Tech 2017: Pixel 2, iPhone X, Galaxy S8, HTC U11 and OnePlus 5T make cameras redundant. Almost

Source:IndiaToday

The writing is on the wall. In 2017 it became clearer, came into a sharper focus. Increasingly, cameras are turning redundant. Already, most people use their phones to click holiday photos. Phones are convenient. They are also connected to social media, and have easy-to-use editing apps. So you just click a photo, put a filter and share it on Facebook. Cameras, in turn, are complicated. Earlier though using a phone to click all your photos meant sacrificing the image quality. In 2017, this changed, more or less. Phones like the Pixel 2 showed that big and bulky cameras were no longer needed for regular day-to-day shooting.
Sure, purists will find this statement appalling. After all, a phone camera, even the one as good as the Pixel 2, can't match a proper DSLR. And they are right. But I don't mean to say that DSLR cameras are no longer superior, because they are. But in most cases they don't make a sense. DSLR cameras are bulky, inconvenient and expensive. They are still needed for long zoom photography, or professional shooting sessions. But for most people, a phone like Pixel 2 is not only sufficient but is often easier to use when it comes to tricky situations like low light because the smart camera app takes care of pesky problems.
I have written about the DSLR vs smartphones that excel at clicking photos, and will have more to say in future, but that is for another day. This piece is about my 5 favourites phones that delight a user with their camera performance. There were some more phones outside this list that were fairly good at clicking photos -- LG G6, Nokia 8 and Galaxy Note 8 -- but overall for me these 5 truly stand out. And for various reasons.

 

 The Pixel 2 pure brilliance here as its shoots the black and white areas of the scene and then exposes the pizza slice perfectly.

1- Pixel 2: The latest Pixel phones from Google may have missed a beat or two on some other parts -- yes, that is the screen -- on camera they deliver. And how. Both the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL come with a 12-megapixel camera that is best in the business and is actually better than most cameras under Rs 50,000 because of the features it offers. The hardware is good -- a 12-megapixel camera with 1.4um pixels and F1.8 lens -- but it is the software that truly makes the Pixel 2 the best shooter. The camera software in the phone that is powered by AI and machine learning offers the best portrait mode and best HDR+ image processing, ensuring that even in low light you click mesmerising photos. The best bit about the phone is that even its front camera comes with the portrait mode, and it works perfectly.

 

            Yes, there is a fly on a cookie in this photo. The iPhone X captures enough detail so it's easy to spot.

2- iPhone X: The top iPhone continues Apple's dual-lens approach to photography. And technically -- level of detail, noise etc -- the iPhone X camera may fall a bit short of the Pixel 2 or even the Galaxy S8, its telephoto lens of 56mm makes it a fun camera to use. That optical zoom the second camera offers in the iPhone X -- and the iPhone 8 Plus -- make clicking dynamic, up-close, so much fun. Then there is the way iPhone X gets the white balance and colours in the images right. No other phone gets them right again and again, shot after shot, the way the iPhone X -- and the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus -- does. Finally, there are the features like the portrait mode, although its software still needs work, and Portrait light (magical) that makes the iPhone X a capable shooter. And finally, there is the video recording feature, complete with the slow-mo, that remains the best in the business.

 

Notice the light in puppy's eyes. No problem, Galaxy S8 focuses exactly there.

3- Galaxy S8: If there is one phone that comes close to the Pixel 2 when it is about details and colour contrast, that is the India variant of the Galaxy S8. Unlike the global variant that has a Sony Sensor, the India variant of the Galaxy S8 uses a Samsung-made ISOCell image sensor with large pixels. The result is that it comes pretty close to the Pixel-level photography. It's only in the low-light it falls behind, largely because of the magic that Google has going in the Pixel software, but other than that one factor the Galaxy S8 (and the Galaxy Note 8) is pretty close to the absolute best.

 

Brilliant colours by U11 as its deals with a challenging scene where only a portion of scene has decent light.

4- HTC U11: The HTC U11 apparently has the same superb camera hardware that is inside the Pixel 2. In other words, this means the custom 12-megapixel image sensor. And while the U11 lacks the AI driven software that does the duty in the Pixel phones, its hardware alone is good enough to make it one of the best phones when it comes to photography. It clicks images that have rich colours, clean shadows and good dynamic range (the contrast between the highlights and shadows) that give images an appealing look.

              Low light is a weakness of OnePlus 5T. But when you see this photo of dawn, with great colours and no noise, you won't believe it. In Good light, the camera in the OnePlus 5T is even better.

5- OnePlus 5T: The OnePlus 5T is an outlier here. It is not exactly in the league of the Pixel or the iPhone X. But it is no slouch when it comes to clicking photos, and it is best at this job in its price points. In fact, it is better than some that cost more than it. And the reason why the OnePlus 5T is good at clicking good photos is its software. Just like the camera software that Apple puts in the iPhone, OnePlus is doing some magic with the image processing that the OnePlus 5T (or for that matter the OnePlus 5) uses. In good light, the OnePlus 5T clicks images that have brilliant colours, good white balance and decent amount of detail. In low light it falls short for the hardware can't cope with the lack of light, but overall, and especially at a price point of Rs 33,000, the OnePlus 5T is a very capable shooter.