The Pixel 3 is $900 and has the highest DXOMark video score of any smartphone - is there a camera for under $900 that can beat its video quality?

[BecauseICanTBH]

Quote

For the most part, most smartphones capture video using a single camera, so the Pixel 3 isn’t at a disadvantage here compared to multi-camera phone designs, which helps explain how it tied with the Huawei P20 Pro for the highest-ever DxOMark Mobile Video score of 98. Its overall score is anchored by top-of-the-line performance in Exposure and Contrast (87) under a variety of light levels, Color rendering (88), and excellent Stabilization (94). From there, the Pixel 3 tops almost every other phone we’ve tested by delivering class-leading Noise reduction (83) with minimal Artifacts (86)—all while doing a good job of preserving Texture (61). In particular, the Pixel 3’s video Noise reduction is excellent even in low light, although it falls short of the iPhone XS in its ability to capture high-dynamic-range scenes.

Source: https://www.dxomark.com/google-pixel3-camera-review/

 

Does anyone know of a camera (not a smartphone) that costs less than $900 new, but can beat the Google Pixel 3 in video recording quality at 4k30?

[LukeSavenije]

well, not beat. but a dxomark score of 105, is that good enough for you?

 

then the mi 8 might be something for you

[schwellmo92]

Cmon man even a Go Pro could do better. Mobile phone cameras are good for what they are, but not comparable to dedicated shooters, not even close.

[Radioactive Snowman]

iPhone XR could beat it, I've seen pixel video footage and its pretty unexceptional. The mic is awful too

[BecauseICanTBH]

7 minutes ago, schwellmo92 said:

Cmon man even a Go Pro could do better. Mobile phone cameras are good for what they are, but not comparable to dedicated shooters, not even close.

Go Pros are garbage. They might take decent video for about 12 minutes before the battery dies, but it's still not even that impressive quality. Fisheye lens too, I wanted something more professional.

[Origami Cactus]

Any decent camera will do.

 

[cc143]

Gopros will have better image quality than a phone most of the time. The sensor in a phone is too small, which translates to very crappy IQ when the lighting is anything but ideal. You are also limited to a single focal length (which is mostly fine if you are aware of it and avoid zooming which just crops into the image.) Also no amount of software optimisation (and cameras on phones have a lot of it) can reliably overcome the laws of physics. The gopro has a fisheye lens, but they still have more space to implement than the square cm you have on a phone. 

 

If you truly need 4k30p with reliable (ish) AF, the phone is probably your best bet, but if you are a knowledgeable shooter, you can get much better results with something like a Panasonic G7. 

 

If you were willing to forego 4k, which honestly isn't that big a deal when moving up from a phone simply because the footage is sharper for other reasons, bit rate optics etc. anyway on a decent camera, a Canon 800d or eos m50 (even does 4k, but has no AF in 4k) would both be great for this as well. 

 

If you want something less bultky, the Sony rx100 series and Canon's G7 are very popular with vloggers, but have no interchangeable lenses and the former may be a bit more expensive (~$1000).