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Photographers, what are your thoughts on iPhone 8+/X camera compared to Pixel 2 XL?

Starfyre

Starfyre

macrumors 68030
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Nov 7, 2010
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I care about phone camera, a lot. I read a recent review of the iPhone X vs Pixel 2 XL camera and was shocked to see the reviewer prefer the Pixel 2 XL's camera even for selfies! In low light situations, the Pixel 2 XL is better! I look at another review, and it looks like low light performance is better on the iPhone X.

Having not done too much reading into reviews, what are your thoughts about the photo quality from either reviews you've read, or personal experience with the 8/8+ vs Pixel 2 XL?

Maybe I should have been more aware, but iPhone 8 having the TrueDepth camera doesn't seem to be meaningful at all when it comes to selfie quality in some of these reviews... maybe all these names for fancy new technology is just as it is, fancy names? I remember Apple talking about how neural engine is supposed to enhance these photos...

Pixel 2 XL has the Pixel Visual Core developed by Google with Intel... and it's not even unlocked yet! Is Apple able to make software upgrades to make the photos look better like Pixel 2 XL will be able to when they unlock their PVC? Or is Pixel 2 XL really that good compared to iPhone?
 
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As a pro photog, I don’t concern myself as much with camera quality on my phone as a lot of others because anything I truly care about I will use my High end camera with high end lenses. That being said, for all other “in the moment” type shots I need that I don’t have my high end camera around for, any top end camera generally does the trick.

The differences aren’t vast enough to sway from one phone to another.

That’s just me, though. I know for a lot of other people out there, being nit picky is worth it as their phone camera is the only one they have... and that makes sense.
 
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My friend has the Pixel 2 and he told me it's by far the best camera on any phone. I will like to add that he literally buys every single android and Iphone that comes out cause he's a tech geek. He likes to try things out himself to see what works best for him. He's completely unbiased.
 
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When I look at different cameras I always trust DXOMark reviews and they have the Pixel at 98 vs 94 for the iPhone 8 (and by extension the X). That's not a lot of difference. From a pure photography perspective you're probably fine with either one.
 
I can tell you this. My wife has an iPhone 7Plus and I have a Gen 1 Pixel XL. The pixel gets the nod every time for us. I will miss the Pixel's fantastic camera when I switch to the X
 
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I’ve seen comparisons of both, and IMO the 8/8 Plus is a very clear winner with few exceptions.
 
It all comes down to the ISP and the persons preference.

I prefer the colors of the iPhone. However, I like the extra sharpness and detail from the Pixel 2. Judging through all the review videos and picture samples that I have seen, I personally prefer the pictures from the Pixel.

Does it bother me? No. If I’m taking pictures I will more than likely have my X100T with me. If I’m planning on taking lots of photos, I’ll bring my dSLR (which is very very rare these days).

All I can say is that you can’t go wrong with any of the flagship mobile phone cameras these days. iPhone, Pixel, Galaxy/Note... they all produce amazing photos and all have fantastic camera capabilities. We’re all lucky as consumers.
 
Oridus said:
As a pro photog, I don’t concern myself as much with camera quality on my phone as a lot of others because anything I truly care about I will use my High end camera with high end lenses. That being said, for all other “in the moment” type shots I need that I don’t have my high end camera around for, any top end camera generally does the trick.

The differences aren’t vast enough to sway from one phone to another.

That’s just me, though. I know for a lot of other people out there, being nit picky is worth it as their phone camera is the only one they have... and that makes sense.
Click to expand...

I am under the 'Phone camera is all I have' because when I need/want to take a photo, my phone is what is readily there and at the ready.
 
Given the Pixel XL as the winner, it’s so close would you be willing to put up with it’s other shortcomings? The chin and forehead and it’s styling is mediocre at best. They bumped up the price so it’s previous value is gone. It’s still a niche product that seems like one of google’s beta products to me.
 
Even if the pixel 2 has a “better” camera... I still hate android. The X is not only an iPhone, but still had an amazing camera at that. Hell I’d choose an iPhone 5s over any android phone.
 
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Starfyre said:
I am under the 'Phone camera is all I have' because when I need/want to take a photo, my phone is what is readily there and at the ready.
Click to expand...
The Pixel is known for taking sharper images with slightly better low light performance, but the 8+/X are known for better color accuracy and focusing. You can always sharpen a photo in post processing, so there really isn’t much of a difference between the output. The X/8+, Note 8, and Pixel 2 are the best you’ll find on a phone, and as DxO scores show, nearly identical.

Yes, Apple *can* update the X’s photo-processing software to improve performance even more, but I don’t recall them ever doing so in the past. Regardless, there isn’t much to improve. I feel like most phone companies, Apple and Google included, will make major leaps with mobile photo quality next year.
 
syncopy said:
The Pixel is known for taking sharper images with slightly better low light performance, but the 8+/X are known for better color accuracy and focusing. You can always sharpen a photo in post processing, so there really isn’t much of a difference between the output. The X/8+, Note 8, and Pixel 2 are the best you’ll find on a phone, and as DxO scores show, nearly identical.

Yes, Apple *can* update the X’s photo-processing software to improve performance even more, but I don’t recall them ever doing so in the past. Regardless, there isn’t much to improve. I feel like most phone companies, Apple and Google included, will make major leaps with mobile photo quality next year.
Click to expand...

The key is, will they improve the X's camera via software update. There is a lot of emphasis on 'Neural Engine' helps enhance photo quality! If they are not using it, and require hardware updates to improve... that defeats the point!

Google on the other hand, they have a secret weapon up their sleeve, the Pixel Visual Core that will help enhance it's existing photo quality even further with a future update.
 
Starfyre said:
The key is, will they improve the X's camera via software update. There is a lot of emphasis on 'Neural Engine' helps enhance photo quality! If they are not using it, and require hardware updates to improve... that defeats the point!

Google on the other hand, they have a secret weapon up their sleeve, the Pixel Visual Core that will help enhance it's existing photo quality even further with a future update.
Click to expand...
I don’t know. Apple can certainly improve it over time via software, and the neural engine is supposed to do that as it learns from your photo habits, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Even the Pixel Visual Core will need testing and updates, but at least it’s resting on a solid start.
 
these are still just phone cameras in the end. while the software augmented photography tricks are interesting, both camera sensors are limited by their size and lens formula

variations in sharpness, noise reduction, saturation, etc is likely due to Apple or Google’s image processing differences and less about the intrinsic capabilities of the camera hardware

Starfyre said:
The key is, will they improve the X's camera via software update. There is a lot of emphasis on 'Neural Engine' helps enhance photo quality! If they are not using it, and require hardware updates to improve... that defeats the point!

Google on the other hand, they have a secret weapon up their sleeve, the Pixel Visual Core that will help enhance it's existing photo quality even further with a future update.
Click to expand...
 
benzslrpee said:
these are still just phone cameras in the end. while the software augmented photography tricks are interesting, both camera sensors are limited by their size and lens formula

variations in sharpness, noise reduction, saturation, etc is likely due to Apple or Google’s image processing differences and less about the intrinsic capabilities of the camera hardware
Click to expand...
Both are limited yes, but there is room for improvement. If the Pixel 2 is doing better, the iPhone has room to be smarter about the photos they take and process to at least be just as good as Pixel 2.
 
It comes down to if the slight difference in the cameras are the most important thing to you, I would not base a decision on what may be available later. Of course each company can improve the camera software. I still think two optical lens is better than one with a software solution. But at current state it’s scoring better, ever so slightly. The portrait mode is better on the 8+, even DXO says that it is more natural looking. So if that is important you should consider that as well.
 
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I'm not a professional photographer, but I have 2 lines, one is currently the iPhone 8+ (soon to be iPhone X), and the other just recently swapped to the Pixel 2 XL. Both are great phone cameras, but I'd give the edge to the Pixel 2 XL so far. It's still early days, but its low light performance especially is absolutely phenomenal.

The 8+ camera is excellent, and while I appreciate the camera more on the Pixel 2 XL, it is not enough to overcome the more basic considerations of OS, and whether Android or iOS is a better fit for you. (side note: I appreciate both equally, and enjoy them for their respective strengths and despite their weaknesses)
 
Both phones can take good pictures, I've seen many reviews and a phone performs better in low light, the other has better colour accuracy, the bokeh effect is good on both although implemented differently and so on.

8+ and X have the big advantage of having a dual camera.
Pixel is great, but if you need to take a shot at something far from you having the telephoto lens makes a huge difference. Unfortunately on the 8+ the telephoto lens doesn't have OIS, while X has that feature. I find myself using the telephoto more often than I imagined now that I have one.
 
Most of the cameras are acceptable enough for what I use my phone camera for. I stopped caring about which is marginally better. If I need a really, really good photos I'll bring out my real camera. You really can't go wrong with any of these 3 and shouldn't expect one to be far and away better than the others. If you are mainly sharing these on social media and viewing on phones, tables, laptops then there will be no issues with any of these 3 and probably many others as well.
 
In my opinion Google and Apple go about photos in very different ways with their phones. Apple emulates DSLR qualities very well to create a "photograph" where Googles approach is more clinical and use their camera to capture an "image". I think both are valid ways of interpreting the camera and in the end its entirely subjective. If you look at the front camera portrait comparisons online it is clear that the iPhone is mimicking a DSLR with a very shallow depth of field where the Pixel cuts out the foreground and blurs the background which is not natural looking but has a nice visual "pop".

I think - bearing in mind I have no experience with either phone - that the X can be used to craft something unique and the Pixel will be more cookie cutter and capture the same thing for everybody but very well every time.


I think both camera systems are good and the decision of which device to purchase should come down to other considerations whilst safe in the knowledge your getting a good camera.
 
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Oridus said:
As a pro photog, I don’t concern myself as much with camera quality on my phone as a lot of others because anything I truly care about I will use my High end camera with high end lenses. That being said, for all other “in the moment” type shots I need that I don’t have my high end camera around for, any top end camera generally does the trick.

The differences aren’t vast enough to sway from one phone to another.

That’s just me, though. I know for a lot of other people out there, being nit picky is worth it as their phone camera is the only one they have... and that makes sense.
Click to expand...

Working with SLR film cameras since 1989, DSLRs since 2004 with a number of lenses, filters, etc etc. having this phone w/ a camera was cool...but not essential. So at times before iPhone- I'd settle with my old Razr phone with camera (ouch!) 640x480 pixelated mess..dark settings, forget it..I stopped wasting time with photos on that.

Then June 2007 iPhone WITH a "better" camera, but I admit I never really used it that much due to quality...so this was more like a convenience. The 4, 5, even with the iPhone 6 Plus..STILL didn't take that many photos. I would mess with other features like new Time-Lapse on a small tripod with the 6Plus.

But with 8 Plus, I admit...so far this produces very nice shots for a phone, FAR better that all previous phones I've had (I know the Google phone was rated better, I don't know since I never played with this model) Right now I am enjoying the 8Plus camera. I think I've taken a LOT more photos with the phone in 5 weeks compared to every previous phone, The old 6 Plus I may have taken no more than 100 shots in 2 months with that.

The 3rd party apps work well with this (slow shutter app works great, other apps for post editing) Still some grain on darker shots - Even with -again -3rd party apps where you can manually control ISO, exposure settings..but not as horrific like it was in the past. Zooming in, that part still needs major work - Anything beyond 2x, photos starting having this unnatural "paint, smart blur" look to it. Not a big deal, I just won't zoom in that much. This is the first phone I've had with the Portrait feature, I'm impressed with that and the depth of field it brings.

So right now it's nice when you have big pro cameras packed away in the bag..you see something that if you don't grab within the next 5-10 seconds, you'll miss it...you can grab the 8 Plus and get a pretty decent shot immediately. The video, also better! Full 1080, or 4k 24fps looks great - add a "CinePro" LUT filter that I use on my Mark II..it looks great. (4K 60fps..) Yeah it's smoother - file size far larger too..but I noticed the quality actually dropped in this mode. Edges appear softer IMO.

It won't take over my other cameras..but at all in all I'm happy with the 8+ camera.
 
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