I absolutely detest iPhones, but I wish Pixel XL has the dual camera setup like the iPhone 7 Plus.

[klau25]

What's the actual benefit of the dual camera system? I've seen some shots, and other than a wider viewing angle, I'm not seeing the actual benefit. What I think would be incredible though would be post focus... I can't remember the name of the camera, but the ability to adjust the depth of field would be a great feature... or I'm crazy.

edit: I'm crazy.

The 2X optical zoom is a nice feature because of the dual camera setup. And the portrait mode with the DSLR like feature that it focus on the object in front and blur out the back.

 

[Almeuit]

From what I have been seeing about the camera and from what I have been hearing -- There is no issue with the camera quality so I am fine with what Google did .

 

[Go0gle]

Maybe I can help put your mind at ease - the cameras in the iPhone 7 are not very impressive at all.

First, they use much smaller image sensors than the Pixel. The iPhone 7 Plus uses a 1/3" sensor for the wide camera, and a 1/3.6" for the telephoto camera. Small sensors are bad at gathering light, and you can only fight physics so much. The Pixel's use a 1/2.3" sensor, the same size found in many point & shoot cameras, and other high end non-apple smartphones.

Second, the Pixel has a much better HDR implementation than the iPhone, and it's instant. The Pixel can take as many rapid-fire HDR's as you want with no shutter lag. For most people wanting share-ready photos that look great straight from their phone, this is a big deal.

Third, the Pixel has much better video stabilization. It's eerily good, and there are plenty of videos on the web demonstrating it. It's so good that it makes the video look like it's shot from a tripod when panning, which you may or may not want depending on usage. There is also no 'jello' effect.

Fourth, the optical quality is much better. The Pixel isn't in this comparison yet, but you can see in this comparison between the iPhones and a Galaxy S7 that the quality is shockingly poor on the iPhone 7, especially in the iPhone7 Plus. Move the little box around to see different areas of the image:

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/im...05&x=0.9434981125643354&y=-0.5134560965857144

Fifth, the ISO performance on the iPhone 7 is quite poor. In all the samples I have seen including professional testing on DPreview and other websites, anything above base ISO not in good lighting looks like a pastel painting. Their noise reduction algorithms totally destroy the image if you look at them with any kind of scrutiny. In fact, the ISO performance is so poor on the iPhone 7 Plus telephoto camera, that the phone actually uses a crop from the wide angle camera instead when you go above a certain ISO, because that sensor is larger than the telephoto sensor. The reason this doesn't happen on the Pixel is twofold. First, the sensor is significantly larger and it can simply gather more light, which improves low light performance. Second, because the high ISO images are really several images merged, Google's algorithms are able to eliminate most of the noise (because noise appears randomly in an image) while keeping the photo relatively sharp and free from the heavy noise reduction that results in a pastel-looking image.

This is a good article on the sensor used in the Google Pixel/Pixel XL and how it's different than the 6P sensor:
Sony IMX378: Comprehensive Breakdown of the Google Pixel's Sensor and its Features

Finally, the Pixel offers unlimited, free, full resolution photo storage even for 4K video. Apple charges $10/mo for 1TB of storage, and doesn't offer an unlimited option as far as I know. If you take lots of photos and 4K video, it doesn't take long to hit 1TB.

Hope that helps. Honestly the iPhone 7/7+ camera is nothing special and I don't understand the hype around it. They are using smaller image sensors than all the competition, and still somehow can't get rid of the camera bump. They aren't the first with a dual camera setup either.

 

[klau25]

From what I have been seeing about the camera and from what I have been hearing -- There is no issue with the camera quality so I am fine with what Google did .

I feel the same way about the Pixel's camera, but having 2X zoom is definitely nice. I want 2X zoom much more than water resistance. I am surprised more people don't complain about this. All you see is everyone complaining about no water resistance. haha.

 

[notnotmaurice]

I can't believe apple was first to this kind of thing too! Qualcomm was showing off a prototype with an extra 85emm lens around when the HTC M8 rumour mill was heating up, but all any of the android makers have done was wider cameras like the g5 or insane gimmicks like the m8 depth sensor or huawei b&w camera. I've been hating the way my phone takes portraits and concert photos for years, i'm so steamed that the company least willing to try weird stuff was the first company to ship a telephoto lens on a phone.

 

[Go0gle]

If you don't like gimmicks, you won't like the iPhone 7+ "telephoto" camera. Performance is so poor that for high ISO shots it actually uses the wide angle camera and crops it (digital zoom) to appear like it was shot from the "telephoto". It uses the wide camera for anything close up as well, because the "telephoto" camera has a poor minimum focus distance. It's also 56mm equivalent, which is not at all "telephoto", and is roughly the same field of view as the human eye. Nothing to be 'steamed' about my friend, there are much better phone cameras out there

At a concert, where I imagine lighting is poor, the last thing you will want to use is the iPhone7+ 56mm camera (much slower aperture in addition to the smaller sensor), and the iPhone will be using the wider camera anyway and giving you digital zoom.

 

[OliverK]

I disagree with those praising the 7 Plus as the best camera.

I have a Jet Black 7 Plus and a Pixel XL and I don't rate the iPhone camera as the best by any stretch.

It may well come down to personal taste but the iPhone camera isn't as good to me.

 

[OliverK]

taken on 7 plus




taken on pixel xl

 

[OliverK]

When I look at the two quick photos (taken in a starbucks) I notice two things.

First of all the wider lens of the Pixel and second of all more detail on the Pixel; look at the wall behind the drink etc. To me thats a superior photo than the 7 Plus.

 

[Richard Servello]

I can't believe apple was first to this kind of thing too! Qualcomm was showing off a prototype with an extra 85emm lens around when the HTC M8 rumour mill was heating up, but all any of the android makers have done was wider cameras like the g5 or insane gimmicks like the m8 depth sensor or huawei b&w camera. I've been hating the way my phone takes portraits and concert photos for years, i'm so steamed that the company least willing to try weird stuff was the first company to ship a telephoto lens on a phone.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.pock...e-history-running-up-to-iphone-7-plus.amphtml

As always, not first.

 

[bnice]

Just goes to show how brain wash and program some are. The minute they see it on or provided on an iPhone it's so good and the best thing since sliced bread. Many OEM been doing things way before the iPhone and no one made a big deal or give them credit. Never understood that.

 

[vimagreg]

Well, I have to say: I own an iPhone 7 Plus and a S7 Edge Olympics Edition. I simply like more iPhone in every single aspect. Every one. Actually my S7 Edge is laying down on my desk, turned off, until I decide what to do with it. The problem is it is so amazingly beautiful that I can't sell it.

But, that's not my point. I said that just to point that, even preferring iPhone 7+ for my daily use in all occasions, I simply can't accept someone say it's camera is better than Edge's one. Not at all! In low light situations Edge proves to be far more superior. In good light conditions, too. Edge's pictures show much more details, short and long distances. Videos has sharper and brighter colors. And I say this, repeat, being a daily basis iPhone user, and simply loving it.

I don't know if Apple will really improve camera quality with iOS 10.1 but, for now, I really can't see possible ways to iPhone's new camera being superior than S7 Edge's one. Just my opinion.

Cheers,

 

[nizmoz]

The iPhone 7 camera isn't as good as the S7 or S7 Edge camera either.

Sorry but I beg to differ. I own all three. Well at least till my note 7 was ripped away from me. The ip7 plus camera is better than my s7 edge and n7. Also more features like the real 2x optical zoom.

 

[nizmoz]

Google doesn't need dual camera features ..they made it in a single camera!

But they are coming out with a dual camera on the s8. Lol

 

[nizmoz]

When I look at the two quick photos (taken in a starbucks) I notice two things.

First of all the wider lens of the Pixel and second of all more detail on the Pixel; look at the wall behind the drink etc. To me thats a superior photo than the 7 Plus.

The more blur in the background the better the camera is. Forget the name of that. Either way both did well in that pic.

 

[Go0gle]

Sorry but I beg to differ. I own all three. Well at least till my note 7 was ripped away from me. The ip7 plus camera is better than my s7 edge and n7. Also more features like the real 2x optical zoom.

See my post and links to objective testing on the previous page - that is simply not true. There are numerous objective reasons why the iPhone 7 camera is not up to snuff this time around.

Also it does not have any optical zoom, it just has another camera with a 56mm equivalent lens. The only zoom it has is digital, which it uses most of the time, because the quality of the cropped wide angle camera is better than the 56mm camera in all situations except bright daylight. The "zoom" is simply switching to the second focal length - it is effectively two prime lenses, and does not at all meet the definition of a zoom.

The more blur in the background the better the camera is. Forget the name of that. Either way both did well in that pic.

The term you're looking for is "bokeh" and that statement is also not true. Bokeh is created by a number of things, and like many things in photography it's subjective. The "more bokeh = better" rhetoric is most likely coming from the fact that professional cameras can create this look easily with their large sensors and large aperture lenses. It doesn't mean it's better. In fact for the average user casually snapping pictures, having most everything in focus at all times is greatly preferred. Having the option to do either would be ideal, but is not possible with such tiny sensors and such poor "fake bokeh" software implementations, in my opinion.

Bokeh/blurred backgrounds are created by a number of things:

1) Larger sensors (larger the sensor, the shallower the depth of field or "in focus area" will be)
2) Subject separation from background (background further away typically makes nicer bokeh)
3) Lens aperture (wider aperture = more bokeh to put it simply)
4) Longest focal length + minimum focus distance (has greatest compression effect on the background)
5) Focal length in general - longer focal lengths have shallower depth of field which in turn blurs the background more

Lens design as well as the number of aperture blades used in the diaphragm also have an impact on the quality of the bokeh, but that doesn't really apply to smartphones as much.

*By far* the largest factors, especially in smartphones, is sensor size and software. The iPhone 7's sensors are so small, virtually everything is roughly in focus at all times (and for the most part, so is the Pixel). The god-awful synthetic bokeh/background blur they have been showing on the web is nothing special, and can't seem to identify the subjects in the photos either. When they have the issues sorted out, it will be nice to have as a filter for Instagram photos and whatnot, but for now it just looks terrible.

 

[RionDunn]

Apple was being stupid when them took away the headphone jack.
It's another reason I detest iPhones.

Having said that, I haven't used wired headphones in a few years.
My current headphones are the Bose QC35 wireless headphones
and other than the occasional slight delay when playing videos,
they sound great.

You know what's funny! I use the same Bose headset and have it synced to my iPhone 7 plus before I got my Pixel XL. I didn't have a single issue with the iPhone and the Bose headset. But the Pixel cuts out and sounds jittery a lot of the time. Especially with games. Apple software is extremely polished but I'm in love with the productivity of Android. Wish Android would just have a flawless device, there's always something up with everything Android phone

 

[jtcannonball]

The iPhone 7 camera isn't as good as the S7 or S7 Edge camera either.

Those opinions are definitely 50/50 as to which phone is better. I love my S7 camera as well as my iPhone 7+ camera. Both have strengths and weaknesses. The Pixel seems to do substantially better in low light with capturing insane detail than both of them. I really want one.