How good is the camera on the Google Pixel XL?

[n8cwhite]

How good is it? What features does it have?

 

[B. Diddy]

Although it doesn't have the the Pixel 2's Portrait Mode, it does have AR Stickers. The quality of photos in general is still excellent -- I had an XL for about a month or so (as a replacement for my Nexus 6P through Nexus Protect), before I traded it in for my current 2 XL. I took a lot of pics in Hawaii with the XL, and they came out great.

 

[Lance Redden]

How good is it? What features does it have?

Still one of the top cameras out there, along the new pixel 2s and Samsung Galaxy S9's.

But my favorite feature, is the unlimited full resolution cloud storage that Google offers.

 

[B. Diddy]

But my favorite feature, is the unlimited full resolution cloud storage that Google offers.

Oh yeah, good point! It's until the end of 2020, I think.

EDIT: Sorry, I was mistaken -- for the 1st gen, it's unlimited original quality for life: https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6220791

 

[socal]

Although it doesn't have the the Pixel 2's Portrait Mode, it does have AR Stickers. The quality of photos in general is still excellent -- I had an XL for about a month or so (as a replacement for my Nexus 6P through Nexus Protect), before I traded it in for my current 2 XL. I took a lot of pics in Hawaii with the XL, and they came out great.

I believe Camera NX gives you Portrait Mode functionality.

 

[B. Diddy]

I believe Camera NX gives you Portrait Mode functionality.

Thanks for the tip! Do you know if that app uses the same computational algorithms as the Pixel 2 camera software, or is it some other workaround?

 

[socal]

Thanks for the tip! Do you know if that app uses the same computational algorithms as the Pixel 2 camera software, or is it some other workaround?

Sorry, I have no clue about that stuff. There was an article here on AC about it. That may explain what you're looking for.

 

[B. Diddy]

Oh yeah, here's the article: https://www.androidcentral.com/pixel-2-portrait-mode-now-works-2016-pixel-nexus-6p-and-5x. I looked at the guy's blog entry that was linked, and I can't quite figure out if that means it's using the same computational photography algorithms that the Pixel 2 uses. But hey, if the end result is the same, what does it matter?

 

[Gdraft#WN]

I use the NX camera, I don't use portrait mode but use the stickers. Pictures look identical using stock camera app or NX

 

[LeoRex]

Thanks for the tip! Do you know if that app uses the same computational algorithms as the Pixel 2 camera software, or is it some other workaround?

It does... It is still the Google Camera, just hacked a bit to allow it to run on any phone with compatible hardware. Quality of output should be identical to the stock version unless you fuss with some if the settings that NX presents to the user that were hidden in stock.

 

[Rugbylad2801]

DxO Mark gave the Google Pixel 2 a rating of 98 for camera quality. Thats an incredible score, check it out : https://www.dxomark.com/

 

[Itsa_Me_Mario]

Definitely among the best. Is there a question here or did I miss something?

 

[belodion]

Apparently, it's bad, compared to the Lumia 950.

 

[Itsa_Me_Mario]

Apparently, it's bad, compared to the Lumia 950.

Err.... lol

 

[LeoRex]

Needs more magapixels

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

It's still a very capable camera, especially if you want to just point, shoot and get a nice looking photo at the end.

If you prefer having more control out of the box, well, it does support Camera2, but if you'd like having it out of the box natively, it might not be your first choice, but that depends on how much you value control.

 

[AJ S1]

I wouldn't LOL that, not the first time I read it and listened to a podcast about a year ago making the same claim.