Seems like the iPhone 8 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Note8 quickly lose the spotlight as the newly-released Google Pixel 2 got an overall score of 98 in DxOMARK’s camera test.
In a test summary from DxOMark, the Pixel 2 got a score of 99 in its photo performance test and 96 in its video performance test, making it 5 points over the original Pixel. Some of its pros in camera performance are: wide dynamic range in all lighting conditions, excellent autofocus, very good white balance both outdoors and indoors, and good detail preservation. However, it falls short on flare, flickering, and grid patterns can occur in some lighting conditions, medium- and long-range zooms have some loss of detail, and portrait mode sometimes causes visible artifacts.
Video-wise, some of its pros are: very good video stabilization, fast and accurate autofocus with good subject tracking, good detail preservation indoors and outdoors, and good noise reduction. On the other hand, its cons include: white balance and exposure can be unstable when walking or panning, rotational frame drift in some hand-held videos, and limited dynamic range.
To check out DxOMark’s full camera test, click here.
Source: DxOMark
I disagree with DxOMark for the following reasons:
For exposure and contrast, DxOMark focused on the light bulbs being preserved and not on the subject. Who would want a picture with preserved light bulbs and “aswang”-like subject? iPhone8+ gives a more natural rendering of the subject. iPhone wins in this category.
Color: Pixel is darker and the dark portion (ceiling of carousel) did not gave the details while it is very clear on iPhone.
For detail and texture, Pixel did not do a good job as what DxOMark claims. Why? Simple, look the at croped images. Pixel is so noisy.
Bokeh mode: iPhone is better in this category. Pixel gives an unnatural blur.
For zoom effect, Pixel is weak on this. iPhone8+ and Note8 are better.
To sum it up, the score of 98 is over-rated and in my opinion, it should be at par with iPhone8+ and Note 8. Or maybe a point lower. And that is why I’m not taking DxOMark’s score seriously. I don’t know about the others but this is my opinion.
Again, stills and video should be separately proclaimed/awarded.
The Note 8 tops (by a point) the Pixel 2 (and XL) in Photo, but crushed by Pixel 2 in video.
Personally, I am not a video person and the Photo performance will matter to me most.
Good thing that reviews include that actual images – we, the users, can decide which smartphone camera output is right for our taste. :)
And yeah, I hope they release Google hardware here in the Philippines officially.