Google Pixel smartphones have a number of the greatest and most constant cameras amongst flagship smartphones. The Google Pixel 9 Professional gained Android Police’s 2024 Readers’ Alternative Cellphone award because of its new design, improved efficiency, unimaginable cameras, and compact type. I put the Google Pixel 9 Professional in opposition to Oppo’s new flagship, the Discover X8 Professional, to see the way it compares.
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An in depth take a look at digicam {hardware}
A better take a look at what powers these digicam programs
Earlier than diving into the photograph comparisons, let’s shortly undergo the digicam {hardware} on these flagship Android smartphones. The Oppo Discover X8 Professional ships with a 50MP main digicam with an f/1.6 aperture, multi-directional PDAF, and Optical Picture Stabilization (OIS). It additionally contains two periscope telephoto sensors: a 50MP for 3x optical zoom and a 50MP for 6x optical zoom. It additionally has a 50MP ultra-wide sensor providing a 120-degree discipline of view (FoV).
The Pixel 9 Professional has a single 48MP telephoto sensor with 5x optical zoom, a 50MP main digicam with an f/1.7 aperture, dual-pixel PDAF, OIS, and a 48MP ultra-wide lens with a 123-degree FoV. Whereas the Discover X8 Professional offers two zoom sensors, the Pixel depends on a single 5x optical zoom sensor. Each telephones can crop from the first sensor to provide 2x optical zoom pictures.
Testing rear cameras in real-life settings
How every telephone performs in on a regular basis situations
This digicam comparability focuses on pictures from the rear cameras of each telephones, not the front-facing selfie cameras. All pictures had been taken in point-and-shoot mode, with no tweaks, to imitate how most individuals seize pictures. Professional mode wasn’t used on both telephone, although I discovered the facet digicam button on the Discover X8 Professional helpful for shortly launching the digicam app (although I did not use it a lot for capturing pictures).
The Oppo Discover X8 Professional’s pictures seem first (the left picture within the gallery), adopted by the Google Pixel 9 Professional (the appropriate picture, which is second within the gallery).
Colour science and HDR: Vibrant vs. balanced tones
In daylight pictures, the Oppo Discover X8 Professional delivers the acquainted punchiness and vibrance typical of many Chinese language OEM telephones, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional sticks to its real looking fashion with subdued, natural-looking processing.
For instance, within the shot above of candles at a Christmas market, the Discover X8 Professional captures a vibrant picture with sharp textures and vividly popping glitter. Nevertheless, the brightness is barely excessive, and a few finer shadow particulars are misplaced. The Pixel 9 Professional presents a subdued strategy, with toned-down colours and cooler processing. The Discover X8 Professional will enchantment to those that favor vibrant pictures, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional will enchantment to those that favor real-life-like-looking processing.
The identical may be seen in pictures of the Christmas-themed market stall and Hamleys storefront. The Discover X8 Professional captures full of life, punchy colours, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional leans in the direction of steadiness and pure tones. Within the stall shot, the Discover X8 Professional produces a extra vivid picture with out being overly uncovered, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional, although sharp, feels barely muted, dropping the festive vibe.
Alternatively, the shot of the Hamleys storefront reveals that the Discover X8 Professional makes colours pop extra however barely overexposes the scene, with a white steadiness that appears barely off. In distinction, the Pixel 9 Professional handles shadows and highlights higher, avoiding overexposure (examine the “Est. London 1760” label beneath the shop identify).
An analogous theme is obvious in a postcard shot taken at a bustling café. Whereas each telephones seize sharp, crisp particulars, the Discover X8 Professional’s shot options saturated colours, giving the picture a vibrant vibe. The Pixel 9 Professional sticks to its subdued colour profile, sustaining its pure look. Each pictures function a robust, pure bokeh impact, isolating the topic successfully from the background, nevertheless it comes all the way down to your desire for colour processing.
Portrait: Vivid colours vs. real looking look
Each telephones take a distinct strategy, as proven within the portrait pictures. The Discover X8 Professional delivers vibrant, hotter tones with distinctive topic sharpness. Nevertheless, it leans towards an excessively blurred bokeh impact, which might really feel barely overprocessed in sure areas.
The Pixel 9 Professional adopts a extra pure look, with muted tones and smoother transitions in background blur. Pores and skin tones seem cooler, and the processing is softer, contributing to a sensible really feel of the scene. The Pixel 9 Professional additionally performs higher at dealing with finer particulars, similar to the topic’s edges. For instance, the appropriate ear is extra precisely processed than on the Discover X8 Professional.
Extremely-wide: Sharpness vs. pure tones
The Google Pixel 9 Professional presents a wider FoV, which is obvious within the ultra-wide comparability above. From the identical level, the Pixel 9 Professional captures extra of the scene than the Discover X8 Professional. As for the picture, the Discover X8 Professional applies barely hotter processing with spectacular dynamic vary, balancing vibrant skies and darker constructing areas. Nevertheless, the picture feels a bit oversharpened.
The Pixel 9 Professional adopts a softer strategy with much less aggressive sharpening (particularly noticeable within the constructing’s entrance tiles) and extra pure colours, significantly in greens. Nonetheless, the sky within the Pixel 9 Professional shot seems washed out within the upper-left nook in comparison with the Discover X8 Professional’s picture.
Low-light: Higher noise management vs. brighter tones
Low-light images has traditionally been a robust level for Google Pixels, because of Night time Sight processing, however right here issues get attention-grabbing. The Discover X8 Professional captures a nighttime road scene with well-balanced publicity, highlighting constructing lighting, commercial boards, and reflections on the bottom. The colourful tones and HDR processing are commendable, although some areas have a slight oversharpening.
The Pixel 9 Professional barely overexposes the scene (seemingly as a consequence of an extended Night time Sight publicity), dropping some constructing lighting particulars and creating overly vibrant shadows. The sky additionally seems considerably overexposed, and the picture lacks the colourful pop proven within the Discover X8 Professional’s shot.
Issues get extra attention-grabbing with the 5x (Pixel 9 Professional) and 6x (Discover X8 Professional) zoom pictures of a dome-lit constructing. The Discover X8 Professional precisely captures heat orange tones and architectural particulars below synthetic lighting, with minimal halo results across the domes.
The Pixel 9 Professional overprocesses the shot, producing deeper shadows that add drama however end in slight oversharpening and a extra pronounced halo impact across the constructing.
Within the pictures of the shelf and bar, the Discover X8 Professional brightens the body with vibrant tones, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional opts for managed highlights, deeper contrasts, and barely muted heat.
A transparent distinction lies in how the 2 telephones deal with mild. The Discover X8 Professional softens the sunshine supply beneath the cabinets, spreading it gently, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional incorporates it extra successfully, including a dramatic really feel. This strategy permits the Pixel 9 Professional to seize sure particulars higher, such because the hanging wine glass rack and the stone wall texture.
The Pixel 9 Professional excels at dealing with publicity in low-light pictures, creating a sensible and balanced scene. The Discover X8 Professional brightens the body, delivering a vibrant consequence that may enchantment to those that favor livelier esthetics.
Pixel 9 Professional vs. Oppo Discover X8 Professional: Which telephone clicks higher photos?
Which flagship smartphone takes the crown?
Deciding which flagship clicks higher photos relies on your private desire. The Pixel 9 Professional leans towards realism and pure tones, whereas the Discover X8 Professional excels at vibrant, vivid, and punchy pictures. The Discover X8 Professional performs exceptionally in very low mild situations, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional often over-processes and brightens pictures however handles synthetic lighting higher.
Each telephones ship with feature-rich photo-editing instruments and AI options, permitting you to refine pictures after they’re captured. Even when your preliminary outcomes fall wanting your expectations, these instruments make it simple to realize the specified look.
Google Pixel 9 Professional
$839 $999 Save
$160
The Pixel 9 Professional is a brand new addition to Google’s lineup, slotting in as a smaller premium flagship to pair with the Pixel 9 Professional XL. The latter is the direct successor to 2023’s Pixel 8 Professional regardless of its new XL moniker, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional brings a brand new form-factor to Google’s high-end choices, sporting the identical dimensions as the usual Pixel 9 mannequin whereas packing all of the AI and digicam prowess we have grown accustomed to from Google’s Professional lineup.