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While the Pixel 4 may be right now, the Pixel 3 and 3a series arguably represent the high-water mark for smartphone photography today through a combination of decent optics and more-than-decent artificial intelligence.
As a photographer Achilles 'heel of these devices. Achilles' heel of these devices. But the Google Pixel 3a XL has almost changed that for me. Almost.
I've been an iPhone 6s user for a little over 3 years. I've never been wired by their camera, but I've never expected much, so I've never been disappointed. When I'm putting it to head on a "real" camera, the smeared-away details and small sensor noise are so apparent. It's never been a go-to device.
Given how much photography is part of the TeamPixel's marketing campaign, and that I had purchased and returned to iPhone X because the camera upgrades were insignificant compared to the iPhone 6s, I decided to make the leap to Android with the Google Pixel 3a XL. It was a decision mostly motivated by the camera, but also a headphone jack.
Some Growing Pains
I'll get this out of the way first: Android will be a deal-breaker that keeps Apple users from trying this experiment. I already miss the ability to AirDrop photos and more, but more perplexing is that I can not use any software. Not even Image Capture, and that works with almost everything. A quick Google search revealed that it was Mojave that broke this feature, but neither Google nor Apple seem motivated to fix this issue. I was able to use a free app called "Android File Transfer" as a workaround but the solution is not elegant.
But it's worth the hassles for better photos, and the Pixel 3a (and the Pixel 3 series which share similar cameras) Google has claims.
But What Are the Photos Like?
I'm not going to run a head-to-head comparison of iPhones versus Pixels, as there are plenty of sites that do that. Nor will I talk about specs, since they do not really matter. What I will do is show you some photos and talk about the shooting experience.
After a month with the Pixel 3a, it's almost as if Apple has been standing still with photos for the last few years. While the iPhone XI was originally owned, it had two lenses, a fashion portrait, lighting effects, and all the current bells and whistles. whole. The Pixel 3a is that major leap I was looking for.
iPhones have always had poor software, lacking in raw file capture and smudging away details with sloppy processing. If I had a photo, I used a third party app to capture and process to DNG file, which were malleable within reason. The Pixel 3a includes a raw photo capture of the box, and the files it produced could be pushed to a larger extent than an iPhone. I was pretty impressed with the details and the malleability of the file, given that it's a phone.
JPG files from the phone (continued)
Even better is the shooting experience. The iPhone's panoramic mode does not allow for a full 360-degree capture, nor does it let you view the picture as you would in a VR headset. The Pixel 3a does both.
If there's one thing about the camera, it's getting bogged down in processing photos. Switch to portrait mode, for instance, and after a few shots, the phone will take a picture until it's done processing what's already in the queue. I suspect this has been reduced to less than one million pixels, but unless you're quick fire shooting, this is less of an issue. Video quality is also one area where the iPhone seems to have Pixel beat, as the Pixel videos had some Jell-O effects and compression artifacts that should not have been an issue in the good light well.
Computational Imaging
Computational imaging, the software "brains" behind the camera, is a bit of a hit or miss affair. Whether it's Apple's implementation of Google's golden fashion portrait, it's easy to spot some of the limitations. Check out how confused the fashion portrait, got in this photo:
Portrait mode is supposed to simulate a wide-aperture lens portrait, blurring the background while emphasizing a subject. We have a small screen, or on Instagram, but it's pretty easy to spot on anything larger than a phone. A trained photographer can easily spot a portrait photo mode even on a phone, something I wrote about previously.
On the other hand, I was surprised at how well the software was able to lift shadows and contain highlights. In a situation with harsh contrast with sunlight and shadow, the Google Pixel 3a cam is surprisingly close in dynamic to my Nikon D750. Check it out:
The bottom line is, portrait mode is a bit of a gimmick, but there are some real improvements here, it's taking standard photos, or a mode that Google calls "Night Sight."
About That Night Sight …
This is really the computational imaging that Google shines at. By taking multiple exposures and expertly lining them up and combining them, the phone is able to lift shadows and protect highlights as if by magic. Check out this photo shot in the dark and what Apple's iPod touch (about the equivalent of an iPhone 6, so without the computational bells and whistles).
Unfortunately, I do not think it's a good idea to have a mobile phone so I do not have a direct phone comparison, but my short time with the iPhone did not convince me that it would be much better. Also, if you're on the top of an upgrade, the images above might be all the proof you need. For comparison, here's the same photo taken without Google's Night Sight:
All the images were lightly processed and cropped in Photoshop, though the Pixel gave me the benefit of producing more flexible DNG files straight out of the camera, even with Night Sight turned on.
Final Thoughts
Photographers will probably be reluctant to give up their real cameras, nor should they. But it's so easy to know that your phone camera can do the job in a pinch, or that it can not decent when you do not want the DSLR and the kids at the same time. While other phones pack in the lenses and the fancy notches and sensors, there's something to love about the simplistic approach that is going for the Pixel 3a XL. It really just works. A sub- $ 500 phone camera should not be this good.
The Pixel 4 may be around the corner, but the Pixel 3 series reign supreme for smartphone photography right now.
What I Liked
- Powerful software features.
- Good photo quality out of the box. It's better than I've ever seen in any smartphone.
- Dynamic range is surprisingly good, owing to software.
- Digital zoom produces a bit better than the competition (It's still digital zoom, though).
What I Did not Like
- Video quality is only so-so.
- Slows down for processing during rapid fire portrait shooting (at least on the pixel 3a XL I purchased).
- Only one lens, so wide / telephoto options are limited.
purchase
Click on these links to purchase a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3a.
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