DXOMARK has given Google’s Pixel 4 camera system a top-10 ranking, but the handset suffers from its lack of an ultra-wide lens.
“Achieving a Photo sub-score of 117 points, Google’s latest device offers a nice step forward for stills over its predecessor, with noticeable improvements in most areas and a notable jump in the quality of zoom shots,” DXOMARK notes in its review of the Pixel 4’s camera system performance. “[But] the Pixel 4 remains slightly behind such recent top performers as the Huawei Mate 30 Pro (131 points), largely due to the lack of both an ultra-wide camera and a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor. These omissions put the Google device at an immediate disadvantage compared to the triple- and quad-cam devices in our wide-angle and bokeh testing, and that affects its overall ranking.”
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This is pretty much what I expected, and I pointed out my disappointment with Google poo-pooing its missing ultra-wide capabilities during its launch event last week; Google is only downplaying ultra-wide shots because its latest handset doesn’t offer this crucial feature.
Interestingly, the Pixel 4 also scored highly for its video performance, despite not offering storage-hungry 4K/UHD at 60 fps like other modern flagships. DXOMARK hailed the handset’s excellent noise reduction, color, white balance, autofocus, and gyro-EIS stabilization, and awarded it its highest-ever video score of 101 points, tied with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G.
While I understand the Pixel 4 not beating out the Huawei Mate 30 Pro, given how good that firm’s recent handsets have performed, I cannot for the life of me imagine how the lackluster camera systems in entries like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 or OnePlus 7 Pro outscore it.
Stooks
<p>Smartphone camera's are so over rated. They are limited by the form factor and software is used to make up the lack of hardware ability.</p><p><br></p><p>Just listening today to This Week in Tech and Leo had someone for the Android show on as a guest. She was showing off her pictures from her new Pixel 4. Everyone agreed that the zoomed in shots where……wait for it…..pixelated. OMG Shocking….I say SHOCKING!!!!!</p><p><br></p><p>Every smartphone I have owned has pixelated images when zoomed in. Each of those smartphones where supposed to have "amazing camera's". I thought for sure my iPhone X was going to be the one, with its dual lens. Nope….nada….no dice. I have since downgraded to the iPhone XR, with a single lens and honestly I can't tell a difference between the two.</p><p><br></p><p>My fear is that these vendors will so rely on software that they will give you unrealistic picture outputs and that will become the norm. Almost like having FaceTune or whatever that narcissistic app is called, built into the camera software from the vendors. </p>