Pixel 5 Camera: Has Google FAILED to keep up? By JuanBagnell

Man techies are exhausting following the avalanche of videos. Out now about the galaxy s21, we saw a frustrating trend from reviewers dismissing phones like the pixel 5 from comparisons for really lazy reasons. Tisk google keeps using that old camera sensor, and it just can't compete. I don't even need to show you examples. Now that's kind of your job if it's so easy to demonstrate an advantage just show us, it really does seem like reviewers, are grading, Samsung and apple on an incredible popularity curve case in point. The main reason we're concerned about an older sensor is that it's smaller we can refine a sensor, but one of the main factors that determines image quality is sensor size.

It's true of standalone cameras. It's true phones, reviewers, are so concerned about the pixel 5 using a smaller sensor, but I'm not hearing the same concern about the iPhone 12 Pro using the same size sensor at a starting price of 999 dollars seems a little suspect to me so avoiding the cult of Sam apple. Reviewing, let's talk about the sensor size is the pixel 5 really left behind, regardless of what popular techies will tell you. Reviewing a camera is more complicated than just snapping a handful of photos and full auto HDR. If you want to get more out of a camera, you need to drive that camera harder for this video.

I'm sticking with a few of the less search popular brands that often get pushed aside in mainstream camera conversations, and I'm going to use three phones for specific demonstrations of different camera technologies. Obviously, after that little mini rant at the top we're going to throw in a pixel 5, because it's a great consumer shooter full stop. Then I want to take a look at the difference between sensor sizes, so we're going to throw in a Xperia 1 mark ii, which is similar in terms of hardware to an iPhone 12 Pro max now. This should show us the advantage of using the same resolution on different sensor sizes and third, I want to show the advantage of an even larger camera sensor, but one that uses a pixel binning technology, so we're gonna, throw in an OnePlus 8 pro, and I'm purposely picking the eight pro over my precious lg's to show one of the largest sensors on a phone that bends down to 12 megapixel JPEGs. It's just one step easier for me to compare three phones which I'll spit out 12 megapixel images plus the 8 pro gets us pretty close to the sensor size of Samsung's 108 megapixel sensor, which also bends down to 12 megapixel images.

So we have three clearly distinct camera sensors. Technologies to test and compare photography is more than one thing: whoever has the most unicorn puke saturation for Instagram doesn't magically win a photo challenge, and what's frustrating is I wholly expect the larger sensor phones to show some advantages? That's an imaging no-brainer, but my prediction is the style of average consumer photography. Most showcased in techie reviews will be the weakest way to demonstrate differences in sensor tech. I predict we'll see the clearest differences in sensor technology when pushing these three cameras to their limits and one last little of housekeeping if you're, watching this on the YouTube you're watching a 1080p video which should do a reasonable job of demonstrating the general quality of sharing the photo on social media. I will be hosting a 4k version of this video on Patreon.

comgadgetguy for a little more pixel peeping, along with a gallery where you can check out the full resolution, sample files from the showdown and compare for yourself as enough rambling from me, let's check out some samples, first setup indoor dim lighting to start us off. Let's look at a pretty common setup for folks shooting on phones, a dim indoor shot and because of the placement of my lamps. The subject is somewhat backlit: okay, which one was the pixel 5. You didn't think I was just going to tell you come on. You know I'm trickier than that.

Isn't it funny how we can always guide a winner when we tell you what the phones are, but when we just show you photos the results of that kind of comparison become a lot less predictable. According to tech reviewers, the pixel 5 is so outclassed, it's just obvious to everyone. So it should be really easy to pick out the pixel in tests like these right, but maybe it's a software thing or an algorithm thing. You're right. Let's control this better for one round, techies claim that Google software just can't hope to compete against these larger sensors.

Let's look at some raw files shot under the same settings, 1 15 of a second and at ISO 100. There's no post-processing here, there's no software advantage for the pixel. This is as close to a hardware comparison as we can get. Were you able to spot the pixel start? Writing some notes, because I want to see down in the comments below which phone you think was the pixel and moving on from here. I'm going to make this harder phones a b and c are going to change with each setup.

I really want to see those comments down below setup and then, which phone you think was the pixel as a brief tangent for setup number, three, just to add a little light to this setup. Furthermore, I want to quickly showcase one of the main differences between sensor sizes. Now this is a lot brighter than how most folks normally keep their homes. I have the equivalent of five 100 watt light bulbs on this little stuffed pup, but looking at the smaller sensor on the pixel versus the largest sensor on the OnePlus 8 pro, we can see how the background is softened up. The eight pro produces a subtle but noticeably shallower depth of field.

The flip side of that, though, the pixel's longer depth of field keeps more of the pup in focus it's easier to quickly frame and capture a shot with your subject. Tack, sharp the larger sensor can be better for composition, but it's also easier to slightly miss focus. If you catch the front of the pup's nose, the eyes of the pup are going to be softer and blurry. Anyone shooting on Samsung in 2020 knew the frustration of pairing, a larger sensor with lame autofocus. It's just something to keep in mind.

It's never as simple as saying this. Newer thing is the better. There are always trade-offs. There are always pros and cons. Okay, let's get back to that guessing game.

Setup number four outdoor by the pool, photography is light. When you have better light, you get better photos. I wonder if a larger sensor is going to demonstrate as much of an advantage in good light. Hmm, moving on setup number five, a streetlamp. Now, let's do a little work at night.

Looking at the detail, we might see in a street scene at night the lights coming from a lamp in our frame, and these are standard photos not night mode shots, and all of my night tests are handheld setup number six ultra low light. If we're going to test night modes, we want to go really dark. These two trees lit by one very dim lamp in my condo complex. This is what it looked like through the viewfinder of the Sony. It got dark, set up number, seven, an evil eye streetlamp portrait and now just for fun, a hard side lit portrait, shot, handheld and blind from the rear cameras of each phone.

Now this one was tricky because hitting a hardware button with my arm extended at full length and holding steady was that was pretty difficult. Okay, that runs our samples. You got all that. Did you write down your notes? Are you confident which phone was the pixel in every single setup? Okay, I told you the answer for setup number, three, looking at depth of field, but now you have to tell me which phone was the pixel for the other setups, a b or c for a bit of closing cranky commentary. Cameras are complex and beautiful creatures.

There isn't one way to win at camera. There are always pros and cons, benefits and compromises, and each camera I reviewed over the last year has been strong in some areas and weak in others. We try to point to one spec as the winner. Maybe it's resolution, maybe it's aperture this year, it's sensor size, but the reality is way more nuanced. Adding up all the pieces of lens and sensor and aperture soc and the manufacturer's software there's an incredible range of performance to say that the pixel 5 is outclassed because of the sensor completely dismisses all the advantages of how well the software and post-processing algorithms have been trained for this sensor and if you think, apple and Samsung have magically solved the physics of photography.

I've got a bridge to sell you next, that's just brand fandom, and it falls apart. Pretty quick when you do blind taste tests dismissing the pixel 5 is lazy, reviewing and only serves to grade Sam apple on a popularity curve, while giving phones like the iPhone 12 Pro a pass for using a similar sensor. Reviewers are doing the job of apple marketing by conflating iPhone with only the most expensive phone. That apple sells. I think it's intellectually dishonest of apple to claim.

Both pro phones have 12 megapixel sensors, when only one has the larger sensor apple, doesn't detail that difference in the spec sheet on apple. com. So it's not quite a lie, but it's not quite the truth and reviewers should be pointing that out, because I can clearly show a hardware advantage if you shoot in really challenging conditions like ultra low light. One phone produces a raw file that looks like this and another phone spits out a raw file like this. So if you're crafting your composition and editing after you snap, the photo one phone will give you a better editing base to start from.

Is that how you shoot? It is how I shoot, but is it how you shoot? There is an advantage to spending 400 more than a pixel 5. , that's a given, but if you are shooting the same kind of casual point-and-shoot style picks, I don't think you're going to see a 400 advantage. You don't benefit from a hardware advantage, just by spending more, you have to know what those hardware advantages are and shoot to maximize what that hardware can do it's never the tool. It's always the artist, so drop those comments down below I'm curious to see. If anyone can nail this showdown, because I was even a little surprised by some results pitting these head-to-head to head and a friendly reminder that folks on my Patreon might have a leg up with the 4k version of this video, as always thanks so much for watching for sharing these videos subscribing to the channel supporting your favorite content, creators has never been more critical than it is today.

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Source : JuanBagnell