Pixel 2 XL vs iPhone 8+ vs Note8 vs LG V30 - Smartphone Camera Showdown

[nicklmg]

 

Buy Google Pixel 2 XL on Amazon: http://geni.us/7n4aHt
 
Buy iPhone 8+ on Amazon: http://geni.us/sBk0
 
Buy Samsung Galaxy Note8 on Amazon: http://geni.us/gzXRymR
 
Buy LG V30 on Amazon: http://geni.us/Shu9Xtg

 

If you're an average consumer taking pictures in auto mode, which flagship phone will give you the best results? Pixel 2 XL vs iPhone 8+ vs Note8 vs LG V30

[Guest]

iPhone X probably

[AdoptedAsian]

The pixel 2 (non-XL) and pixel 2 XL have the same camera so you could save some money and get the regular Pixel 2. The XL version's screen also has issues so it might not be the best option.

[nicklmg]

4 minutes ago, AdoptedAsian said:

The pixel 2 (non-XL) and pixel 2 XL have the same camera so you could save some money and get the regular Pixel 2. The XL version's screen also has issues so it might not be the best option.

In our experience the screen "issues" have been grossly overstated. Your mileage may vary, but compared to other OLEDs we haven't found the color shift to be significantly more noticeable.

[Bouzoo]

This, this is what I've been asking for in the V30 review and in general for a long time. Thank your for clarifying it. I wouldn't mind such a comparison each gen for flagships. 

Do you have an intention of making a video recording comparison?

[nicklmg]

1 minute ago, Bouzoo said:

This, this is what I've been asking for in the V30 review and in general for a long time. Thank your for clarifying it. I wouldn't mind such a comparison each gen for flagships. 

Do you have an intention of making a video recording comparison?

It's not in the current plan, but it's also not impossible. Higher viewcounts typically make it easier to sell through follow-up ideas internally, so if you're interested in a video follow-up make sure you like & share  haha.

[Bouzoo]

3 minutes ago, nicklmg said:

It's not in the current plan, but it's also not impossible. Higher viewcounts typically make it easier to sell through follow-up ideas internally, so if you're interested in a video follow-up make sure you like & share  haha.

Oh my god. Pitching me a sale here? But I suppose a COO needs to know how to sell. 

[nicklmg]

32 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

Oh my god. Pitching me a sale here? But I suppose a COO needs to know how to sell. 

Hey man I'm always in the business of getting more views  

 

Plus I have no shame.

[MrUnderground]

Wich songs did they use in the middle part off the video?

[Egg-Roll]

I'm going to say one thing and one thing only. If the sole purpose of buying a phone was for the camera and nothing else save the money on the high tier. Buy some cheap shitty phone and buy a real camera. Phone cameras suck, always have always will. 

 

I use my Canon S5 if i couldn't be bothered to bring my SX40 or one of my (only ones digital) old SLR's...

My Stylo 2/3 do have decent cameras and i do have manual functionality (3rd party) but getting it set up threw the interface is sheer nonsense to the point if i need something more than a blurry picture i grab my cameras, even one that only cost me $0.33 on ebay.

 

In the video around 3:30 mark if you look closely you can see the support beams on the V30, just saying, not disagreeing, LG could of and should've done better.

 

I should also note i have a S8 picture on my computer EXIF confirmation it's at least samsung, thought i had a iPhone x but i guess not. 

Picture taken from my Stylo 2. I think i was using a manual 3rd party app at that time. (bought and used it that day during that time so 50/50)

Spoiler

Here's one with Empire Sandy back in 09 with my S5 at max zoom no digital (can't find any SX40 shots mostly due to the fact I'm not the primary user  and I'm sure i had it for the blossoms above)

Spoiler

S5 no zoom (or little) for showing how far that boat really was

Spoiler

 

Compared side to side next to the obvious color difference and detail due to aging and tech (which i first noticed with my S5 when a family member got an PowerShot ELPH series a few years back which pushed me to buy the SX40) pixels and quality of the overall image seems to be stuck in 2007.

 

I understand people want to know the "best" camera in a phone, but if all one does is swipe faces off their screen and browse social apps, i cant suggest any phone more than $500.

 

 

22 minutes ago, Bouzoo said:

Oh my god. Pitching me a sale here? But I suppose a COO needs to know how to sell. 

Nope, it's logic. If a video hits a million views showing one thing but an equal item mildly different only gets 100K views which one would you show again?

I personally would rather see a video with the best Point and Shoot cameras under $300 or something over watching another fanboy rich phone camera comparison.

[Bouzoo]

4 minutes ago, Egg-Roll said:

Nope, it's logic. If a video hits a million views showing one thing but an equal item mildly different only gets 100K views which one would you show again?

I personally would rather see a video with the best Point and Shoot cameras under $300 or something over watching another fanboy rich phone camera comparison.

 

Spoiler

 

[nicklmg]

1 hour ago, Egg-Roll said:

Nope, it's logic.

Nope, this is Logic

 

[Guest]

4 hours ago, nicklmg said:

It's not in the current plan, but it's also not impossible. Higher viewcounts typically make it easier to sell through follow-up ideas internally, so if you're interested in a video follow-up make sure you like & share  haha.

I only link and share if Colton is in the video.

[nicklmg]

1 hour ago, RorzNZ said:

I only link and share if Colton is in the video.

Well Colton was in this video...

[CPotter]

1 hour ago, RorzNZ said:

I only link and share if Colton is in the video.

Haha sick dude.

[Egg-Roll]

21 minutes ago, nicklmg said:

Nope, this is Logic

I never thought I would see the day a artist getting a lower rating in my books than Bieber...

 

I'm sorry for being off topic below because logically speaking someone took a word as a name when someone says this is *insert word*, but when i googled "logic" i went threw their wikipedia page and bumped into the song mentioned belows title and i got triggered when i found out the origin of said number, and how they did the video. I put it in a spoiler so those who dont care can look past it.

 

Spoiler

 

This guy just did it with this song, my reasons are due to the people I have known past, present and potentially/likely in the future. The guy took 3 serious things (suicide, LGBTQ harassment/discrimination, pigmentation discrimination) and turned it into a song for his own profit without giving a meaningful outcome. Sure said person got help, married to assuming the person earlier, and adopted a kid, but the timeline beforehand was mashed together w/o any logic. Example: what happened to the kids from the locker room, the father who threw him out of the house? One can only assume both parties got away with it, a more meaningful part of the video before the marriage would of been at least the kids getting arrested (yes this can happen), and said son doing something to shun the father.

 

I wouldn't be so irritated at the song if the situation was not on the person it was on but the other as the one being shunned (i still couldn't support an artist creating the video he did regardless how it's done), but hey i guess that wouldn't sell. The Cameos in that song should of turned it down, also the video itself should have never escalated past 4:40 in modern society with how it was lead from, and after that time the video introduced a very well known stereotype with the gun and how they did it.

Simply put this video is 20 years too late, good intentions, badly done. A better video would of been someone (even the same situation, same escalation) getting absolutely no help or support till someone gave the number (assume a friend or future partner), but the issue is the songs beat still goes toward someone committing suicide just with second thoughts in/after doing so. The 5 minute mark could be seen as the positive turn around, but that assumes a gun was used or the start of an attempt that could be reversed which is not always the case, just in the video it was.

 

If this is logic, we are all screwed, and not just the minorities depicted in the video, and no I'm not watching/listening to anymore of his songs. I did watched the MTV videos ending and all I'm going to say is he's not an equalist. He acts like one but one doesn't go running around saying i dont care about your *BLANK*, thats idiotic and hypocritical esp how he did in the MTV video stating 2 pigmentations then cramming everyone else in as tho they were "nothing". If you have to you say something, say it in a very generic way that wouldn't point out a singularity.

 

 

[Rune]

The Pixel 2XL looks like its going to be my next phone.

[Linus Tech Tits]

lg phone really sucks in photography..

I have bought a v20 and regretted the purchase.

[79wjd]

10 hours ago, Egg-Roll said:

I'm going to say one thing and one thing only. If the sole purpose of buying a phone was for the camera and nothing else save the money on the high tier. Buy some cheap shitty phone and buy a real camera. Phone cameras suck, always have always will. 

The best camera in the world won't do you any good if it's not on your person, and realistically, the vast majority of people aren't going to carry their cameras with them. I have a DSLR, but I still very much so care about the camera in my phone because one is ALWAYS on me while the other is only on me when I think I'll need it.  

 

Besides, you can take some pretty impressive pictures with a phone -- not at the same level as a DSLR, but still very impressive nonetheless -- especially if you're not working in poor conditions and if you're even half competent. 

Quote

I understand people want to know the "best" camera in a phone, but if all one does is swipe faces off their screen and browse social apps, i cant suggest any phone more than $500.

Let's be realistic, virtually no one actually needs a flagship phone. They get it because of marketing, or because it has one thing or another that makes it worth paying a substantial amount more. My 6s Plus was still working fine, but it also had massive bezels and was uncomfortably awkward to use, but if I want a reasonably sized phone with a big screen then my options become very limited (certainly nothing in the budget range).

[Yuxxian]

So many people in the YouTube comments that sound like they didn't even watch half of the video and just wanted to hear Brandon tell them how much better the V30 is compared to the rest and were disappointed when he didn't.

 

Makes me wish you guys would do a follow up (Honest Answers ep 6? wink wink) and answer people's complaints.

[Tenelia]

Very good format! This is almost as good as the stuff I see on dpreview.com and etc. Just lacking technical measurements, but for a under-10 minutes video, that's fine. 

[captain_to_fire]

4 hours ago, djdwosk97 said:

My 6s Plus was still working fine, but it also had massive bezels and was uncomfortably awkward to use, but if I want a reasonably sized phone with a big screen then my options become very limited (certainly nothing in the budget range).

Your iPhone 6s+ has better and faster biometric authentication than your current $1000 iPhone X. ?

[D13H4RD]

Honestly, the V30 needs better post processing.

 

Sure, it has manual this and manual that blah blah blah and yes, it records LOG and has an impressive microphone array.

 

But realistically, ask yourself this. Are you going to be spending a ton of time behind a phone camera dialing in everything to the micrometer? Yes, I know people do and the V30 is perfect for that (and hey, I admire people who can capture stunning footage straight out of a phone camera) but it should be complemented by a good auto mode for the times when you don’t feel like dialing in everything.

 

This is where LG falls short. They have arguably the best manual controls out of the box for any phone but has a subpar auto mode. You can’t expect me to spend some time dialing in everything to grab a shot that will only last a few seconds or so. 

 

I love photography and I will always love playing a crucial role in capturing a memory, but there are a lot of times where I just want to whip out a quick shot. Sadly, LG’s camera only satisfies a far spectrum rather than blending the best of one spectrum with the best of the other. The Pixel 2’s camera is the closest to my favorite, but ultimately loses out to my Note8 on the spectrum side due to it not having manual controls OOTB, although this is no big deal since I have already purchased a camera app which gives it a nice array of manual controls, so it’s okay, not to mention that HDR+ is superb, surpassing what my Note is able to achieve, so it is technically better than it, but I just like having everything in one app.

[HimymCZe]

AWESOME

now could be get this for $200 and/or $300 price range phones? Not every can/want to sell a kidney for 5" glass that will became absolute in few months.

[D13H4RD]

I've also read a heap of the comments left behind and some of them are so ridiculous that they really are just generating nothing but question marks. Let me bring up 2 of the most common ones I saw.

Quote

This is a broken testing methodology. You should've left the V30 in manual mode and it would've crushed

Except this would make the testing methodology even more broken. The only other phone with manual controls right out of the box is the Note8. Sure, the iPhone and Pixel can be had with manual controls via a third party app, but then you are also at the mercy of how that app processes its own photos. Consistency is important and I really feel that Brandon at least tried his best to be fair but consistent as much as possible.

 

Quote

The V30 has the best hardware out of the bunch. It should've been judged based on that.

Except this is a very narrow-minded view on cameras. Cameras aren't just hardware. Software plays a critical role as well. Not only does the sensor have to translate light data into digital data that can be read by computers but also have post-processing to clean up output such as adjusting exposure, de-noising and lens corrections amongst other things. Software is absolutely critical and if you're going to go in-depth with camera reviews, judging the post-processing is key as well. And I somewhat disagree with the V30 having the absolute best hardware of the bunch. Yes, it has an f/1.6 lens and a sensor that's capable of 10-bit color, but its still hobbled by a 1/3" sensor size. Is it bad? Heck no. It's actually really damn good hardware-wise, but you can't really call it the best when there's a fundamental deficiency based on how much light the sensor is able to sense. To be fair, the dynamic range is solid for such a tiny sensor, but I would've preferred it if they had kept the sensor size from the LG G4 because that camera was absolutely stunning under almost any condition.

 

And lastly, I got a chuckle out of the following as a reply to one of the comments I made;

Quote

If you spent $700+ on a smartphone and can't spend 5-10 minutes adjusting the settings on your camera, then you need to have a chec

Are we talking about phones or DSLRs here? Because I'm pretty sure I don't spend up to 10 minutes tweaking away on my phone for a single photo while I do for my personal system camera.