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Comment by SurrealSoul | Hacker News Reader

https://www.dxomark.com/google-pixel-camera-review-retested-... should we really be praising a 4 point increase from a camera that has been out for two years and cost $150 less on launch?

Don't get me wrong, the iPhone 8 has a good camera, and it is marginally better than the pixel's, but is this really enough to celebrate?

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The big improvements are somewhat lost in the overall, average score. If you look at some of the specific advancements it’s clear that some really impressive enhancements have been achieved. And if you look at a two or three year horizon, the difference is massive.

I'm not a camera prosumer in any means but what I saw was 'similar' to the pixel's. In the article I can see where is surpasses the pixel in these marginal aspects, but there would be no way I could pass a blind test of pictures taken from which phone

I did used to be a semi-pro portrait photographer so no doubt the differences jump out to me more than to the average person. One thing that should be quite easy to see is that the Pixel is losing a lot of detail in skin tones, both through overexposure and poor choice of color balance. Some of the Pixel images also have a lot of contrast applied (a matter of taste, up to a point, but it is often used to hide poor noise performance in low light portions of the image by rendering them black, and reduces editing options with the image after capture). But of course it’s not without reason that the Pixel got glowing reviews for its camera system when it came out, and it still puts in a decent showing.

Context:

- 8+: 94

- 8: 92

- Pixel / HTC U11: 90

Did Apple actually put different hardware and/or software in the 8+ vs the 8, or are we seeing the inevitable result of random hardware variation accounting for a 2 point swing?

Has anyone run an objective test on, say, ten iPhone 8 units vs 10 iPhone 8+ units? Other than Apple?

Yes, the 8+ for whatever reason has a more premium camera

the 8+ has 2x optical zoom via the second sensor, that's the only real difference

The second lens also enables the "bokeh".

I have to wonder if adding the IR thingamabob they use for facial recognition to the rear camera would help improve the out of focus blurring since the dot array would help the phone figure out rough distances of items in the frame.

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