Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus vs Pixel 2 XL: In-Depth Camera Comparison By KJ Hardrict

Hi guys, it's MTG here, and today I'm going to be comparing arguably the two best smartphone cameras, the S9 Plus and the Pixel 2 XL. The Pixel 2's have been the camera kings since their release. But recently, we found out that DXOmark actually gave the S9 the higher score in their ratings, so this will be interesting. In this video, I'll be comparing the cameras in various lighting conditions, and I'll also be taking a look at the video and audio qualities of both phones. Everything was set to automatic. Let's get right into it.

The Pixel 2 XL has a single 12.2 Megapixel sensor with an f/1.8 aperture. Using Google's image processing and machine learning, it can achieve portrait style pictures on both the front and back cameras. The camera can record up to 4K at 30 fps and 1080p at up to 120 fps. It has both optical and electronic image stabilization. The Pixel 2 XL's front camera is 8 Megapixels with an aperture of f/2.4. It can record video at up to 1080p at 30 fps.

The S9 plus has a dual-12 megapixel camera setup. The main, wide-angle camera can automatically vary between f/1.5 and f/2.4 apertures, whereas the telephoto camera is a fixed f/2.4. The second telephoto camera allows for 2x optical zoom, and helps with the depth-effect pictures. The S9 plus can shoot 4K and 1080p at 60 fps, and 720p at up to 960 fps. Both cameras have optical image stabilization.

The front camera is 8 megapixels and has an aperture of f/1.7. It can record video at up to 1440p at 30 fps. With a lot of these side-by-sides, you'll understand why these are the two highest rated smartphone camera systems to date. When there is good lighting, both phones produce incredibly detailed pictures, and aside from the different color temperatures, some of these outdoor pictures become almost impossible to tell apart. As I compare the different images, you'll start to notice the general trend that the S9 will produce the brighter and warmer image, whereas the Pixel 2 XL will have the cooler image with more contrast.

Both phones pick up a tremendous amount of detail. And actually, the S9 Plus, with its improved HDR functionality, seems to sometimes edge out the Pixel 2 XL's great image-processing with vivid colors and clear detail. A lot of these outdoor shots will come down to personal preference because different people will prefer different color temperatures. In this shot, we can see just how much more color the S9 is able to pick up. The sun is almost in the frame of both cameras, but the S9 is able to keep both the foreground and background brighter, while preserving a lot more of the colors.

Again, this picture of me shows that the S9's pictures are generally brighter despite the fact that all of these daytime shots were shot in the S9's f/2.4 aperture mode. In my camera tests, I like to also shoot in more challenging situations like some with windows in the background and others with the sun in frame. In the past, the Pixel 2 XL would handle complex lighting scenarios better than any other smartphone because it can go back and brighten up the spots that need to be brightened. But with the camera improvements Samsung implemented on the S9s, it is clear that the S9 handles the scenario better. Both phones keep the view outside clear, but only the S9 maintains the colors on the door and on the door frame.

Here, the Pixel 2 XL does a seemingly great job of handling such a difficult lighting condition, but the S9 flaunts its HDR capabilities in this shot by keeping the foreground bright while also keeping image noise to a minimum. In this shot with the sun in the background, we can see how well the S9 handles the sun. In the Pixel's image, the sun takes out any details that we may have seen in the clouds or at the top of the building. The rest of the Pixel 2 XL's image is very clear and detailed, but the S9 maintained more of the colors, and did the much better job of dealing with the sun. In this image, both phones handled the sun well, and both phones did a great job of preserving detail in the whole frame.

But again, the S9 has the overall brighter image. Now we'll take a look at the Pixel 2 XL's portrait mode, and the S9's Live Focus mode. Both of these modes give that depth-effect that people enjoy with DSLR cameras. The Pixel 2's use solely software and machine learning to detect edges, whereas the S9 Plus utilizes its telephoto lens to help it out with defining edges. And right of the bat, we can see that this is where the Pixel 2s really shine.

Although the Pixel 2 XL's images are consistently darker, they produce a level of detail, especially around the face, that the S9 can't even come close to. The Pixel 2 XL just has a crazy way of somehow preserving every speck of detail on the subject's face. But when the lighting conditions are perfect, the S9 can also produce some really great images. And one could argue, with the more vibrant colors and the overall brighter image, the S9's live focus mode's images could sometimes even surpass the Pixel 2 XL's portrait mode. When I shift to the front camera, the gap completely widens between the two phone's.

The Pixel 2 XL captures so much detail, while even maintaining the blue in the sky. The S9's selective focus mode for its front camera softens my skin so much that a lot of the detail is lost. One could argue the colors in the S9's image look better, but when it comes to detail and even edge detection, the S9's selfie camera is still significantly lagging behind the Pixel 2's. Shifting to portrait style pictures in low-light, the Pixel 2 XL again shows how great its camera captures people. It's really dark outside and these pictures were taken without flash.

The S9 doesn't do a terrible job, but when put side-by-side the Pixel 2 XL, there isn't a contest as to which picture is better. The Pixel 2 XL preserves more detail and keeps the subject clear and detailed. I'm going to now compare the two cameras in low-light, and I should mention that the S9 did a really good job of automatically switching to its f/1.5 aperture mode for all of these night shots. I never had to turn it on manually. The Pixel 2 XL does a good job in low-light, but it sometimes becomes obvious that its software has to work a little too hard.

The S9, on the other hand, with its f/1.5 aperture mode, takes great low-light pictures without having to rely too heavily on software. The S9 Plus does a better job of handling the lighting fixtures, and also does a much better job of eliminating noise in the sky. At first glance, both of these images of the campus map look great considering the terrible lighting conditions. However, as I zoom in and look at both side-by-side, we can see the effects of the Pixel 2 XL trying to brighten up the image in post-processing. The S9's image has considerably less noise than that of the Pixel 2 XL.

In this next shot, both phones do a great job. The S9 is able to maintain a lot of detail, whereas the Pixel 2 XL's excellent image processing made for the brighter subject and more visible detail on the building. In this image, the Pixel 2 XL's image processing shows through again, as details are more evident on the steps and on the words of the building. Some of these details get washed out in the S9's image. The Boston skyline is captured well by both phones, but again, the wider f/1.5 aperture gives the S9 more information to work with. This makes for an image that maintains detail, but has considerably less noise than the Pixel 2 XL's image.

This last image shows how sometimes the Pixel 2 XL could over process an image. It was pitch black outside, and the S9 captured the scene as it was with no image noise. However, the Pixel 2 XL automatically tries to brighten its own image, which makes for a brighter image, but also a more noisey and artificial looking image. Now I'll look at the video qualities of both smartphone camera systems. The rear camera video was taken by both phones in 4K at 30 fps because that is what this video is uploaded at.

But know that the S9 is capable of shooting 4K at 60 fps. The video qualities of both phones were so much more similar than I had expected. The Pixel 2 XL, with its electronic and optical image stabilization, has always been great with forward walking, but the improved image stabilization on the S9 plus gives the Pixel 2 XL a run for its money now. I have always had mixed feelings with electronic stabilization because it will struggle to deal with walking and panning at the same time, but the S9's optical image stabilization does a pretty good job of staying stable while also keeping pans more natural looking. Overall, the colors are slightly different from one another, but that comes down to personal preference.

Both phones are terrific for video. When looking at the front camera video qualities, I'd say the S9 did the better job with image stabilizing. But in doing so, it had to crop in closer than the Pixel 2 XL. The S9 does a better job of maintaining the color of my face while the sun is behind me, but the Pixel 2 XL seems to have a generally better focus on my face throughout the length of the video. In terms of audio, I think the S9 sounded better, whereas the Pixel 2 XL tries to reduce noise, resulting in my voice sounding slightly tinny.

So as you can see, both of these phones have terrific camera systems. And it will come down to personal preferences as to which camera you like over the other. The Pixel 2 XL's camera is still the best at taking photos of people, and has the best portrait mode on both its front and back cameras. The S9 has the better HDR capabilities and has the more vibrant colors. At the end of the day, it'll come down to which scenarios you're more likely to shoot in.

Hopefully this video helped you out. I have more camera comparisons and reviews coming very soon, so make sure you're subscribed and have that notification bell clicked. And as always, thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next video.

Source : KJ Hardrict