Gadgetory

refinement is the name of the game last year's pixel was one of the best shooters of 2016 save for some serious lens issues in low-light video performance google has taken steps to address both of those problems on the pixel - and this makes it the best auto mode shooter in Android land trading blows nicely with Apple's iPhone 8 smooth video colorful exposures great low-light and fun slow-motion there isn't a better option for folks who only want to interact with the shutter button we all have those friends and family members who might not even tap on the screen to focus this camera does almost all the thinking for you and has terrific output to back it up want to see how we arrived at this conclusion here's our pixel - real camera review brought to you by D brand Google didn't have a lot to fix the hardware remains similar to last year's pixel with the inclusion of Hardware image stabilization and a better lens almost all of the new consumer facing features are achieved by software where we get a background blur mode but Google is not playing the dual sensor game kicking things off with exposure and saturation Google intends for most people to use some kind of auto or HDR mode maintaining consistency with our other reviews will first look at the normal photos before shifting to auto processing and the pixel is a competent performer metering draws most of its info from where the user focuses but even in situations where the camera is making all the decisions users are apt to receive a solid exposure the only slight weakness we see some clipping and highlights but this is easily competitive against other flagship phones most noticeable and warmer colors where vibrant saturation works with the slight overexposure to sizzle some of that detail otherwise and especially on cooler colors expect effortless eye pleasing images and we'd normally save HDR for later in the review but I can already feel all the undies getting twisted up by showing non HDR shots at the top of this video yes Google intends for you to use some kind of auto HDR mode and yes it really is good I'm just personally not a huge fan of HDR style processing where the pixel excels is in providing a safety net for consumers helping to rein in highlights while preserving shadow detail and moe shots it's used to wonderful effect and Google's processing works great on warmer color my reservations come with what HDR can do to a scene like creating an oddly uniform blue in the sky we didn't have many clouds in Southern California but HDR tends to make them all look like storm clouds and when the setting is in full auto that means the phone decides when it's used which makes output a little less predictable if your only goal is photos with great colors we'll look no further but if you're trying to create a specific aesthetic manual modes are greatly appreciated taking a quick look at the white balance there's an obvious weight towards lighting information over the true scientific white of your subject which I prefer and this makes perfect sense given Google's focus on image processing and a happy improvement for Google last year's pixels major pain point was the terrible flaring from the lens and this has been virtually eliminated from the pixel - while we've been spoiled by the v.34 clarity the pixel - shows less distortion and a competitive amount of flaring opposite other flagships another reason to sometimes be frustrated by HDR though this kind of image processing will exacerbate flaring when you would normally only have a little and a better lens means better macro and close-up performance is spot-on for this class of camera the natural bouquet from the sensor is very pleasing from a purely hardware perspective it's neck-and-neck with the V 30 and note 8 ever so slightly busier and edgier than LG in a similar setup of course software blur is all the rage and Google is working hard on their computational photo skills the pixel manages some excellent software blur from a single camera lens and a recent camera update has nearly eliminated two cutout problems we had from the first day with the phone still saw some ugly errors on objects like this bench but overall this competes very well against dual camera solutions that this effect is also used on the selfie shooter without any kind of you brow sensor bar is pretty remarkable we see more cut out errors from the front camera but given good light we think people are really going to like this effect there is no second sensor so zoom performance is on par with other single sensor phones some decent reached through cropping but the results at the extreme end are fairly lackluster Google's processing at night was surprisingly good and video is restrained from the same full zoom as still photos to prevent completely destroying image integrity shifting the night shots Google's low-light performance remains top-tier extremely responsive shutter action again there is a difference between normal and auto HDR shots where noise reduction is employed more aggressively on auto mode most shots will benefit from cleaner output even if lights can sometimes flare out overall though folks might have appreciated just a touch more sharpening many exposures from the pixel to felt soft and splotchy when compared against other phones in similar setups it's plenty fast enough to land some night candid shots but it's not my favorite output and just like the overall performance autofocus is snappy quick as well right up there with Samsung's dual pixel shooters oddly we did run into a few issues at macro distances for example the phone refusing to lock on these leaves and HDR enhanced but had no issues focusing when HDR was off but these moments were exceedingly rare in our testing in video though there is just a little extra bounce at the end of each focus pull which can be interrupted before the phone is fully locked on your subject not a huge detriment more I just wasn't expecting it and likely an aspect of the camera users will quickly get a feel for now for all the improvements in the cool new software it's shocking Google still hasn't cleaned up panoramas lining up these damn dots guarantees a more difficult shot than how most phones will smoothly pan through a wide the final stitching is terrible output is dull this is one of the few significantly weak links of the pixel too by contrast happily the selfie shooter is pretty solid software processing goes a long way to improving output selfie video looks pretty good but it would have been nice to see some more state as a Shinto smooth out handshake and speaking of video the pixel 2 produces some crowd pleasing UHD footage like stills expect some great colour pop and processing though it will more closely resemble photos without HDR so warmer colors can sizzle Knight video is wonderfully improved thanks to cleaning up the lens flaring issues though it's almost always about a half stop to a full stop too bright I am oh the creepy tunnel looks a lot better in general when you drop the exposure it's in video we can also take a quick look at stabilization and again it's remarkably smooth this is crazy good the crop does make framing problematic I didn't intend to cut off the top of this tree while zooming for example that makes me nervous not knowing exactly what my frame looks like but it is better than the huge offset we saw in the first pixel this is a wonderful combo of hardware and software stabilization where normally using both on a phone causes more problems than it solves the only downside is still low-light video where a longer shutter speed causes more blur per frame and that in turn creates blurry and shifty looking video well improved over the pixel 1 but still not the cleanest look when shooting at night and we had some crazy windy weather in Southern California and that only served to highlight another weak link for this phone mono audio when shooting video only Apple and Google do this it makes no sense why wouldn't you want to capture a stereo audio track especially listening to some amazing performers like the LGV 30 videos from the pixel and iphone sound dull it's a shame especially if you like to shoot video at events or concerts but back to some happier news the slow motion modes on the pixel 2 are still excellent maybe falling slightly behind Apple's new 1080p mode but still one of the best available users will be well served here lastly looking at the app it stayed simple and that's on point performance is fantastically smooth and Loui only a handful of stutters when used aggressively in 100-degree heat the organization is spot on like if Apple we're designing a new camera app today and didn't need to include a weird square photo legacy mode we're sure the pixel camera is what they would produce there is a token effort to include white balance presets but this is not the interface for folks who like manual modes you can't do this with a pixel out of the box while the main interface is fantastic and folks will certainly appreciate unlimited online photo storage the organization on device is a bit of a mess transferring shots to my PC involved individual folders for portrait mode shots and I got numerous transfer errors in moving files over cloud backup is great until you need to work with some 10 gigabytes worth of files I really hope this has cleaned up a little in a future update so let's wrap it up folks there you have it this is the auto mode champion literally point and shoot and a majority of people will be pretty happy with what this phone can do for all the power on tap though we wish Google wasn't working so hard to completely ignore folks who might like a little more control still for all the drama surrounding the pixel to launch at least the camera game is on point and when you're out shooting with your pixel to couldn't it use a little extra protection maybe you want to show off a different style dbrand has a wide collection of custom fit skins in different colors and textures to protect against scratches add some additional grip and fit your specific vibe head on over to Dee brand comm or click the link in the description below to start customizing your phone as always thanks so much for watching be sure to subscribe to this channel for our full pixel 2 coverage hi may is about to dig in deep on the pixel to excel and help us out with a share on your favorite social networks for pocket now I'm Juan Carlos bag now some gadget guy on Twitter and Instagram and I will catch you all on the next review