Pixel 9 Pro XL vs. $5,000 Professional Camera!

[@KurianTonyAloor]

the depth of field gave it away in the first photo there

[@AndyFerdean]

B is the Pixel. Easy. The depth of field and the more natural colors on the A gives it away.

[@yamahass66]

Also horrid hdr, added clarity, distorsion, sky, lifted shadows and so on....

[@AndyFerdean]

@@yamahass66 indeed. I just use Lightroom mobile to edit them and they look much better.

[@supaahflyy]

Tbh, I respect what photographers say and their perspectives. The pixel with the HDR looks better to my untrained eye. For the layman, seeing everything in the image looks better rather than too dark or too bright areas

[@groundedsuburbia]

Just got the Pixel 9 Pro XL. Appreciate your video.

[@gerrysmith5597]

nice relevant video for me to watch - I just got the Pixel 9 XL and I have a Canon R6. I would still take my Canon out for photography but if I was caught out somewhere without it, its nice to know that the Pixel is a competent backup. The Pixel is far better than the Galaxy S4 v camera that you did in one of your other videos I watched earlier - nice job keep it up.

[@indianajonze]

well all i know is that last week i had my $$$ camera in my backpack as i was throwing myself up and down mountains in a national park and i was 100% miserable the entire time due to the weight. this week i got the pixel 9 pro xl and i will never again be bringing my $$$ camera with me on my adventures. so i guess what i'm saying is that i do not care whatsoever about how it compares. it's just the way it's going to be for me from this point forward

[@ItsTomRich]

I mean fair enough 🤣🤣

[@LoveWins]

Just got my pixel 9 XL pro today and so far I'm absolutely loving it

[@HiThere-y8m]

idk, but I find these types of videos are extremely useless. all the examples are always shot in the middle of a day, somewhere on a sunny beach, beautiful fields etc. and in those conditions any camera will give you a good result. obviously, camera will be better in any instance related to photography/videography, but the only conclusion in every that type of a video is "phones are now extremely good and can be compared to cameras/phones give you faster photos, and better results if you're beginner ". still, it's a common notion and it was the point for last 5-7 years. why not to change perspective? can you shoot street photography with phone "a"? how much can you push raw files of a smartphone? (on an actual creatively edited photo, not only changing exposure) in which ways camera is actually better, showing not how phone and camera are almost the same, but how they are actually different. like handling, shooting angles, low light raw photography, an ability to change aperture. and simply experience of shooting. so it basically leaves non-photographers with information that "their phone is good enough", and doesn't motivate them to make a research on the topic or to get interested in photography. and actual photographers simply see that the video has nothing to do with actual photography

[@DalevonDigital]

Im a photographer I dont do side by side videos, i do street photography shots and edit in raw uniquely. I try to use the phone like professional camera and edit, I do street photography, product photography and photoshoot with my Pixels. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKW4gal-hNtpiZY

[@UberkingerDE]

underrated comment

[@ItsTomRich]

This is a very accurate and super fair comment - and it's why over time I've been developing these videos more and more and do less of the wide architecture shots all the time and that type of thing. I do think there's a balance though, because a lot of people mainly just use their phones to shoot their friends, sunsets, concerts, cool views and that type of thing so testing things like street photography or sports is not a very accurate way of showing the comparison off. The telephoto section I did halfway throguh the video should illustrate that - there's things that pro cameras do that smartphones just cannot. Thanks for your thoughts 🙏

[@UberkingerDE]

@@ItsTomRich kudos and lots of respect to you for giving an elaborate answer to his comment. the work you put it into your video is highly appreciated anyway, but the fact that you agree and change your approach accordingly shows how much you value your viewers ❣️

[@ItsTomRich]

Thank you really appreciate that!!

[@Sam-K]

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed your video! Sony A7 IV is capable of up to 15 stops of dynamic range, one of the best in business, yet the Pixel is able to capture an even wider dynamic range (seemingly over 20 stops) despite having a 12 times smaller sensor (72 sq-mm vs. 858 sq-mm). Beyond impressive. Now, there will always be complainers fussing over minor details, but the fact remains: Smartphones have finally caught up to full frame DSLRs, purely with the help of software (computational photography, to be specific). I think smartphones have finally fulfilled the now century old promise of Eastman Kodak: "You push the button; we do the rest." No need to shoot in RAW and edit the photos in post. Just click the shutter button (or tap it, rather) and you're done!

[@mightypine]

5:31 while the ultra wide is a new sensor, it was still 48mp on the Pixel 8 Pro. Great video.

[@MultiThatguy7]

sony colors have this cinematic tone to them. Easy peasy

[@Eazidosit]

The Pixel stock camera app doesn't have a burst mode. But if you use the Manual Camera app it has burst mode and takes photos rapidly I've been using this app for years.

[@chrisbonica1775]

The natural bokeh was a dead giveaway

[@Julserson]

Everyone says that the pro camera is better because if they say otherwise they would look like a beginner. But the reality is that in many cases the Pixel camera does a better job for a fraction of the price.

[@Victor-cj9ie]

I agree. And this comes from a master photographer. I have done multiple assignments mixing pictures taken with the pro equipment and the Pixel camera at almost the same time - both are mounted on a custom hand held bracket of my own design. With a few seconds of image manipulation on the Pixel, I get results that, for the most part, get more compliments than those taken with the multi-lens, heavy rig. The only thing I miss on the Pixel is the lack of "starlight" effect. However, with the ability to add a 2nd studio light built into the Pixel software, one can obtain at just about any location stunning portraits that come close to a full-blown photo studio. Also, the Pixel has fully adjustable depth of the field (blur) giving you, at the very least, a decent quasi-bokeh. Being able to "change lenses" on the Pixel in a couple of seconds, or less, is priceless. You will rarely miss a picture again.

[@Miklainnen]

Tom, when you do comparisons of both photos and videos, it would be more appropriate to put them both side by side on the screen, one on the right and one on the left, rather than putting one before and after the other. Michele

[@ItsTomRich]

Thank you for the feedback 🙏

[@jeremyude]

A fantastic comprehensive comparison!

[@simonbussey7530]

Instead of static shots on a sunny day, try something that actually challenges a camera. Do some sport, some movement, low light etc.

[@brianw.7489]

Great video! To the untrained eye the Pixel photos look just a good as the Sony which is amazing within itself.

[@lepyti]

15:57 bro got the A7V early 😂

[@LearnHax]

😧😧😧

[@JjackVideo]

The lifted shadows and lack of depth of field is pretty obvious to us nerds, but normal people likely won't see the difference if there's enough light.

[@Shift4g]

For anyone not aware, HDR processing is baked in on Pixel jpegs which also why it's immediately noticeable, and why the RAW looks more comparable without it.

[@jaymills1720]

More reasons why non-paid amateurs should be using phones and pocket cameras and not spend thousands on bulky mirrorless bodies and their lenses.

[@lfc7805]

Great review! Possible to do a comparison between this pixel vs iphone ?

[@DopeTechy]

Pros know what images look like from cameras and what from phones ... ! A camera is camera and phone is phone, doesn't matter brands, but their purposes are different!

[@rudeviper]

Very Big difference between these two. A is really natural with great depth of field and naturally rendered black on the thsirt as well as the pants. While pixel processes like all other smartphones does with a very hdr look. The gap between phones and Cameras is increasing day by day.

[@davewxc]

B is pixel. Makes sure all is in focus and well lighted and clouds and sky are very visible by that HDR effect.

[@chrisdals5182]

So the Sony is much better. What‘s your point?

[@yulose9]

Curious about the social media quality of pixel 9 can you do a comparison with an iphone using Instagram, Snapchat and Tiktok?

[@yossef1799]

The truth was very easy for me to recognize as a photography enthusiast who has a Sony A7R4 camera, but a really beautiful video at a high level... thank you🙃😅

[@ItsTomRich]

Thank you glad you enjoyed it

[@dawidzarnowski5248]

Is there any chance to create sort of "preset" maybe on lightroom to match some things known from dslr cameras to the smartphone cameras like tone curve, clarity and stuff ? I mean like softening oversharpened photos which is kinda typical for a smartphone cameras ?

[@editzbar653]

Sonys color tones are soo good 😅

[@dawidzarnowski5248]

@@editzbar653 i have Xperia 1 IV and i totally regret having this. Not in terms of color tones as you said but the telephoto Lens is just a crap. Not ever looking into overpriced sony 🫣

[@PetrKlapper]

Every phone comes with a bit different processing, even same brands between a generation, so there's no single universal approach to 'fix' the image. First you can always use some kind of Pro Mist filter even in front of your phone camera to figth the perfect digital look. And then the combination of Dehaze, Clarity and Texture are your friends in LR - mostly the negative values depending on the input photo. I usually do minus Dehaze (-15 as a start) and a bit less minus Clarity, and plus Texture to counter, but it could be better other way too between Texture and Clarity. Plus the basic contrast and take blacks down with it if it gets a bit flat.

[@Mckaluge]

I would love to see where it says all the back lenses are 50mps 😂😂

[@Niimerium]

not taking about OS and their differences, if someone had to pick a phone for their camera (video and photo included but not for professional shots, maybe sometimes but not primarily) which phone would you recommend between the big 3? Samsung/Google/Apple [s24 series/pixel 9 series or even 8/iphone 15 series] curious.

[@ItsTomRich]

iPhone because my work as a videographer sometimes the iPhone actually becomes a super useful tool to be able to shoot LOG and match it relatively similar to a pro camera - but that aside, I’d actually likely go with the new pixel as I love the hardware

[@ItsTomRich]

And my iPhone 15 pro battery sucks majorly right now haha

[@Niimerium]

@@ItsTomRich understandable but what about the pixel hardware are you liking? I hate the SoC and you might say it is fine for everyday use and might change the phone in a year's time but 2-3years later I doubt it is going to keep it's performance up heck if someone wants it for 5years doubt it will be able to handle the updates at that time properly haha. Also, going Pixel won't you miss the video recording capabilities? Don't get me wrong it is a good phone but very underwhelming. I am recently very irritated by Samsung too and it's methods of selling new phones and keeping features away from older phones even when it's perfectly capable of doing so. An example would be superHDR/ultraHDR only being available for 24 series and up.

[@Niimerium]

@idaho3955 On device capabilities > Video boost is a gimmick but a good one. That's an excuse for poor on device performance. Idgaf about that. Takes hours to process, takes storage, and also have to enable it everytime. No bueno. Edit: Even with video boost it isnt perfect. iPhone beats it with 4k30 no log nothing as well unfortunately lol. In some cases even Samsung, especially when it does its 8k30 on device too 😂

[@markshirley01]

Tom, how do you get around the fact the Pixel 9 will only shoot NTSC 30fps, as my camera is using PAL 25fps. How do you match your clips if you mix phone and camera

[@ItsTomRich]

This is a real issue - I had to shoot 30FPS on my main camera for this video to make sure I could mix them 🙃

[@markshirley01]

@@ItsTomRich yes, using PRO in the description when 70% of the world is on.PAL is a bit behind the times, Apple have had PAL for a few years now.

[@ItsTomRich]

It’s pretty frustrating agreed

[@ithehappy1]

Pixel colours are only good against apple and samsung, but compare it with an actual camera, and my god, that saturation is scarily insane.

[@ItsTomRich]

Scarily insane hahaha

[@griffielliott279]

But them high end cameras need them high end lenses so its still a win for us Pixel 9 users. I know he has a mirrorless camera so he need lenses. I want to see a comparison with a camera that doesn't need lenses.

[@sakadragon340]

Welche Kamera zeigt denn die Realität? Ich möchte Fotos haben die das wieder Spiegeln was ich in echt sehe und nicht ewig nachbearbeitet sind. Alles andere muss man dann schon in die Kunstecke abschieben. Die wenigsten gucken ihre Smartphone Fotos auf einen großen Monitor oder TV an.

[@MrStevenAttila]

Hmm. The Sony shots are somehow darker. I knew the first shot was shot by which phone, because most of the times phones takes brighter shots because of AI. Speaking of video stabilization, I was kind of shocked how weak an expensive professional camera can be! :O

[@denischiosa4496]

I choose B because of the nicer sky colour 😊

[@draganbogdan4267]

Do you have a Xperia 1VI to compare it with ?

[@ItsTomRich]

Not any more I had to return it, I did videos on the 1VI though

[@Emmepi37]

A is Sony. Bleached colors. Smartphones are saturated.

[@tremainemendez3160]

I always look for video comparisons and on this occasion, both devices were terribly poor. Photography is a matter of personal taste, but video is actually where you get to see the quality of a good device.

[@Wazio]

Is it possible your lens needs to be focus calibrated to your a7? All of the sony pics looked a soft to my eye. But maybe it's just that the pixel photos are sharpened to all heck 😅

[@ItsTomRich]

Haha, it’s definitely that the pixel is just super duper sharp

[@Wazio]

commented too soon... they don't look soft when you zoom in in lightroom. oh well, lol

[@wilhelmsvideon9206]

Pleas compare the camera king Vivo X100 Ultra with your Sony

[@razafiarisonmichael4421]

Why are the sony image res so much reduced compared to the pixel in the video ?

[@ItsTomRich]

What do you mean? They’re both 4k

[@frankw3123]

Dang no video boost? That's what most people are interested to see especially between the pro camera or log on iPhone

[@ItsTomRich]

I mean I’ll cover it in my full photography review. Ngl though in my opinion is it underwhelming and overall a bit of a cheat - considering the pretty slow delivery of the boosted file to your phone. I could run any video file through an AI enhancer and get improved performance

[@ItsTomRich]

It’s nowhere close to log video on iPhone sadly

[@BasMeijer]

@@ItsTomRich Enjoyed the video 👍 Still, I would also be interested to see that comparison, especially at night. Sure, slow delivery is a disadvantage in some cases. But editing log-files and/or running it through an AI enhancer is not really what your average user is going to do (and demands considerable time from the user). Honoustly, if I can get a good looking video of my children doing a performance in a dimly lit room, I don't care if you call it cheating.

[@ItsTomRich]

@@BasMeijer this is a fair point - I’ll definitely be showing it in my photographers review!

[@COOLS32401]

is there possibility the phone camera can beat real camera in future?

[@EpicWeightloss]

Dof is more shallow on A

[@joonas4427]

Real camera still miles ahead in image quality and colours no comparison really.

[@muzamilhussain9908]

Depth and details of grass looks way real in professional camera

[@canalleack]

The Xperia 1 VI better

[@alaryani100]

المقارنة لا تكون بهذه الطريقة . ولكن سوف اختار الكاميرا دائما على الهاتف النقال لعدة اسباب

[@davidtodorici9199]

B is the Pixel

[@carver9312]

Should've included the S24 Ultra

[@ItsTomRich]

I did a whole video on this, check the playlist in the description :)

[@carver9312]

I look at all of your videos when they come out. Im not seeing a S24 Ultra, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pro camera video. ​@ItsTomRich

[@ItsTomRich]

@carver9312 oh sorry no I meant I didn’t a direct comparison with S24 ultra and P9

[@bread3613]

Camera B is rhe pixel

[@bread3613]

Was correct

[@ItsTomRich]

Winner winner 💥

[@bread3613]

@@ItsTomRich you could tell with the dynamic range lol. Tries to make it even And the pixel would obviously be more saturated

[@lankegowtham6783]

Compare Vivo x 100 pro and professional camera

[@ItsTomRich]

I wish I could 😭😭😭

[@tomsun3159]

The real question is is the 5000€ equipment 5 times better than 1000€ equipment, is the 3kg equipment more convenient than the 200 gr equipment, do i have the big equipment always on hand like the smartphone i have always on hand. Yes the 50 MP on the pixel is plain marketing blabla and will hardly reach the quality of an 12 MP DSLR, a digital zoom will never compete a physical zoom, and real focal length will never be competed by computed focal length due to saure millimeter sized sensors, apertures and physical sensor size are additional topics. BUT at what resolutions does these disadvantages been effective? at postcardsize printout for sure not, using the pictures in social media for sure not, using pictures on an electronic picture frame for sure not. If printing out A3 or bigger there it is becoming interesting, but to be honest How much picture do you print in A0 600ppi? one or two in a lifetime, and people doing this have both type of equipment.

[@raiyaneusha8995]

A is pixel and B is sony

[@clafflin493]

I got everything correct

[@Julio-z3u]

Is the Sony win i still go with the pixel i least i don't have to walk around with a backpack 🎒

[@PetrKlapper]

If you could replace your photo gear with a phone, then you're probably not making/comparing interesting photos.

[@mosygelb5676]

B is Google

[@Bikram0805]

This is the most Unfair comparison channel ihv ever seen.

[@simmysharma6845]

👍🙏😊

[@LuisGandarela]

Very bad protrait mode

[@sajidkhanmahmood]

pretty irrelevant video as good as it is no phone will beat a real camera

[@ItsTomRich]

Mainly just interesting for people that don’t have access to a more expensive camera

[@beyondu77]

The Sony images look very dull.

[@ItsTomRich]

You can easily make them pop with a very fast edit

[@beyondu77]

@@ItsTomRich True, but it's nice if you don't have to do that.

[@NikitaEnden]

Sony is better. =D

[@jirkavanourek]

Very stupid comparison... Pixel doesn't deserve such bad publicity :D

[@stormrider09]

Its a joke

[@munawrsa]

👎🏼👎🏼

[@ViralVision-n3l]

pixel picture are very fake looking even the skin color changes so much, 5k camera look very realistic every thing is intact sky color skin color like our eyes see things. i personally prefer realistic look but a lot of people do prefer that fake look.

[@GeekyNerdThao93]

This is me right now a couple months in with the pixel 9 pro. The results come out looking good, but what you see in the viewfinder and what you get are totally different pictures. Just feels too fake and inconsistent