Google Pixel 8 Pro review

26 October 2023


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  • Anonymous
  • gDf
  • 26 Oct 2023

"The nominal resolution shots don't have quite the same acuity, and there are traces of noise to be seen here or there. Once again, we're not convinced there's a lot of practical use in the full-res mode."

Gsmarena, the 50 megapixel resolution allows for high quality 10x, 15x photos and when you look at the image of the clock, you see a noticeable advantage in the 50 megapixel image.
I have a Pixel 7 Pro and I made many tests and 15x gives you noticeably more detail from distant objects than 5x. Why 15x instead of 10x? My impression is that Google can combine more frames at 15x, this improves the signal to noise ratio, 15x is the best setting for distant objects for the Pixel 7 Pro (2x crop from 15x is significantly better than 30x). Therefore, I use 10x and 15x (360mm) much more often than 5x. I even compared it in a store with the S23 Ultra at 360mm + short Night Sight mode and the 7 Pro definitely outperformed the S23 Ultra slightly. I also compared my 7 Pro with the 8 Pro in a store and the image quality was nearly identical at 15x with Night Sight, so at least my 7 Pro periscope unit is not soft at all.
Many people seem to think that the "sharpness" of the S23 Ultra at 30x (690mm) is due to the lens, but that's wrong. This should be obvious as you can't magically improve the performance significantly with digital zoom. I tested the S23 Ultra in a store and 30x is nothing else than machine learning and it is full of fake detail. For example, I took a photo of distant text and it clearly(!) (not blurry at all) showed the word "Aepair" instead of "Repair". This was reproducible without effort and this issue wasn't present at 15x or 10x and this was just one example. Therefore, Samsung's 30x jpgs are useless and extremely misleading. So, Samsung's "30x" "sharpness" is higher because the machine learning algorithm is far more aggressive. If you compare Samsung's optical performance (this means less machine learning) at 10x, 15x with the 7 Pro in Night Sight mode, then the 7 Pro even outperforms the S23 Ultra and this makes sense because the 7 Pro has more effective megapixels than the S23 Ultra at 240mm.

Why is it important that one uses Night Sight for 10x, 15x photos? The sensor area of the 7 Pro is only 5.6mm² at 240mm. The 8 Pro even only has 5mm² at 240mm (1/5.6" type sensor). This means that even the base Iso image quality can suffer from noise, which reduces the signal to noise ratio. Night Sight improves the signal to noise ratio by combining more frames. This gives you more detail at 10x, 15x, even at base Iso (perfect light conditions).

You should have shown us some 10x or 15x sample images, but it's nice that you have at least uploaded the 50 megapixel 5x images.

    People moan about battery life, I'd be more than pleased if my phone lasted 90 hours off charge.

      I grown lot of beards 🧔 waiting for Gsmarena to publish the review

        • J
        • JakeJ
        • 84G
        • 26 Oct 2023

        Two questions:
        Can one use any type of charger to charge the phone (provided one use the usb-c cable).
        Are other camera apps than Google's own useable? I got rid of my previous Google phone, cause I couldn't use it with my favourite camera app (1998 Cam).

          One day Pixels will have a good battery life... One day

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • X5u
            • 26 Oct 2023

            Yeah ,we know they aren't in a hurry in the performance department but really,those performance numbers are terrible

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • X5u
              • 26 Oct 2023

              When did flat screen and good design become a pro ??

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • gDf
                • 26 Oct 2023

                "The lens is different though - while the old one had an equivalent focal length of 120mm, the new one stands at around 113mm. "
                Google's specs are slightly misleading. The exif data states a different equivalent focal length. So I think the best thing here is to state the focal lengths: 18mm (8 Pro) vs 19mm (7 Pro) or calculate the equivalent focal lengths: 110.4mm and 116.5mm

                This means that the 8 Pro actually has fewer effective megapixels at 240mm (10x) than the 7 Pro. But due to the larger effective lens diameter of the 8 Pro (6.4mm vs 5.4mm), there is less diffraction and this compensates for the lower megapixel count. I compared the periscope camera of my 7 Pro with the 8 Pro in a store at 360mm (15x) + short Night Sight mode and the image quality was nearly identical (though the 8 Pro didn't have the latest camera app version). The image stabilization of the 8 Pro even seemed to be worse, which caused a shorter exposure time. But I tested multiple 7 Pros when I bought the 7 Pro and the image quality and image stabilization of the 7 Pro periscope camera varies.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • mEb
                  • 26 Oct 2023

                  Pixel 8 Pro turned out to be an worse incremental update than samsung S23 ultra and others. Maybe i'll just go with Nothing phone 2 or Honor Magic 5 Pro the next time it's on sale or s23+. H€ll even the Sony Xperia 5 IV would do but then again the update schedule on them are bit iffy and i'm looking for a phone to wield for the next 3+ years.

                    Why no video comparison tool for pixel 8 pro? please do update your video tool comparison to include 8 pro video. been waiting for this..

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