Which are the best options when looking at smartphones for photography

[Overmind One]

I am amazed at how good the quality of the photos it is able to take compared to ny digital camera. I am still trying to figure out night photography.

Ok, I got my Honor 6X and it takes GREAT photos! I will post some of them as soon as I get some better subject matter. It does very well for video at night with the flash on (it adds light without being harsh), and in the daytime it gives great detail and color.

 

[Atlantis]

Ok, I got my Honor 6X and it takes GREAT photos! I will post some of them as soon as I get some better subject matter. It does very well for video at night with the flash on (it adds light without being harsh), and in the daytime it gives great detail and color.

Looks to be a little bit more compared to the Samsung. I have thpse pro or manyal settings. Here is another one. I'd be interested to know the quality. This was taken in the night with flash

 

[Overmind One]

Looks to be a little bit more compared to the Samsung. I have thpse pro or manyal settings. Here is another one. I'd be interested to know the quality. This was taken in the night with flash

I just took this at 2:51am in darkness with the flash. The ash you see there on my African Violet is from the fires we have had in California recently. I am surprised at the level of detail and the colors are spot on. Click image for large version.

 

[Overmind One]

Looks to be a little bit more compared to the Samsung. I have thpse pro or manyal settings. Here is another one. I'd be interested to know the quality. This was taken in the night with flash

Beautiful quality! Cell cameras made me dump my digital SLR.

 

[Atlantis]

I just took this at 2:51am in darkness with the flash. The ash you see there on my African Violet is from the fires we have had in California recently. I am surprised at the level of detail and the colors are spot on. Click image for large version.

View attachment 33590

Nice! I can see the individual hair strands on that flower.

 

[Overmind One]

Nice! I can see the individual hair strands on that flower.

I am going to take a bunch of shots and some video today in Long Beach. I will post them here.

 

[Lord Ba'al]

Are you thinking about grabbing a Pixel?

Yes. At the moment I have my mind set on getting a Google Pixel 2 XL 128GB model. I don't have the money yet though. But that doesn't matter as it is currently only offered through the EE network because they have exclusivity. It may be a few months before other networks can offer the phone as well. At that time I will compare the offerings to see if there is anything to my liking. If not, I might just buy the phone outright and find a suitable provider plan on my own to combine with it. I know it's a lot of money, but I'm sure it will last me for a long time to come. I know it has a great camera in it and also great camera software. I'm not even gonna bother anymore with comparing minute details with other phones for the camera. This is the highest rated phone camera on DXO and that means something. In some aspects other phones' cameras might be slightly better but I doubt I would notice the difference. Plus I suspect that Google will bring out firmware and software updates over time which will improve it even further. It's not just the camera though. I also like the idea of the Google Assistant, even though I have never used anything like that really. There is no doubt in my mind that Google Assistant will win out over any competitor's similar functionality. Google is simply sitting on the largest vault of data and they have been working on many advanced algorithms for a long long time, their search algorithms alone are a force to be reckoned with. Then there is Deepmind. I don't know if you have picked up on it yet, but Deepmind developed a new version of AlphaGo which was only programmed with the rules of Go and learned completely on its own to develop strategies that surpass anything that came before within 3 days simply by playing itself. Now people are trying to learn from the strategies it developed wich are so much more advanced than humans have ever used. And that's just the beginning of the new AI. Then there's the fact that Google is the developer of the Android OS so the phone comes with stock Android. No bullshit adaptations made by some other phone manufacturer fouling up the OS. Plus I generally have a good feeling about Google. So yeah, I think it will be a Pixel for me. Maybe eventually I will decide to go for the Pixel 2 rather than the Pixel 2 XL or perhaps it will be the 64GB version instead of the 128GB, but we'll see.

 

[Overmind One]

Yes. At the moment I have my mind set on getting a Google Pixel 2 XL 128GB model. I don't have the money yet though. But that doesn't matter as it is currently only offered through the EE network because they have exclusivity. It may be a few months before other networks can offer the phone as well. At that time I will compare the offerings to see if there is anything to my liking. If not, I might just buy the phone outright and find a suitable provider plan on my own to combine with it. I know it's a lot of money, but I'm sure it will last me for a long time to come. I know it has a great camera in it and also great camera software. I'm not even gonna bother anymore with comparing minute details with other phones for the camera. This is the highest rated phone camera on DXO and that means something. In some aspects other phones' cameras might be slightly better but I doubt I would notice the difference. Plus I suspect that Google will bring out firmware and software updates over time which will improve it even further. It's not just the camera though. I also like the idea of the Google Assistant, even though I have never used anything like that really. There is no doubt in my mind that Google Assistant will win out over any competitor's similar functionality. Google is simply sitting on the largest vault of data and they have been working on many advanced algorithms for a long long time, their search algorithms alone are a force to be reckoned with. Then there is Deepmind. I don't know if you have picked up on it yet, but Deepmind developed a new version of AlphaGo which was only programmed with the rules of Go and learned completely on its own to develop strategies that surpass anything that came before within 3 days simply by playing itself. Now people are trying to learn from the strategies it developed wich are so much more advanced than humans have ever used. And that's just the beginning of the new AI. Then there's the fact that Google is the developer of the Android OS so the phone comes with stock Android. No bullshit adaptations made by some other phone manufacturer fouling up the OS. Plus I generally have a good feeling about Google. So yeah, I think it will be a Pixel for me. Maybe eventually I will decide to go for the Pixel 2 rather than the Pixel 2 XL or perhaps it will be the 64GB version instead of the 128GB, but we'll see.

Good move, if you hold out for it. The Pixel goes far beyond the Nexus phones in terms of capabilities, and yes it has an awesome camera. The Google Assistant is already available to you if you are on Android. I use it ALL. THE. TIME. You just say "Ok Google", then follow it up with a normally spoken request. My most frequent is setting reminders and alarms and timers. I just say "Ok Google, make an alarm for Tuesday at 8:00am" It confirms the request and then sets it. Another favorite is asking it to put an event on my calendar. Since I am paying for the Google Apps for Business, we are talking about the Google Calendar which is already on the phone. You tell it "Ok Google, create a Calendar entry". It asks what day and time and the name of the event and voila, it magically appears on your Calendar app and also on the computer, along with your 10min early reminder notification. It's awesome.

 

[Lord Ba'al]

You can get Google assistant on any Android indeed. I expect it would always work best on Google's own devices though. Maybe that's an odd thought to have because it's the same software/algorithms at work. Or is it? In any case I just think Google will eventually have the best suite of apps available. Now that they're entering the smartphone market at full force (they were already in it with the Pixel 1 but obviously they have their mind set on getting a chunk of the action by releasing the Pixel 2) I'm sure they're working hard on tons of stuff to make their devices more awesome. I have faith in thee Google.

 

[Lord Ba'al]

So I guess I hadn't told you guys yet. I went to a store to get myself a Google Pixel 2. After having decided I wanted this model (after months of investigating) I spent a whole weekend looking at the best options for phone plans. Finally I decided on an O2 contract. So I'm in the store and giving all my details and all that crap. I didn't like the person who was helping me but apparently I didn't have any choice in the matter and I was anxious to get it so I went along with it. Then she tells me that O2 declined my credit check. So I couldn't get the phone. I went into the O2 store (right next door) to ask why I was denied. They gave me an email address to write to. So I went home and wrote them right away asking two very specific questions.

I hope you can extend me the courtesy of informing me of the exact reasons for which my application for this contract was declined.

I would also like to know exactly what I would be required to do in order not to be declined for an O2 contract again in the future, should I decide to apply again.

I immediately got an automated response stating that they would get back to me within 10 business days. Time went by and I didn't hear a peep. So I decided to post on Twitter. I received a reply asking for more information. I told them about the auto-reply and then they told me to wait until the 10 business days had passed. At that time it was 9 days (7 business days). So today I received a reply, just within the 10 days.

As well as our credit scoring system, we use business policies to assess all new applications. On this occasion you didn’t meet our criteria so we’re unable to accept your application.

As our business policies are commercially sensitive then I am unable to discuss the specific reason why we rejected your application.

Like really?!? That answer tells me exactly nothing. It seems I wasn't declined on the credit check (or maybe I was but it's not stated) but apparently the phone company has business policies besides credit checks which are used as a basis for declining people a phone contract. And apparently those policies are extremely commercially sensitive, whatever the fuck that means. So they don't even have the balls to give me a reason.

I am pissed at O2!!!

 

[Lord Ba'al]

So I was in the shopping center and while I was there the thought occurred to me to go into the store again. So I did. I tried to get the same contract again and was declined by O2 again! But this time I could see on the clerk's screen. And there I saw that O2 was the only one who declined me but the other three networks said something like "approved for any value contract". So apparently O2 just really doesn't want me as their customer. Well that's fine. By now I feel the same way and I don't want to be their customer. That'll probably stay that way for life. I can hold quite a grudge. Anyway, I went with a different network, EE, and when I did the screen said they'd be happy to give me two of these contracts. I'm talking top value contracts for a top value phone. So I don't know what O2 is jerking around for, but it's their loss.

So now I just have to wait for a day or two and I'll have my Pixel 2. (they didn't have the colour I wanted in stock)

Also I have a Google Home Mini, but I'm waiting to set that up until I have my phone.

Happy days!

 

[Overmind One]

So I was in the shopping center and while I was there the thought occurred to me to go into the store again. So I did. I tried to get the same contract again and was declined by O2 again! But this time I could see on the clerk's screen. And there I saw that O2 was the only one who declined me but the other three networks said something like "approved for any value contract". So apparently O2 just really doesn't want me as their customer. Well that's fine. By now I feel the same way and I don't want to be their customer. That'll probably stay that way for life. I can hold quite a grudge. Anyway, I went with a different network, EE, and when I did the screen said they'd be happy to give me two of these contracts. I'm talking top value contracts for a top value phone. So I don't know what O2 is jerking around for, but it's their loss.

So now I just have to wait for a day or two and I'll have my Pixel 2. (they didn't have the colour I wanted in stock)

Also I have a Google Home Mini, but I'm waiting to set that up until I have my phone.

Happy days!

Glad this worked out. And that Google Home Mini is going to surprise you right out of the box what it can do without anything much past signing into it and setting it up for the first time. Once done, the things you can do with it are AMAZING! Congratulations on your new Pixel 2!

 

[Lord Ba'al]

Google's algorithms can automatically stitch photo's together. I found out by accident when I took two pictures from the same spot in two different directions. The algorithms detected that these pictures could be sewn together. I got a notification on my phone that my new panoramic picture was ready. So I checked it out and there it was. Surprised the hell out of me.

Today I found myself in a position to put it to the test. I was on a bridge in Belfast (just taking a stroll, not about to jump off) and took three pictures from the same spot making sure that the edges of each would overlap slightly. Lo and behold a couple of minutes later I received a notification. All three pictures were stiched together to form a large panorama. This is the result.

I must note that this process has lowered the resolution. The panorama is only about 1.6 MB while the three pictures separately are each about 2.8 MB. Also when zooming in there are one or two spots where you can see that the pictures don't align perfectly. Overall it's still an impressive job though.

I wonder how far you could take this. Perhaps a 360 degree panoramic view?

EDIT: Upon closer inspection, there is actually not a hard line where the pictures are stitched. Apparently the algorithms can stitch various parts at differing locations. I guess supposedly that makes it work better.

 

[Lord Ba'al]

By the way, did you know that there is something such as a moving jpeg? I did not, until I found out that for some reason pictures I took with my phone were sometimes moving. Here's one of them, although it will probably not move unless viewed in Google Photos.

Well if it doesn't move, consider it an example of the picture quality of the Pixel 2.

 

[Lord Ba'al]

Looks like there's a new player on the scene. Huawei launches phone with 40 megapixel sensor.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/AMP/2018/03/27/huawei_joins_the_elite_with_pricey_imaging_flagship/

 

[Overmind One]

Looks like there's a new player on the scene. Huawei launches phone with 40 megapixel sensor.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/AMP/2018/03/27/huawei_joins_the_elite_with_pricey_imaging_flagship/

40? Damn...that is overkill. We cannot really detect much past 20mp or 4K. I am reminded of when super high "contrast ratio" was a thing. I do love Huawei though...rock solid, superior performance. Even my mid-range Honor 6X has superior specs to the iPhone 8, plus it has dual rear cameras and an 8mp front camera

 

[Lord Ba'al]

When it comes to cameras, eye resolution does not come into play. The great benefit is that you can see things with a camera that you couldn't with your own eyes.

 

[Lord Ba'al]

I've had this Pixel 2 phone for a while now and I must say that I'm still quite happy with the quality of it's camera. I took some random shots the other day. It was a cloudy day. I'm sure the pictures would have looked nicer had it been a sunny day, but these were just for testing purposes.


Just some weed, brazenly growing in a direction which is likely to cost it its life at some point.

Some bushes with yellow flowers.

Same bushes but taken from shorter distance.

And a little bit closer.

This one I think shows the camera quality best. I used a small amount of zoom with this shot.

And then compare that to what it looks like after Google worked some algorithmic magic on it.

It's amazing when you zoom in on that last picture. Note the large water drop hanging slightly off center towards the top left, it shows a leaf pattern either being reflected or refracted. For some reason I find it appealing.

 

[Lord Ba'al]

I know that other smartphone manufacturers have been scrambling to equip their phones with better cameras hoping to compete and by now some of them probably have cameras which equal or perhaps best the Pixel 2's. Still I keep reading that this phone's camera is one of the best or the best one around. Other manufacturers have been bringing out dual cameras or even triple cameras, or high megapixel cameras. This Pixel 2 has I think a 12 MP camera, but apparently it beats the crap out of some 40 MP cameras. October will bring the Pixel 3. I think I remember reading reports that Google is sticking with the single lens concept. I'll be very interested to learn how that model's camera will perform. It's bound to be even better than this one.

 

[Tripler]

Iphones suck for photo's
. I miss my LG5 for that alone . It took amazing pics . Shame the phone sucked ,,,
My daughter has the Pixel and seems to like it . She had an iphone but it was not up to snuff for what she wanted it to do .
I should have done the same ,,,

;(