess up, the Pixel 3 beats the iPhone Xs
 
I'm thinking if some of these specs mean that much you must be a photographer and would use a proper camera.

I'm completely amazed at the picture quality of both machines from these pics, yet I'm still blown away by my X.
 
In the end, it doesn't matter for most people. Both phones take good enough pictures and no one is switching platforms based on slightly better or worse pictures one way or another. Be happy with what you have and that's that.
 
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Most of those Pixel photos look dark and less sharp.

Is there any app like Night Cap for the Pixels? On the iPhones and iPads, it enables one to stack photos, capture constellations, the International Space Station, satellites, etc. Great photos of the night sky! Apple should buy the app and incorporate it into their camera app.
 
The Verge has their head so far up Google’s rear end it’s not even funny. The Pixel only matters to tech junkies and writers who work for sites like The Verge. And the quote below....I can’t think of one time The Verge said anything like that about Apple. According to the tech press products like the Apple Watch and HomePod are failures because Apple chooses not to provide sales figures. But with the Pixel (and they’d probably say the same thing about Microsoft’s Surface) all of a sudden sales don’t matter. What BS.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/16...est-phone-android-sales-market-share#comments

“Sales are a measure of sales, not importance”
 
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Rogifan said:
The Verge has their head so far up Google’s rear end it’s not even funny. The Pixel only matters to tech junkies and writers who work for sites like The Verge. And the quote below....I can’t think of one time The Verge said anything like that about Apple. According to the tech press products like the Apple Watch and HomePod are failures because Apple chooses not to provide sales figures. But with the Pixel (and they’d probably say the same thing about Microsoft’s Surface) all of a sudden sales don’t matter. What BS.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/16...est-phone-android-sales-market-share#comments

“Sales are a measure of sales, not importance”
Click to expand...

I agree. The Verge are very very biased towards Google, or really anything outside of Apple. It's pretty obvious in all of their reviews, they are almost bummed that they have to grade out Apple products well.
 
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What I see is the XS image looks (over) PROCESSED, digitally of course like some smoothing or blur that makes it look worse and less sharp and detailed the pixel version look more clean and unprocessed.

Notables areas that are give aways:

  • A lack of detail in the fabric texture compared to the pixel
  • Hair areas especially around the top and back where background and foreground subject meet.
  • Obvious colour banding on the skin tones
  • Overall lack of finer grain to the XS image (reducing sharpness)
None of theses are hallmarks of hardware issues but Software, which can be fixed. Let's hope it will be addressed. Perhaps they are trying to much with their signal processing and need to step it all back a bit.

The colour range looks about the same with the pixel being tonally dark by a few clicks. That's not big deal. So the colour capture an indication of the hardware don'ts seem to be affected by the processing so much if at all.

zakarhino said:
I don't think anybody could seriously tell me that there isn't a huge quality difference in these two photos below.

XS Max:
PNMJbd7.jpg

Pixel 3:
gAHT6Ei.jpg


EDIT: Not my pictures FYI, I took them from the Imgur album linked in the original article.
Click to expand...
 
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