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Google Pixel Phone has the Best Picture Quality of any Smartphone!

amirm

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Remarkable performance by Google Pixel phone (produced by HTC), beating out all other high-end smartphones in objective tests (DXOMark). It beats out both the latest iPhones and Samsung Galaxy. It is a shame it doesn't have optical image stabilizer but seems the digital equiv. is performing well.

https://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Pixel-smartphone-camera-review-At-the-top

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DxOMark Mobile 89

Overview
With an overall DxOMark Mobile score of 89, pixel, the latest Google smartphone, is the highest-rated smartphone camera we have ever tested. Its image quality scores are impressive across the board, but it is particularly strong in providing a very high level of detail from its 12.3MP camera, with relatively low levels of noise for every tested lighting condition. It also provides accurate exposures with very good contrast and white balance, as well as fast autofocus.

The Pixel’s strong scores under a wide range of conditions make it an excellent choice for almost any kind of photography. As with any small-sensor device, results are excellent in conditions with good and uniform lighting. But in addition, images captured indoors and in low light are very good and provide a level of detail unexpected from a smartphone camera. With flash, its auto white balance and detail preservation are excellent, making it suitable for indoor portraits — and even for photographing indoor events as long as there is some additional ambient light to help even out the flash.

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The Google Pixel takes some of the very best images we have seen from any smartphone we have ever tested

The Pixel has very few weaknesses when it comes to image quality, but It does suffer from some inconsistency in repeated autofocus, and artifacts can appear in low-light shots. The Pixel racked up excellent results in our Video testing, consistent with other top-scoring smartphones.

The Pixel’s 12.3MP main camera is paired with a fast f/2.0 lens. Autofocus is provided by a combination of laser detection (LDAF) and phase detection (PDAF). The Pixel can also record 4K video at 30fps, and 1080p video at up to 120fps.



Outdoor photos
The Pixel produced some of the most natural-looking outdoor images we have ever seen in our tests. With rich colors, life-like white balance, and excellent rendering of both highlights and shadow details, images of landscapes and urban scenes alike are pleasing to the eye. Detail preservation is excellent, and exposures are consistently good.

Low-light and indoor scenes
The Pixel is one of the best devices (maybe the best) we’ve ever tested for its ability to render poorly-lit scenes with low noise, while retaining good detail – even in 10 Lux and below. Its hybrid autofocus, using both laser- and phase-detect pixels, is also accurate in low-light conditions.

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Tungsten 5 Lux: Pictures are very well-exposed, the level of detail is impressive, and noise is low

Flash photos
The Pixel’s flash capability is also one of the best we have tested. It is stable from frame to frame and allows for excellent rendering of details in flash images.

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Without any additional lighting, the Google Pixel provides very good target exposure, well-controlled flash falloff, and pretty high levels of detail

Video
The Pixel produced overall excellent video results, with one of the best stabilization systems we’ve tested. Motion artifacts are visible only in low light, due to the longer shutter speeds needed.

Pixel’s power enhances Google’s HDR+ feature
Pixel’s biggest innovation is an enhanced version of Google’s HDR+ multi-image capability. First introduced in some of its Nexus phones (see our Nexus 6P review), the upgraded version in the Pixel combines several RAW images in near-real time to create one enhanced JPEG image with lower noise and extended dynamic range as the final result.

The Pixel activates the Google Camera app’s Auto HDR+ feature as its default camera mode. The Pixel determines whether it needs to use multiple images to get lower noise and better dynamic range, then switches HDR+ on as needed. It also does a good job of detecting rapid motion in the scene, avoiding the ugly artifacts often found in images from other HDR systems.

Google certainly isn’t unique in providing clever software for assembling multiple images, as Apple, Motorola, and Sony have all done something similar – but the Pixel pushes the capability further than we’ve seen before.

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The dynamic range captured in this image is impressive for a smartphone. Look at the detail of the underside of the bridge, while the clouds and sky are still shown without burning out

HDR+ was introduced with the Nexus 6P last year, and has been included in Nexus models since then, but the Pixel’s increased computing power extends the feature’s functionality and performance.

To assess the Pixel’s HDR+ capabilities, we did a comparison of the Pixel and the Nexus 6P using a very simple test:

We took a shot every second for more than 10 seconds and compared the level of image quality provided for each shot. If image quality went down significantly, it meant that the smartphone didn’t have enough processing power to provide an HDR+ picture and instead provided a traditional single-frame image. The Nexus 6P was unable to keep up, but the Pixel could capture as many as 9 HDR+ frames before falling back to a single-frame image.

If we slowed down to one image every 3 seconds, the Pixel was able to provide HDR+ pictures indefinitely, while the Nexus 6P failed to use HDR+ after 4 images, meaning that the Pixel has more consistent image quality when shooting multiple images.

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Details: Explaining the score
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[...]

Summary: The best smartphone camera we’ve tested to date
Simply put, the Pixel raises the bar for what is possible with a smartphone camera. Image quality continues to improve, and the increased use of HDR+ to render scenes that have previously been difficult for small sensors such as those in smartphones broadens what is possible with these ubiquitous devices. While we have reviewed other smartphone cameras that matched the Pixel’s numbers in a few categories, the Pixel is uniquely capable of capturing outstanding images under a wide variety of conditions, and is also among the best we have tested for video capture.
 

RayDunzl

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RayDunzl

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FrantzM

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Hi

My HTC One is at the end of its career for me. The software is not as good as it should ... Camera works fine but I would like to get another phone. In the running the IPhone 7 Plus or whatever the big one is called and the Samsung S7 Edge whose screen is the best I have seen so far and its camera no slouch either. How does the Pixel screen compares to the S7 or iPhone 7?
 

Keith_W

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If I am not mistaken, there are only two companies that manufacture OLED screens for smartphones - LG and Samsung. The iPhone 7 uses an IPS screen. Good, but not as good as AMOLED.
 

Sal1950

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Can it still make a phone call? :p
 

Don Hills

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Can it still make a phone call? :p

What a quaint concept.

I still mourn my old Ericsson flip-phone. It was the best phone I've ever owned that worked in noisy environments(*). Shaped earpiece that sealed properly against the ear, and a noise-cancelling microphone.

(*) What do rock concerts and server rooms have in common? 20,000 screaming fans...
 
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