Gadgetory

the pixel two took some great still photos in our camera test but does that translate to video we took the pixel two and the iPhone 8 plus to Pier 39 in San Francisco to test the video cameras head-to-head we shot everything at 1080p 30 frames a second unless otherwise stated let's start with exposure and color in this shot colors look more true to life on the iPhone while the pixels image looks more saturated especially as we pan around on that Aquarium sign in daylight both phones nail the exposure and in certain Clips like this one of the boats it's actually hard to tell the camera's apart but the pixel is really quick to adjust its exposure when moving from light to dark areas and vice versa while the iPhone takes a little longer to test autofocus I moved a subject in and out of the frame while the pixel changes focus fast it's dramatic and there's some wobble in the frame the iPhone has a similar wobble effect but because the AF shifts a bit more slowly and smoothly it looks more cinematic testing out the selfie cameras the irony plus google pixel to moving to the front facing camera the pixels image has a much more even exposure just look at the boats in the background and see how overexposed they are on the iPhone compared to the pixel as for ordinary light a phone does particularly well when listening to playback on the same pair of headphones the pixel sounds flatter and more tinny than the iPhone I'll show it to all the people showing other people good people when noise is more pronounced on the pixel - especially in this shot both phones shoot 4k at 30 frames a second but the iPhone also adds 60 frames a second at this resolution in outdoor daylight conditions both phones produced impressive and sharp 4k results briscoe friends playing with fire in this slow-motion test at 240 frames a second the pixel can only record at 720p while the iPhone is 1080p I'm shooting into the light here which is tricky and the pixel over exposes while the iPhones image is much more balanced in less challenging lighting conditions the iPhone image appears to retain more detail in each frame during the slow-mo effect the iPhone uses optical stabilization when filming with the wide lens while the pixel uses a combination of optical and electronic on its single lens camera Google calls this fused stabilization in this tracking shot I walked along the pier with both phones on a rig to see how they recorded movement the pixel shows a slight yellow effect that's common with digital or electronic stabilization systems but it does compensate for walking motion well and it looks super smooth the iPhone is a bit more jerky in lonely at the phones show the biggest differences there's much more noise on the pixel with some loss of detail especially on those archways this is a really challenging environment because the lights are constantly changing but the pixels image definitely looks messier than the iPhones in the arcade which is still dimmed but has a more constant light source the pixels image looks grainy and the colors more washed out than on the iPhone we've seen both phones produce impressive video in different areas the pixels combination of optical and electronic stabilization makes for incredibly smooth and stable shots but the iPhone excels at slow motion and does a lot better in low light it's harder than ever to pick a standout winner because a lot of this does come down to your personal preferences and what sort of videos you'll be recording the most