Note 9 vs Pixel 2 XL Camera: In-Depth Camera Test Comparison

Hi guys, it's MTG here. Yesterday I asked on my community tab which phone's camera you want to see compared to the Note 9's first, and overwhelmingly, you guys chose the Pixel 2 XL. So in this video, I'll be comparing the Note 9's camera to the Pixel 2 XL's camera in various lighting conditions, both indoors and outdoors, and I'll also look at the video and audio quality of both phones. Make sure to stick around to the end of the video to see what the Note 9's dual aperture can capture at night, and in this video, everything was set to automatic. Let's get right into it. The Pixel 2 XL has a single 12.2 megapixel sensor with an f1.8 aperture. Using Google's AI and machine learning, it can achieve portrait-style pictures on both its front and rear-facing cameras. The camera can record up to 4K at 30 frames per second and 1080p at up to 120 frames per second. It has both optical and electronic image stabilization. The Pixel 2 XL's front camera is 8 megapixels with an aperture of f2.4. It can record video at up to 1080p at 30 frames per second. The Note 9 has a dual 12 megapixel camera setup. Using Samsung's new scene optimization and flaw detection, it can detect whether someone is blinking or if the picture is blurred, and can also optimize the picture based on the scenery. The main wide-angle camera can automatically vary between f1.5 and f2.4 apertures, whereas the telephoto camera is fixed at f2.4. The second telephoto camera allows for 2x optical zoom and helps with the depth effect pictures. The Note 9 can shoot 4K and 1080p at 60 frames per second and 720p at up to 960 frames per second. Both cameras have optical image stabilization. The front camera is 8 megapixels and has an aperture of f1.7. It can take portrait-style pictures using software and can record video at up to 1440p at 30 frames per second. I'm going to start off by looking at In this type of lighting, it's easy to see why these two phones are inarguably considered two of the best smartphone camera systems out right now. Both phones do a great job with details and the colors. Here we can start to see some of the differences in image processing between the two phones. The Pixel 2 XL will tend to focus on contrast and really pulling detail out of an image, whereas the Note 9 will tend to focus on keeping its images bright. Here, I think the Pixel 2 XL does the better job of processing the image overall, and if we zoom in, we can see that the added contrast and image processing of the Pixel really makes it look like it has more detail. But sometimes, there are scenarios like this one, where the Pixel 2 XL's focus on detail causes colors to appear grayed out. The Note 9 is able to pick up a lot of the colors that the Pixel 2 XL simply did not in the sky and the tree. As I went inside, the same trends typically held. The Pixel 2 XL will pick up more textures, whereas the Note 9 will tend to produce the image. But in more instances than not, both phones take very high-quality images in great lighting. There will be differences in image processing based on what Google or Samsung wanted to emphasize in their phone's cameras, and ultimately, in great lighting, you'd have to look at the side-by-sides and determine the type of look that you prefer. Portrait mode was something that the Pixel 2's last year took to another level, so I wanted to see how the Note 9's live focus mode compared. In the depth effect modes of both phones, we can see that the Pixel 2 XL is able to pick up more of the textures of my shirt, and slightly more of the little details on my face and neck. However, the Note 9 actually does a pretty good job with details also, and is able to take in more light and pull out more of the colors in its images. Also, the Note 9's telephoto camera allows it to be more accurate with edge detection and differentiating between the foreground and background. Both phones also have high-quality selfie cameras that are also able to blur the background with software. And still, in the front camera portrait mode shots, the Pixel 2 XL has the clear advantage. For some reason, even when I turn off all beauty modes on the Note 9, it still tends to wash out details. Also, the Note 9 completely blurs my hair. As I shift into video, know that the Note 9 is capable of shooting 4K at up to 60 frames per second, but I set it to 4K at 30 frames per second because that's what this video is uploaded at. The first thing I noticed is that Samsung finally laid off the saturation in its 4K video. And when you put it side by side with the Pixel 2 XL's video, you can notice just how saturated the Pixel 2 XL's video is. The Pixel 2 XL has electronic image stabilization in addition to optical, which makes for walking that is incredibly smooth. But the trade-off is that, in my experience, EIS leads to more jittery looking pans. Overall, I think both phones produce detailed and stable 4K video, but the unnecessary levels of saturation that the Pixel 2 XL is producing just doesn't look that good when put side by side with the Note 9's video, which doesn't have any blatant issues. Now I'm testing the front two cameras of both phones. There's not much noise out, so I'm wondering how my voice is picked up by each phone's microphone. Now I'm testing the front two cameras of both phones. There's not much noise out, so I'm wondering how my voice is picked up by each phone's microphone. And I'm also wondering if each phone has image stabilization or not. Let me know how the colors on my face and in the background turn out. And let me know overall which phone's front camera you think is better. In terms of the front camera's video capabilities of both phones, both are very high quality. I'm impressed with the Note 9's ability to maintain the colors in the foreground and background, while still maintaining details on my face. Overall, the Note 9 also appears to have the more stable video, but in order to do this, it has to punch in, which results in a shot that is not as wide as the Pixel 2 XL's. In regards to audio, both do a solid job with keeping my voice clear and reducing any sort of background noise, but I'd say the Note 9's mics do the slightly better job in terms of keeping my voice loud and clear, and reducing background noise. Both phones performed well in great lighting conditions as expected, so the rest of this video will focus on how they perform in less than ideal lighting scenarios. This shot is challenging because of all of the light coming in through the window in the back, but both phones do an excellent job with dynamic range. The Note 9 is able to keep the wood structure in the foreground brighter, but the Pixel 2 XL is able to maintain more of the blue of the sky outside of the window. In this image, the Note 9 struggled with light sources and blew them out. The Pixel 2 XL didn't have that problem, but it has the duller colors and darker image overall. Let me know in the comment section which type of image you prefer and why. Here, the Pixel 2 XL appears to show slightly more detail on the signs. The sun was setting, but it's hard to tell on the Pixel 2 XL's image because of how dull the colors turned out. The Note 9, on the other hand, is able to maintain the colors even in the leaves of the palm tree. Both images just have very different looks. All of the previous Note 9 pictures were shot in its F2.4 mode, so I waited till it got even darker so that I could see how it performed when it automatically switched to its F1.5 aperture. The Pixel 2 XL has impressive software and relies heavily on it when it gets dark. On the other hand, the Note 9 can just open up its aperture to let in more light, so its software doesn't have to hard. As a result, the Note 9 is able to produce pictures in very low light that are clear, detailed, and have minimal noise. The larger aperture allows the Note 9 to now be the one that deals with light sources better, and the extra information helps it produce the more true to life colors than the Pixel 2 XL. But it goes without saying that the Pixel 2 XL still performs really great at night. It is still able to maintain a lot of those details and colors with frankly less information. This last image was taken when it was completely dark with light coming only from dim street lamps. You can see that there is a tradeoff when it gets this dark. The Note 9 is still able to produce a surprisingly bright and noiseless image, and deals with light sources well, but a lot of its details are smeared. The Pixel 2 XL's image is darker, noisier, and blows out the lights, but it is able to have a little more detail. The Pixel 2 XL to this day still blows me away with some of the shots it is able to take with just one rear-facing and one selfie camera. But the Note 9 has instantly impressed me with the capabilities of its camera. It can't be denied that these are two of the best smartphone camera systems, if not the best two smartphone camera systems out right now. I'd say that there are still distinct differences in the way Google and Samsung choose to process the images of Hopefully this video helped you out in deciding which phone's camera system you prefer. Let me know in the comment section what your thoughts are. Make sure you're subscribed and have the notification bell clicked to stay up to date on my latest videos because I have a lot more Note 9 coverage coming in camera comparisons, reviews, and how-to videos. As always, thanks for watching, and I will see you in the next video.