DPReview TV: Jordan buys a phone (iPhone X vs. iPhone XR vs. Pixel 3a) By DPReview TV

This thing is barely working anymore. I got to get a new phone. Well, you know you got great choices. Now, like the pixel threes out, the poly p320, the Samsung has ten. Those are good choices, no look, I'll, probably just go buy whatever iPhone I can afford Apple again, hey that fruit company that you belong to. You know it's a cult right, you're, stuck in with proprietary cables, you're, paying way more for the technology that you have yeah.

It's its Jordan, no able to help me choose a smartphone without yelling at me. So the great thing about Tyler Stall man is just watched his Instagram live. You always know where he is at any. Given the point, so he's by this big brown pick and there he is he's live right. Yeah, I've never done a mobile phone review before so hi drew it's a Tyler I need your help because you do a YouTube channel where you review cameras same as us, but you also do phone reviews.

I am completely out of the loop on all of these things. I have no idea what's out there, so the only thing I know for certain is I can't afford an excess. It's the iPhone, but either way it's like it's excessive for most penises, okay for most people, but I am really looking at the iPhone X and the X are right. Yeah, I mean I, think both the 10 and the 10 aren't going to be great options for you. Like those advantages, this price advantages there's a lot of things to look at, but it also takes a look at the pixel three, a very affordable, very high quality camera.

That's an Android I know it's Android, but I've been using an iPhone for like a decade, I was trying to write for it. Okay, it's got to be pretty amazing. To get me to sweat, we'll see. Looking at the two screens here, we have an LCD on the 10r, and this is an OLED display over 210 and just immediately like the blacks look washed out here, it looks like it's like half as bright out in the Sun. So this is part of the challenge.

When we're outdoors is like what are we seeing is the difference between the photos and, what's the screen yeah exactly I've found that a lot of people were upset about the LCD of the 10r. When it came out, it was controversial. Yeah, in using it, I, don't mind it when it's not next to another phone I think it's totally fine. It's a great LCD! If we compare this to the Pixel 3a we can see, this is pretty much the biggest weakness of this phone. It's where they really had to make some compromises.

It is not as bright as the other two one thing you'll see right away. Is that the iPhone 10 in its live view. It's preview, it's falling apart a little. Alright I'll only blow out yeah, they look pretty blown out, but it does come back a bit in post. The iPhone just needs a moment to process the photo and do its computational photography, and then it does look a bit better.

So it's not as bad as the preview, but in the 10 R and the 10s I mean the new ones. You'll get that preview live. So you see much better quality as you're taking the photo. I know if it's too much contrast before I see exactly yeah. So one thing I definitely want to test that I.

Don't have right. Now is the fake bulk of the focus right in its cameras and I immediately kind of lean towards the iPhone X, because it has the two lenses yeah, the iPhone 10 does have the extra telephoto 50 millimeters, equivalent lens, and so just looking at the hardware I mean you would guess: okay, it's got two lenses. It can do a much better job, I find that it can kind of be a draw. They all do it differently, and they all have different. Looking results.

The Pixel 3a and the iPhone 10 are use a single lens to do computational photography to figure out that difference, and they both do a pretty great job. I, actually find it quite impressive. Yeah, I was kind of surprised. The pixel does a very clean adjustment going from like in focus to out of focus, but it's hard. It makes it look a bit like a cardboard cutout, like you know, perfectly cut out from the background yeah a little too perfect, it's pleasing, but it doesn't look like a real camera where I really like the transition from into an out-of-focus honestly on both of these cameras, which surprised me yeah, even the XR, is doing like a great job.

I think a lot of photographers would notice that difference more. They would see that fall-off, and we think, like that's a little more natural I, think non photographers, might look at the pixel photo and think look out shallow. That is yeah it's one of the reasons I was really looking at the iPhone X is for the dual lenses and I really want like close-up without that wide angle, perspective right, but when I use their telephoto the 50ml of equivalent lens on this thing, I mean the minimum focus is like way back here, so I'm going to wind up just doing all my close-ups with the wide-angle lens again. So all three of these cameras are gonna, perform pretty much the same all right. Let's compare the video on these things.

We didn't build any of those little custom races, my customs right. We did build a custom think it's called those custom ring jointed big hands. Okay, let's see what happens, we're going to do a stabilization test on that I'm going to use these for video a lot. This is very important. I will not be shooting a ton of vertical video, but we're dropping them.

Crab-Walk very professional testing, now Jordan is making sure the stabilization. All these cameras is about the same. So what we should be seeing right now is the difference between all three of these cameras and video mode. They all have optical stabilization. They should do a pretty good job with them.

Furthermore, they also do some digital stabilization and post also listen to the cameras. Furthermore, they will probably sound a little different. Let's try switching between them. This is the Google Pixel camera. This is the iPhone 10 our camera, and this is the iPhone something that kind of bugs me on the pixel is that it doesn't give you a full preview of what you're shooting.

So it often looks a lot darker work than what the final photo is gonna, be it does much process, and then it looks great, but on the iPhone you just get a live preview. That is almost exactly the final photo yeah with the iPhone I would just find something: that's roughly the right focus, distance and just tap different brightness levels on it. Til I got the exposure that I wanted. Also, on the pixel. It's confusing that there is well, you can turn off HDR then there's HDR+ HDR+ enhance and then, if you shoot in night sight, you also get kind of the most dynamic range, but I don't really know when to use which one I don't even know why there are so many options, whereas on the iPhone there is just smart HDR, and it's on microphone when you're using the nitrite mode.

Even in high contrast, bright situations, it's the best image quality and the drawback to it is you do have this kind of laggy air feel with it there's a bit of a delay while it's processing the image not quite as responsive, but if you don't need fast action. I would just shoot everything in nitrite mode know. One thing we don't even really need to debate is that the Pixel 3a has the best low-light performance of all these. If you use the nitrite mode, and you just get less motion blur with it, it's sharper, it's cleaner. It's really amazing for a small sensor.

What this is capable of. So if lowlights a priority, definitely want to go with the Pixel 3a I. Don't do a ton of low-light, so I'm more excited to get back to your studio and take a look at some other image quality tests. We did ok. So this is the biggest one for me, because I do shoot a lot of little small b-roll clips in that video, so I mean looking at these.

This one I really found it a lot easier to separate them out. Certainly the stabilization it's fairly stable, but it definitely has that kind of digital. You know the warp stabilizer look where, when your foot goes down, it's blurry for a second, and it drives you crazy I mean the XR. We just get way more dynamic range. The 10r has incredible dynamic range: it's actually doing full HDR as long as you don't shoot above 30 frames per second, it's gathering extra data in the highlights and the shadows and I just love the way that it looks its natural and lots of dynamic range.

You can really see here. The clouds have lots of detail, but as soon as we start looking in the shadow areas like your shirt, your backpack strap anything like that. There's no detail in that, so certainly for dynamic range. The iPhone XR is the standout, but the pixel really surprised me, especially with the stabiliser. It looks really great, so I mean this is a perfect example, because we've got a really difficult, dynamic range situation, and we've also got I mean it looks like a color check.

We can check for accuracy here, which is kind of fun. I mean you can see how they all render colors I. Think they're all fairly pleasing, but I mean immediately with the dynamic range like the 10r is jumping out to me in a big way, and then I mean the 10 is clearly. This was the test. That seems to be it's hurting there, yeah I mean when the 10 came out.

This dynamic range was grave. It was a step forward, but we can really see it being pushed in the clouds, hear it clearly clips and then a shirt and his hair ? is such a lot darker just muddy, whereas he looks at both I mean I, find both the pixel and the ten are pretty comfortable. There is a tiny bit of clip in this pixel one. It's a tough thing when you're looking at me as we can't dial in all the settings exactly now. The big thing to remember the pixel here is on its default.

Photo mode default, photo mode means HDR+, enhanced right. There isn't a default, so you always have to choose I'm glad they keep it simple yeah. So that's why I really wanted to bring up an example to where we use the night shot mode. So in this we were testing night sight as an HDR kind of tool to save some of our highlights, and it worked incredibly well if we look up at the clouds here, totally blown out in HDR+, but in night sight it retained everything. It's amazing, alright, looking at a test of all three of them here we got the 10, the 10 R and the 3 a.

What do you think of this dynamic range of 10? Just looked so bad now, compared to the new stuff. I really went into this thinking like the dual cameras and the OLED screen that I was gonna, go with the iPhone X, but I think we can safely throw that away so make it go away. Perfect I mean I, like the look of the XR I. Think like this is somewhere I would probably wind up with an image, but there's just so much more information in the pixel like these really hot highlights here perfectly controlled. It looks like a big sensor, camera image.

What I would say is that there is more information here, so it's tempting to totally go for the 3/8, but there is a much more natural look happening. This is with the 10 R. So it's its got less detail retention, but it feels more realistic and I. Think I've got a pretty good idea where the iPhone X is out, but honestly the image from the pixels still pretty compelling. What's the next step time right, let's go buy a phone, it's exciting, and it's terrifying MMM we've made it to our local electronics store.

What are you gonna? Do you know I really believe in like a proper third-act structure, so I'm going to go buy something, and then you're going to see what it is and all keep the suspense? Yes, so much to Chris's dismay, I did wind up going with the iPhone 10 R I've learned two things. This episode and I got to say the video is what really sold me on this. The pixel was great, but I didn't want to switch systems and I think this should serve me well, hopefully, for the next four and a half to five years. If history is any indication, okay, so come on in Tyler, hey. Thank you so much my pleasure.

All the help I think this is going to work. If you're not already, you have to check out the Stall man podcast talking about video cameras, cameras, tech, I've, met on there a few times. It's a great, listen check it out. If you haven't already big thanks to Chris for shooting this episode follow our other stuff on social media there it's all right at the bottom, and we'll see you guys all next week subscribe, that's something you have to do bye, guys! Oh, look! Don't one.

Source : DPReview TV