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Londoner1982

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 24, 2018
94
54
Camera and video quality is one of the most important things to me right now.

Which phone would you recommend?

I’ve been considering the Pixel, S10, XS etc.
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,965
20,161
UK
Photos pixel is still king but pixel lacks badly for video so iPhone and S10 are better in this area
 

pika2000

Suspended
Jun 22, 2007
5,587
4,903
Lowlight photography: Pixel or Huawei P/Mate series.
I was using the Honor View 10 (Huawei’s sub brand), and even without OIS, its night mode is quite amazing. I would imagine the P/Mate series will perform even better with OIS.

Casual point n shoot daylight photography: pixel or latest iPhone
Their smart/auto HDR are simply magic, especially for those coming from regular digital camera that used to do a lot of post processing to regain highlights and/shadow details. I’ve seen images from the iPhone XR taken without any edits, that would’ve required me to use Lightroom to achieve similar dynamic range if those images were taken with a regular DSLR.

Video: iPhone.
For video, iPhone is still the king. And there are actually real pro level video apps on the iPhone, namely Filmic Pro. Video on Android phones is a mess. Even the flagships like Samsung don’t implement the Camera API from Google properly, it’s just ridiculous.

Samsung is just a hype at this point. Only get Samsung if you are a fan of the brand.
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,965
20,161
UK
Lowlight photography: Pixel or Huawei P/Mate series.
I was using the Honor View 10 (Huawei’s sub brand), and even without OIS, its night mode is quite amazing. I would imagine the P/Mate series will perform even better with OIS.

Casual point n shoot daylight photography: pixel or latest iPhone
Their smart/auto HDR are simply magic, especially for those coming from regular digital camera that used to do a lot of post processing to regain highlights and/shadow details. I’ve seen images from the iPhone XR taken without any edits, that would’ve required me to use Lightroom to achieve similar dynamic range if those images were taken with a regular DSLR.

Video: iPhone.
For video, iPhone is still the king. And there are actually real pro level video apps on the iPhone, namely Filmic Pro. Video on Android phones is a mess. Even the flagships like Samsung don’t implement the Camera API from Google properly, it’s just ridiculous.

Samsung is just a hype at this point. Only get Samsung if you are a fan of the brand.
More like get Samsung if you want a truly complete phone

If you want a basic but great phone then iPhone is a great option
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,463
5,092
Put a little work in and most of today's flagship phones will be able to produce good to great results.

Count me in as a believer in the Pixel 3 photo capabilities now that I've been using my 3XL, especially Night Sight. Pretty mind blowing the images it's capable of generating in truly terrible lighting conditions.
 
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Tig Bitties

macrumors 603
Sep 6, 2012
5,517
5,691
Pixel 3 / 3 XL is still the top dog for camera. Plus it's also a great smartphone in general, with the smooth as silk stock Android, no bloatware, and monthly updates like clockwork direct from Google.

My opinion, as of March 2019, the Pixel 3 XL is the best smartphone to buy. I'd easily pass on the Galaxy S10+, and LOL no way an iPhone.
 

michael9891

Cancelled
Sep 26, 2016
3,060
3,945
Also depends on which OS you'd be happier with. Pixel hands down for pics, S10 if you want Android but want good video with a drop in quality on photos. iPhone if you want a good mix of both but prefer iOS.
 

Klyster

macrumors 68020
Dec 7, 2013
2,231
2,642

A quick comparison between the three..


Low light comparison


Disclaimer: I've used none of them
 
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The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,965
20,161
UK
Pixel night sight is great and if pics is important you can't go wrong there but their hardware isn't really up to standard that's what lets the pixel down
 

Shanghaichica

macrumors G5
Apr 8, 2013
14,722
13,244
UK
Pixel night sight is great and if pics is important you can't go wrong there but their hardware isn't really up to standard that's what lets the pixel down
Agreed. The pixel has a great camera and very advanced features with the assistant but it is lacking in too many other areas for me to ever consider it.
 

Fille84

macrumors 6502
Aug 6, 2013
281
231
Honestly I don't see the brilliance with pixel. Think it crushes the blacks way to much. To me the best cameras are in iPhone xs and galaxy s10.
 
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