iPhone 8 Plus vs. Pixel 2: Which video camera is the best?
iPhone 8 Plus vs. Pixel 2: Which video camera is the best?
2017-10-19
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
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