HI Guys, it's MTG here, and today I'm going to be comparing the cameras found on the Google
Pixel 2 XL and the iPhone X.
They are inarguably two of the best cameras that you can find on a smartphone to date,
so I wanted to see how they compared head-to-head.
I'll be comparing them in different lighting conditions, and I'll also take a look at their
videos.
Everything was set to automatic.
Let's get right into it.
Looking at the camera specs, the iPhone X has a dual-12 Megapixel system, with a wide-angle
and telephoto lens at f/1.8 and f/2.4 apertures respectively.
The telephoto lens allows the X to have 2x optical zoom and take depth-effect portrait
pictures.
The cameras can record up to 4K at 60 fps and 1080p at up to 240 fps.
They have dual optical image stabilization.
The X's front TrueDepth camera is 7 Megapixels with an aperture of f/2.2.
It can take portrait mode pictures, and can record video at up to 1080p at 30 fps.
The Pixel 2 XL, on the other hand, has a single 12.2 Megapixel sensor with an f/1.8 aperture.
Using Google's image processing and machine learning, it can also achieve portrait style
pictures on both the front and back cameras.
The camera can record up to 4K at 30 fps and 1080p at up to 120 fps.
It has both optical and electronic image stabilization.
The Pixel 2 XL's front camera is 8 Megapixels with an aperture of f/2.4, and can also take
portrait mode pictures.
It can record video at up to 1080p at 30 fps.
Right off the bat, I wanted to show that both phones have phenomenal cameras.
In this shot, both phones handled direct sunlight very well.
Both cameras have a lot of detail and both cameras maintained colors well.
This picture shows how great the iPhone X's HDR is.
The blues in the water and the sky are maintained in the iPhone X's shot, whereas the Pixel
2 XL's shot looks washed out in comparison.
Also, the iPhone X has a second telephoto lens that will allow it to zoom in closer
to the subject.
This image again shows how great the iPhone X's HDR is when it works, but we'll see in
some other pictures that this isn't always the case.
There seems to be a trend in a lot of the pictures I took in that the Pixel 2 XL's pictures
have a cooler tint whereas the iPhone X has a warmer tint.
The Pixel 2 XL seems to deal with differences in light better, leading to its ability to
capture details in the sky better in some shots where there was lots of sunlight.Some
shots looked so similar that it was difficult to even distinguish between the two.
(inside the bpl green room) Then these images show that, again, the Pixel 2 XL handled light
a lot better than the iPhone X.
The details in the table are preserved better, and the green in the lamps themselves are
preserved better on the Pixel 2 XL's shot.
Also, if you look at the windows, you'll see a drastic difference there as well.
In good lighting, both phones took solid portrait mode pictures.
But the Pixel 2 XL was able to pick up the blues in the sky behind me, and was also able
to pick up more details on my face.
The dual-cameras on the iPhone X did a better job of differentiating between the foreground
and the background, which is noticeable in the collar of my jacket.
Looking at the front camera portrait modes of both phones, the iPhone X messed up with
my hair, and although the Pixel 2 XL didn't get the edges completely perfect, it did an
overall better job at blurring the background and picking up details on my face.
In a different selfie without portrait mode, we can see that Google does tend to sacrifice
color accuracy for detail.
The color of the sky is clear in the Pixel 2 XL's shot, but the iPhone X was able to
capture my skin tone more accurately.
When looking at pictures shot in low-light, you can see how much the Pixel 2 XL relies
on post-processing in their night shots.
The iPhone X's shot is by far the more realistic of the two, and it still was able to pick
up a lot of detail and was surprisingly even better at controlling the noise in the image.
In this night shot, the Pixel 2 XL was able to pick up the words "know more" in the city
map sign, but again, it was very dark outside, and the Pixel 2 over brightened areas that
didn't need to be brightened like the sky.
The iPhone X was able to pick up similar levels of detail without overcompensating in the
dark.
This image actually came out really good on both phones, but if you look at the details
in the window and where the light hits the building, you can see how the Pixel 2 XL handled
differences in lighting better.
The Pixel 2 XL showed just how good its image processing could be when I tested the portrait
modes of both phones without flash.
You can barely see my face in the iPhone X's shot.
Using the flashes of both phones, the iPhone X wasn't able to differentiate the foreground
from the background, while the Pixel 2 XL's shot still came out pretty good.
Since this entire video is shot in 4k at 30 fps, I set both phones to 4K at 30 fps.
Note that the iPhone X is capable of shooting 4K at 60 fps.
When looking at video, the Pixel 2 XL does handle the sky better, and the stabilization
takes care of the walking, but it seems to overcompensate and stabilize too much, making
a video that looks choppy in panning instances.
The iPhone X's video also shows some choppiness in panning, that could very well be eliminated
in 60 fps, but I think it overall captured the scene better with far more accurate colors
of
the buildings.
Looking at the front camera videos, the Pixel 2 XL was able to pick up more of the colors
in the sky, but seemed to wash out the colors on my face.
Also, the video on the iPhone X just seems smoother.
The audio is night and day.
The iPhone X picks up my voice just fine, and does a decent job with noise, whereas
the Pixel 2 XL tried to use software to eliminate background noise, making everything sound
very tinny.
In general, both these phones have really great cameras.
The Pixel 2 XL is still the best camera in terms of portrait-mode pictures.
But although the image-processing is really great, it can tend to overcompensate in some
images making the images look unnatural.
If you like portrait mode pictures and if you like a cooler tint, you may prefer the
Pixel 2 XL's camera, but if you like.
amore natural look and utilize the 2x optical zoom, you may like the iPhone X's camera better.
Let me know in the comment section, which camera you prefer.
And stay tuned for tomorrow when I post a Note 8 vs iPhone X comparison.
If you liked this video, please give this video a thumbs up.
I'm working on a lot of new content right now, so make sure to click the logo down below
to subscribe, and have the notification bell clicked to stay up-to-date on my latest videos.
Check the description for links to my social media accounts, and as always, thanks for
watching, and I will see you in my next video.