For the past few years, industry experts DxOMark have rated the quality of smartphone cameras based on what they believe as, well, experts!
Last year, the title went to the Google Pixel and this year, we already know the Google Pixel 2 has the crown, days before the phone goes on official sale. DxOMark was quick to release the results of their tests just after the launch of the phone last week and so far, the experts gave the phone a score of 98, the best ever a smartphone has ever scored.
Interestingly, the Google Pixel’s score of 89 was also the best a smartphone had ever managed, but the bar has now been raised even much higher, with the closest followers the iPhone 8 Plus and Samsung Galaxy Note 8, both dual camera phones, with a score of 94. In short, the Google Pixel 2 camera is highly rated and there is close to no chance that any other smartphone will beat this score anytime soon.
However, we all know those folks at DxOMark can’t have the final say in our decisions when it comes to smartphone cameras. I’m the “everyone is entitled to their own opinion” guy and before seeing some results or actually having a hands-on with the phone, believing is really hard. While the latter case won’t be happening until after next week, we have a taste of the former thanks to Googler Isaac Reynolds.
Reynolds has shared a collection of “unedited” images and videos captured using the Google Pixel 2 phones and for sure, they look quite good. Just to remind you what he was using to capture the photos, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL have the same 12.2MP lens on the main camera that can shoot at an aperture of f/1.8. This time, there’s optical image stabilization (OIS) alongside the usual electronic image stabilization (EIS) as well as dual pixel phase detection & laser autofocus. In short, the camera has all that you can want in a phone that is priced at more than $600.
Although the Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL miss out on the second lens that focuses on depth or wide-angle shots like we’ve seen on the iPhone 8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30, you still get Portrait Mode on both lenses. Below, you’ll find a bunch of photos that Reynolds captured, but keep in mind that I had to play around with them for obvious reasons. To check out the full resolution photos and videos, there’s a link down below the post.
