Smartphone Cameras Blind Test

Peew971 · 26 Apr 2017 at 18:07

Just found this great video, it's really worth checking. If possible grab a pen and paper, write down your preferences and do not skip to the end until you're done.
For me the S8 was the clear winner but results will vary.

Rilot · 26 Apr 2017 at 19:35

Without a control (say, a DSLR) it's impossible to tell which one is accurate. All you can tell from this is which has the highest effective resolution, and even that is hard because even at 4k (as I am watching) YouTube compresses the hell out of it.

Nexus18 · 26 Apr 2017 at 19:55

Rilot said:
Without a control (say, a DSLR) it's impossible to tell which one is accurate. All you can tell from this is which has the highest effective resolution, and even that is hard because even at 4k (as I am watching) YouTube compresses the hell out of it.

True to an extent but there are other things that are done far better on certain phones, the main thing for myself being exposure and dynamic range, which is why I love the nexus/pixel/google HDR+ mode so much.

Spudgun · 26 Apr 2017 at 20:06

I picked the Pixel XL and had the s8 in next to last place - the video is right though, this is all about personal preference, colour temperature and the like and not really about quality any more

neoboy · 26 Apr 2017 at 20:07

What's a pen and paper?

#SamsungNoteUser

PhoenixUK · 26 Apr 2017 at 23:39

neoboy said:
What's a pen and paper?

#SamsungNoteUser

Reminded me of this:
https://youtu.be/ksO35s3Bffc

Scottland · 27 Apr 2017 at 09:51

Spudgun said:
I picked the Pixel XL and had the s8 in next to last place - the video is right though, this is all about personal preference, colour temperature and the like and not really about quality any more

I had a different preference for almost each picture with no clear winner. But I guess that's the point of the video - top tier phones/cameras are that good now that there's not necessarily a clear winner.

This is generally what happens when some sort of consumer electronics reaches a point where incremental improvements plateau. The same has been seen of smartphones in general, TV's, DSLR cameras and the like. 10 years ago it was still possible to buy a terrible LCD TV or a good one from a top brand, now at the same price point they're all much of a muchness and it comes down to differentiating features - this is what we're seeing here with cameras in phones now (hence the introduction of dual cameras).

mrk · 27 Apr 2017 at 11:29

The S8 ones could have been better still had he set the HDR to On rather than Auto. With "On", the S7/S8 cameras capture more dynamic range.

This function isn't the same on other smartphone cameras from what I've seen. The setting only needs to be set once as well.