pelha Loc: middlle of nowhere NY

dxo says that the 8 is the best all around phone camera, but dpreview says the pixel 2. their review also says that the pixel 2 does dng, but that the results are noisy. i thought dng would be less noisy than jpg. does anyone here have experience with these cameras? i have a few months before my contract is up, but i'm trying to gather info now, so if my phone dies one the cusp of the end of the contract (i seem to have such 'luck'), i can choose knowledgeably.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

You're going to base your purchase decision just on the camera functionality?. The two phones are differ in a number of other significant ways including form factor. They are very different phones as a result. If the only thing that's going to make you decide one versus the other is the camera, then perhaps you should just buy a small dedicated pocket camera. It's a lot of money to spend on a phone if the only differentiator is going to be the camera. I personally chose the larger Galaxy S8 Plus model over the larger Google pixel 2 XL. While the camera is always a factor in my decision making process, the final decision was based on the overall features and functionality of the phones.

pelha Loc: middlle of nowhere NY

Mwsilvers, I rarely use the actual phone functionality. In the past I've based my decision on price, but I'm starting to use the camera more & am considering paying more if it will get me a camera I like.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Hey, it's your money. But if all I was interested in was the camera I wouldn't buy either. In my opinion, neither of them is worth the money for the camera app alone. I use my Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus as an on the go replacement for my desktop computer. As an added benefit it has a very credible camera, but it is far from the primary reason that I purchased it. I'm posting this from my phone in my local McDonald's.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

You might do better to get a cheap phone for 100 bucks and spend the remaining $600-$700 on a nice pocket camera like a Canon Powershot, Panasonic Lumix, Sony Cyber-shot or a Ricoh GR II (actually as an APS-C sensor)

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Completely agree. To spend that much on a phone when your only interest is the camera app is not a good allocation of money in my opinion. I look at the very good camera app on my phone as an added benefit of owning it, not as the primary reason. Attached is an image I just captured of the remains of my lunch with the s8 plus. It was fairly dark in the restaurant with gray skies and little sunlight filtering in through the windows. And here is also a second image. Frankly, I think my Galaxy S5 with a 16 megapixel camera took better images than my s8 Plus with it's 12 megapixel camera.

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BebuLamar

My wife has the S8. I think it's OK but I am not impressed.

blackest Loc: Ireland

Phones have tiny sensors which makes them sensitive to noise. looking into it , it appeared that iso 200 on an iphone 5 looked as noisy as iso 1600 on my dslr. however the base iso is lower than on a dslr around iso 25 iso 32 and the lenses are pretty fast. You can't control aperture only ISO and shutter speed slowest speed on my ipad is 1/2 a second and best used on a tripod, shutter speed goes to about 1000th.

It is important to have a good camera app to maximise IQ Lightroom cc on my ipad lets me set the iso and shutter speed. The standard camera app does not. What I have found is that its quite easy to get an exposure that is good for the highlights, it buries what should be mid tones in the shadows and not having raw makes me struggle to pull up the shadow detail.

So I would be looking for at least 8MPix from the sensor (enough to print at 8x10 at 300dpi) raw saving , iso and shutterspeed control and a lens thats 1.8 / 2.0 or better having twin rear cameras is a plus for my ipad it's about 3.5mm with a field of view of about 28mm the ones with twin rear lenses also give you a 56mm equivalent. The iphone 8 and X are very good, I don't know if there is an android phone that matches or beats them.
Hope to hear you find something really good.

pelha Loc: middlle of nowhere NY

"...Completely agree. To spend that much on a phone when your only interest is the camera app is not a good allocation of money in my opinion...."

I didn't intend to imply that the camera is the primary reason for buying smartphones! I use smartphones for their smartness -- email, twitter, goggle maps, etc. I use the camera a bit more than I use the phone functionality. Yes, I could spend the money on a pocket p&s, but I'd still have to carry around a smartphone. And then I'd have 2 items to keep track of. I'm looking for the best smartphone camera that fits my general use of the instrument. So I have 1 item to worry about.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

My comment was based on the fact that you said, "I rarely use the actual phone functionality." These devices are a really incorrectly called cell phones since the phone app is just one of hundreds you can have on it, and for many people it's one of the least used apps on their devices. As a result, when you said you don't use the phone functionality, I took that to mean all the other aspects of the phone that make it so powerful like internet access. If your comment was just limited to making phone calls, that's different. I don't think I spend even 5% of the time on my phone actually speaking to people. The camera app aside, I selected the Galaxy over the Google because of what I believe are a superior screen, a superior interface and the form factor. These are all individual preferences, and your experience may vary. Read reviews of each. Go to a store and play with each. Then decide which you prefer. Each is a very fine phone on many levels.

DaveJT

I posted a photo using my Galaxy 8+ on Dec. 5th.
"A walk across a little bridge." The photo was very clear.

Spiney Loc: Reading, PA

It appears you are set on an android phone, and that’s understandable. You can really customize the OS much more than an iPhone.

I just upgraded from a very well worn iPhone 5 to an iPhone 8 Plus. I’ve been very happy with the results. The camera is very close to that of the iPhone X with the exception the 2nd lens on the X is slightly faster and has I.S. Only the wide angle lens on the 8+ has I.S. With the Camera+ app I can shoot manual and save in RAW. I thought about getting a simpler phone like an iPhone SE and a Canon G SERIES pocket camera. But then I’m carrying 2 items. I know have a decent camera always with me that I can also immediately edit using apps including Adobe PSE & LR and immediately share and or upload to Social Media or UGHH. The HDR function is very good on my iPhone, as is the Panoramic & Video capture.

An added bonus was AT&T was running a BOGO Offer. So my wife and I were both able to get an iPhone 8+ for the cost of 1. The DXO score of the 8+, X, Samsung 8, & Google 2 were within a few points of each other.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Both phones are pretty awesome. I have the original Pixel. One of the things that attracted me to it was the camera. Another was the fact that the Pixel (being a Google product) is first in line for android updates.