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by Sander Saar
Sander introduces the 2017 flagship camera shootout comparing the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Google Pixel 2 XL, and Apple iPhone X, analyzing sensor sizes, apertures, and codecs. Along the way it covers Still Photo Performance, Front Camera, Telephoto, and Portrait Mode and 4K Video and Slow Motion, and more. Sander summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of each smartphone camera to help viewers choose the right device for their needs.
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Sander introduces the 2017 flagship camera shootout comparing the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Google Pixel 2 XL, and Apple iPhone X, analyzing sensor sizes, apertures, and codecs.
On screen: A man sits on a leather sofa speaking animatedly to the camera, with smartphone retail boxes and phones displayed behind him.
The three phones are compared across field of view, color accuracy, detail retention, dynamic range, and low light photography in Venice Beach.
On screen: A three-way split screen compares camera footage of skateboards displayed on a retail store wall.
Sander tests selfie camera quality, optical zoom capabilities via telephoto lenses, and software vs. hardware depth sensing in portrait mode.
On screen: A side-by-side split screen compares nighttime selfie portraits from the Note 8, Pixel 2 XL, and iPhone X before zooming into facial details.
Evaluation of 4K video recording detail, low light video capabilities, and high frame rate slow motion capture across the devices.
On screen: A three-way split screen compares night video footage of an outdoor restaurant patio across the Note 8, Pixel 2 XL, and iPhone X.
Real-world walking and running tests assessing optical and electronic video stabilization and microphone sound capture on rear and front cameras.
On screen: A man records himself with a handheld smartphone while walking down a sunny beachside boardwalk filled with pedestrians and cyclists.
Sander summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of each smartphone camera to help viewers choose the right device for their needs.
On screen: A black end screen displays text prompts for watching next, subscribing, and recommendations.
What the footage shows, shot by shot. It is derived from the video itself, independent of the commentary. Timestamps link to the exact second.
0:01–0:16 A man sits on a leather sofa speaking animatedly to the camera, with smartphone retail boxes and phones displayed behind him. On screen: D130-58
0:16–0:23 A hand holds up the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Google Pixel 2 XL, and iPhone X side by side against a wooden tabletop. On screen: SAMSUNG Galaxy hone
0:23–0:27 The presenter sits on a black leather sofa, speaking to the camera and gesturing with his hands. On screen: Pixel 2 XL
0:27–0:32 Animated title cards transition across a textured background displaying the video's topic and channel name. On screen: BEST SMARTPHONE CAMERA NOTE 8 VS PIXEL 2 XL VS IPHONE X BY SANDER SAAR I BELIEVE IN TECHNOLOGY
0:32–0:39 The presenter sits on a black leather sofa gesturing while addressing the camera in front of phone packaging.
0:39–0:50 A close-up view of the backs of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Google Pixel 2 XL, and iPhone X placed side by side on a wooden surface. On screen: SAMSUNG Galaxy Note8 iPhone 1 / 2.5 5 in 1 2 M P 1 / 2. 6 in 1 / 3 in 1 2 M 1 2 M P
0:50–0:53 A medium shot of the host seated on a black leather sofa, gesturing with open hands while speaking to the camera. On screen: 1930 - 58
0:53–1:04 A close-up shot of three smartphones standing upright on a wooden desk displaying camera specification overlays. On screen: 26 & 52mm F/1.7 & 2.4 27 mm F / 1.8 28 & 56mm F/1.8 & 2.4
1:04–1:08 A man sitting on a black leather couch gestures enthusiastically with both hands while speaking. On screen: W30-58
1:08–1:22 Three smartphones are placed side-by-side on a wooden surface showing their front camera views along with technical aperture and megapixel overlays. On screen: BIXBY VISION STICKERS F/1.7 8 MP F/2.4 F/2.2 7 MP
1:22–1:26 A young man sits on a black leather couch speaking and gesturing with his hands. On screen: Pixel 2 XL 030-58
1:26–1:34 Close-up tracking shot showing the rear camera modules of the iPhone X, Google Pixel 2 XL, and Samsung Galaxy Note 8. On screen: SAMSUNG
1:34–1:42 A young man sits on a black couch speaking and gesturing enthusiastically to the camera. On screen: 030-58
1:42–1:48 A slightly tighter shot of the presenter on the sofa continuing to explain camera features with hand motions. On screen: Pixel 2 XL
1:48–2:00 A man sitting on a black leather couch gestures expressively while speaking to the camera. On screen: ФЭД-5В
2:00–2:08 A man in a white graphic t-shirt sits on a leather couch, speaking directly to the camera while gesturing with his hands. On screen: Pixel 2 XL G 1730-58
2:08–2:13 The presenter raises his index finger to make a point before continuing to gesture with both hands from the sofa. On screen: 130-58
2:13–2:20 A man sits on a leather sofa speaking directly to the camera with video codec comparison graphics displayed above him. On screen: H.264 MPEG-4/AVC HEVC H.265 - HIGH EFFICIENCY VIDEO CODING 030-58
2:20–2:30 A man sits on a black leather sofa gesturing with his hands while explaining video and image formats, with smartphone boxes and devices displayed behind him. On screen: .JPEG .HEIF
2:30–2:40 A man in a white graphic t-shirt sits on a sofa, speaking and gesturing actively to the camera. On screen: Note8 Pixel 2 XL
2:40–2:52 A young man sitting on a leather sofa gestures enthusiastically towards the camera while speaking in front of smartphone boxes. On screen: Pixel 2 XL
2:53–2:58 A close-up selfie shot shows the host speaking to the camera while walking along the Venice Beach path during golden hour. On screen: 170-58
2:58–3:06 A static wide comparison shot displays the storefronts of Venice boardwalk to demonstrate field of view differences across phone cameras. On screen: 26 mm Note 8 27 mm Pixel 2 XL 28 mm iPhone X LIFE'S FASHION T-SHIRTS & GIFTS VENICE TATTOOS & PIERCING Rey's PIZZA LOS ANGELES HOT DOGS
3:06–3:10 A side-by-side comparison displays photos of a storefront taken by the Galaxy Note 8, Pixel 2 XL, and iPhone X. On screen: LIFE'S FASHION T-SHIRTS & GIFTS VENICE TATTOOS & PIERCING PIZZA 26 mm Note 8 27 mm Pixel 2 XL 28 mm iPhone X
3:10–3:13 A full-screen outdoor photograph captures a tall graffiti-covered cone monument framed by palm trees under a blue sky. On screen: Pixel 2 XL
3:13–3:24 A three-way split screen compares daylight photos of a graffiti-covered beach structure captured on three smartphones. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X FOOLS
3:24–3:28 A store display wall packed with colorful skateboards and longboards is shown in a full photo sample. On screen: iPhone X OMEN BUSH MARKLEY Bustle $109.99 89.99 99.99 $139.99 $129.99
3:28–3:39 A three-way split screen compares camera footage of skateboards displayed on a retail store wall. On screen: $109.99 89.99 $119.99 $99.99 Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X
3:39–3:43 A wide shot down a Venice street towards the sunset with the Venice sign hanging overhead, taken with an iPhone X. On screen: iPhone X VENICE TATTOO Pacific A EL HUARIQUE
3:43–3:49 A three-way split comparison of the same street scene captured by the Note 8, Pixel 2 XL, and iPhone X to demonstrate dynamic range. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X Eat. Drink. BANK OF VENICE BANK OF VENICE PUBLIC HOUSE EST 1905 TATTOO
3:49–3:56 A side-by-side three-way comparison of a street scene at dusk under the Venice sign between three smartphones. On screen: N I C E Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X
3:56–4:00 A wide shot capturing people dining in a dimly lit restaurant with warm pendant lighting overhead. On screen: iPhone X
4:00–4:07 A side-by-side comparison displays a dimly lit restaurant scene taken by the Note 8, Pixel 2 XL, and iPhone X. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X
4:07–4:11 A night landscape view shows a bustling pedestrian street with trees and fairy lights captured on a Pixel 2 XL. On screen: Pixel 2 XL
4:11–4:17 A side-by-side night photo comparison of a street musician along a lighted promenade captured with three smartphones. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X
4:17–4:27 A side-by-side sunset pier landscape photo comparison between the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Google Pixel 2 XL, and Apple iPhone X. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X
4:27–4:36 A daylight selfie photograph taken on a beach with palm trees and graffiti in the background is shown on screen, labelled Pixel 2 XL. On screen: Pixel 2 XL
4:36–4:46 A three-way split screen compares front-facing camera selfies of a man standing on a sunny beach with palm trees. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X 030-58
4:46–4:58 A side-by-side split screen compares nighttime selfie portraits from the Note 8, Pixel 2 XL, and iPhone X before zooming into facial details. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X
4:59–5:07 A comparison photo captured with the iPhone X displays two silhouetted figures looking out at a vibrant sunset over the ocean from a balcony. On screen: iPhone X
5:07–5:14 A telephoto sunset photo captures two silhouetted people looking out toward the ocean from an overlook. On screen: Note 8
5:14–5:18 A wider photo display shows two people watching the sunset at a coastal viewpoint with foreground benches and trash can. On screen: Pixel 2 XL
5:18–5:27 A portrait mode photo taken on the iPhone X shows a street performer playing an electric guitar on an outdoor boardwalk. On screen: iPhone X CAUSE
5:27–5:33 A portrait mode photo taken on the Galaxy Note 8 shows the same guitarist playing on the boardwalk. On screen: Note 8
5:33–5:37 A portrait photo sample captures a street guitarist playing outdoors. On screen: Pixel 2 XL
5:37–5:38 A video clip shows the street musician singing and playing guitar on the walkway. On screen: Pixel 2 XL
5:38–5:44 A three-way split screen compares portrait photos of the guitarist across three smartphone cameras. On screen: Pixel 2 XL Note 8 iPhone X CAUSE
5:44–5:48 A close-up photograph displays mounted tourist binoculars on a boardwalk pier with an amusement park Ferris wheel blurred in the background. On screen: iPhone X HI SPY VIEWING
5:48–5:55 A side-by-side three-way comparison shows photos of mounted boardwalk binoculars taken on the Note 8, Pixel 2 XL, and iPhone X. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X II SPY VIEWING
5:55–6:01 A portrait selfie photo sample of the speaker captured outdoors on the Pixel 2 XL. On screen: Pixel 2 XL
6:01–6:09 A three-way split screen comparing front-facing portrait selfie photos from the Note 8, Pixel 2 XL, and iPhone X. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X 030-5
6:09–6:17 A three-way split screen compares daylight 4K video showing palm trees, sky, and a white apartment building. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X
6:17–6:28 A three-way split-screen comparison shows walking footage of the busy Venice Beach boardwalk from three smartphones. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X Zelda's Corner GOT AÇAÍ? SANDWICHES ATM
6:28–6:31 A full-screen view moves forward along the Venice Beach boardwalk lined with palm trees and shops under a cloudy sky. On screen: Westminster iPhone X Managed by LAMBERT 310-453-9656 got acai? Zelda's Corner SANDWICHES
6:31–6:34 Pedestrians walk along a sunny oceanfront boardwalk lined with palm trees and storefronts. On screen: iPhone X WESTMINSTER Managed by LAMBERT 310-453-9656 got açaí? Zelda's Corner EST 1999 SANDWICHES
6:34–6:40 People dine at an outdoor patio restaurant illuminated by string lights at night. On screen: iPhone X
6:40–6:52 A three-way split screen compares night video footage of an outdoor restaurant patio across the Note 8, Pixel 2 XL, and iPhone X. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X
6:52–6:53 A split-screen comparison displays restaurant patio footage on the top two frames while the bottom section goes black. On screen: Note 8 Pixel 2 XL iPhone X
6:53–7:04 A skateboarder performs a flip trick down stairs at an outdoor skate park with palm trees in the background, shown in slow motion. On screen: iPhone X
7:04–7:14 A side-by-side slow-motion comparison between iPhone X and Note 8 displays a skateboarder performing a jump at a skatepark. On screen: iPhone X Note 8
7:14–7:17 The host holds the camera selfie-style while walking outdoors along a sunny coastal boardwalk. On screen: boardwalk yogurt Note 8
7:17–7:28 A man records himself in a front-facing selfie shot while walking and jogging down a busy beachside boardwalk. On screen: Note 8
7:28–7:37 A man records himself in selfie mode while walking along a bustling coastal boardwalk. On screen: Note 8
7:37–8:08 A man records himself with a handheld smartphone while walking down a sunny beachside boardwalk filled with pedestrians and cyclists. On screen: Pixel 2 XL
8:08–8:21 A man records himself handheld while walking and jogging down a sunny coastal boardwalk. On screen: iPhone X NICE TES
8:22–8:34 A man records himself in selfie mode while walking along a sunny beach boardwalk. On screen: iPhone X VENICE SUITES
8:34–8:42 A man holds a front-facing smartphone camera and speaks while walking along a beachfront boardwalk. On screen: PIERCING Ocean Front CLUB HOUSE 00 E Av STUDIO & GALLERY TATTOO
8:43–8:49 The man continues walking along the coastal walkway and talking directly into the front-facing camera. On screen: Ocean front
8:49–8:56 A man holds the camera in selfie mode while walking along a beachside boardwalk and speaking to the viewer. On screen: Quick Silver MARKET Quick Silver & Crystal
8:56–9:05 A man sits on a black leather sofa gesturing with his hands as he delivers his concluding review. On screen: Pixel 2 XL f30-5.6
9:05–9:17 A male presenter sits on a leather sofa gesturing with his hands while speaking directly to the camera. On screen: Pixel 2 XL ФЭД-5В
9:17–9:23 A man in a white graphic t-shirt sits on a black sofa and speaks while gesturing with his hands. On screen: Pixel 2 XL D3D-58
9:23–9:30 The presenter continues speaking from the sofa, explaining camera features with hand gestures. On screen: Pixel 2 XL M30-58
9:30–9:47 A young man sits on a leather couch talking directly into the camera while gesturing with his hands. On screen: Pixel 2 XL N1082
9:47–9:54 A man in a graphic t-shirt sits on a black leather sofa addressing the camera with hand gestures to close the video. On screen: 030-58
9:54–10:20 A black end screen displays text prompts for watching next, subscribing, and recommendations. On screen: Whatch next Subscribe Google reccomends
0:00 Speaker A: Hi everybody. Speaker A: I'm Sander and I believe in technology. Speaker A: The titans of the smartphone industry have released their best for this year. Speaker A: For many of us, phone is not just our main camera, but sometimes also the only camera that we use daily. Speaker A: So I wanted to find out and also show you which one is the best and how they compare the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Google Pixel 2 XL and the latest iPhone X.
0:25 Speaker A: Let's take a closer look. Speaker A: On paper, we almost have a winner. Speaker A: It's the Note 8. Speaker A: It's got the largest sensor, 1 2.55-inch compared to Pixel 1. Speaker A: 2.6 And iPhone X 1.3 inch sensor. Speaker A: It's also got the largest pixels to let in the light.
0:50 Speaker A: It's also got the widest lens at 26 millimeters compared to 27 on pixel and 28 on iPhone at 35 millimeter equalent. Speaker A: It has also got the largest aperture 1.7 compared to the f 1.8 on iPhone. Speaker A: Pixel it has got even the widest aperture in its front lens at f 1.7 compared to f 1.2.4 for pixel and f 2.2 for iPhone even though Pixel there has the largest sensor.
1:16 Speaker A: Pixel and Samsung are also the widest for the front facing camera compared to iPhone which is slightly narrower. Speaker A: On the other hand, they're very similar. Speaker A: They all have 12 megapixel sensors in their rear cameras and iPhone as well as Note 8 have even two of them but for different focal lengths. Speaker A: They all rock image stabilization, optical image stabilization. Speaker A: They all shoot also 4k video even though iPhone shoots 4k at 60 frames per second.
1:42 Speaker A: They all shoot slow motion even though iPhone again does it at 1080 rather than 720 resolution. Speaker A: But as we all know, numbers don't really matter because software is what really processes these images for the single that is coming from the centers. Speaker A: And they're doing really smart things. Speaker A: That's why they're called smartphones. Speaker A: How they retain the details, how they render the colors and how do they control the noise. Speaker A: This is what differs.
2:08 Speaker A: One thing to keep in mind here is that iPhone is the only one using the latest high efficiency video codec at H, using the H265 rather than the H264 on pixel and note rendered in the MPEG4. Speaker A: And for images it's using the high efficiency image file format rather than jpeg. Speaker A: And it only gets rendered out to JPEG when you export it to outside of your phone. Speaker A: In this video, we'll be running the cameras in a complete auto as any normal person would use it.
2:35 Speaker A: Just take it out of the pocket. Speaker A: Take a photo or a video and see how the software hardware come together. Speaker A: We'll compare the dynamic range, detail, noise, photos, video, slo mo, portrait mode and so on. Speaker A: You'll also find link down below to see all of those photos and more. Speaker B: That I'll be showing in this video. Speaker C: In order to do the image quality test, let's go to Venice beach and see some of the cool places around there. Speaker B: First of all, let's take a look at the field of view.
3:01 Speaker B: While Note 8 is definitely the widest at 26 millimeters and iPhone narrowest at 28 millimeters, if you put them side by side, the difference is actually really small. Speaker B: Moving on to the color rendering, the winner here for me is Pixel 2 XL. Speaker B: It's got such a natural nice color balance. Speaker B: If you look at the Note 8 it's definitely pumping the colors too much. Speaker B: And iPhone 8 is also nice, coming very close second when looking at the details.
3:26 Speaker B: The winner for me here is iPhone X, followed closely by Pixel 2 XL. Speaker B: Especially when you look close to the designs and the patterns, you see how iPhone manages to retain it really, really well in this example. Speaker B: And moving on to dynamic range, how much you're able to see the highlights and the shadows. Speaker B: IPhone this time surprisingly is a winner for me. Speaker B: If you look at the shadow areas, note that it completely blows. Speaker B: Pixel is also quite aggressive, but iPhone X got a really nice balance to retain the highlights and shadows equally when taking the cameras inside to a really dimly lit restaurant.
4:00 Speaker B: The winner this time was iPhone X. Speaker B: But this is really hit and miss as Pixel mostly actually comes on top and has much better performance in low light environments. Speaker B: When you put them side by side, you see how Pixel really excels in this case followed by note and then iPhone. Speaker B: Here's another color representation in low light environment showing the dynamic range. Speaker B: How you can see the house for iPhone but you can't see it for note and pixel.
4:25 Speaker B: Just as another example to wrap up, moving on to the front facing or selfie camera, the clear winner Here definitely is Pixel 2 XL. Speaker B: Retaining the detail and super nice balanced color and also having that nice slightly wider angle of view, especially when you put them side by side. Speaker B: No date completely. Speaker B: I don't know where the colors are coming from. Speaker B: And iPhone coming actually close second has also very similar nice balanced colors. Speaker B: Same applies when you look at the low light environment where Pixel really excels.
4:54 Speaker B: IPhone follows slightly noisier and again Note eight colors completely off and we're looking at telephoto lens so we can zoom in without losing the quality. Speaker B: IPhone does an amazing job. Speaker B: I think Note 8 is doing also very good job in terms of clarity but not so good in retaining the color. Speaker B: The you can't do any software magic using a Google Pixel phone so you will still have a trash can on the picture if you wanted to do a close up photo.
5:19 Speaker B: But where the magic can apply is the portrait mode. Speaker B: This one is my favorite from iPhone. Speaker B: It really works well and especially came out really nice this time followed closely by Note8 and actually Pixel was really struggling. Speaker B: Unless it's a really clear object or image that it knows how to cut out, it doesn't really work as well. Speaker B: Especially here you can see next to the guitarist was picking up other person and when I was photographing the binoculars especially then it was actually thinking that I was taking a photo of the person next to it rather than the binoculars as an object.
5:51 Speaker B: Again if you don't have that physical information it's much harder to make those calls. Speaker B: On the other hand, front facing software based portrait mode works really well for Google and definitely excels even though Note comes really close second and iPhone is not far behind either. Speaker B: I think that will only get better as the software gets updated. Speaker B: Looking at the video, the 4K capability, all of these cameras have amazing detail that they produce.
6:16 Speaker B: I especially like the colors coming from Google and iPhone. Speaker B: Unfortunately Google also introduces quite a significant crop when filming in 4K in order to allow that smooth operation. Speaker B: So my Overall favorite for 4K video is iPhone especially when you can do this when looking at the low light performance. Speaker B: IPhone is not performing well at 60p but if you turn it down to 30 frames per second it has much more detail than the competitors from Google and Note 8.
6:46 Speaker B: Again note here is definitely falling behind, but as you can see the images coming out from Pixel 2 XL and iPhone are very similar. Speaker B: Moving on to slow motion and there is nothing to beat iPhone. Speaker B: It has 1080p, so full HD 240 frames per second. Speaker B: If you put that side by side to that 720 image you you clearly see the difference in detail. Speaker B: So it's amazing that they managed to execute it so well.
7:14 Speaker C: And now let's see how good the stabilization works and the audio sounds from the Galaxy Note 8 Pro. Speaker C: Just walking and now I'm jogging a little bit away from the noise. Speaker C: Let's see how well it keeps up. Speaker B: Samsung seems to have a good audio for all of you vloggers out there, but it doesn't seem to do a good work in stabilizing the footage when you're shaking it a lot. Speaker B: And now let's also see how good. Speaker C: The audio sounds as well as the stabilization works on the rear camera from Google Pixel 2 XL.
7:45 Speaker C: Now I'm just walking now, running a. Speaker B: Little bit and shaking a little floor. Speaker B: You can do almost anything with the camera and the footage will be buttery smooth with Google almost every time. Speaker B: The only downside is that the audio is quite poor and it introduces this massive crop factor so you can't even see yourself in the frame when you need to stabilize the video heavily. Speaker C: Let's also see how good the audio works and the stabilization on the rear camera and iPhone X.
8:15 Speaker C: Now I'm just walking around. Speaker C: There's a lot of noise, there's a lot of wind. Speaker C: Now I'm running a little bit. Speaker C: Let's see how well the camera keeps up. Speaker C: All right. Speaker B: IPhone has the best audio and also much better stabilization than Note 8. Speaker B: Not as good as Google, but I think that's the good middle ground. Speaker C: And now let's see how well the front facing camera on Galaxy Note 8 works, especially looking at the stabilization sound.
8:43 Speaker B: And now let's see how well the. Speaker A: Audio and video work from the front. Speaker C: Camera on the Pixel 2 XL camera. Speaker C: And now testing the front facing camera for audio and stabilization on the iPhone X. Speaker A: So to conclude, the cameras in these phones are now so good and so close to each other that it really comes down to taste. Speaker A: And you can't go wrong with any of these. Speaker A: When image quality, dynamic range and detail are really important to you, you should look at Google and followed by Apple which are really nearly neck to neck.
9:13 Speaker A: But Samsung has really got nothing to. Speaker B: Say in that game, especially how off. Speaker A: The colors are and sometimes losing the detail or over sharpening or overpowering the colors. Speaker B: On the other hand, where portrait mode. Speaker A: And telephoto lens are important to you, you should definitely look at the Samsung Note 8 as well as iPhone X. Speaker A: If video is something that you're doing a lot stabilization that is on par with Google and the 60p 4K video as well as slo mo at 1080, 120 frames per second.
9:41 Speaker A: That's unheard of even though Google in stabilization is doing also a great job. Speaker A: Thank you very much for watching. Speaker A: I hope you enjoyed this video. Speaker A: If you did, please give it a thumbs up if you subscribe to this channel and I hope to see you next time.