Nexus phones have struggled in the camera department for some time now, so we're hoping the lack
of OIS won't ruin the device's chances at producing some nice shots.
Apart from boasting about the combination
of OIS and EIS that allows the Pixel 2 devices to deliver perfectly stable shots and recordings in a variety of situations, Google also wanted to remind consumers that its new handsets come with robust Portrait capabilities meant to automatically process your subjects in a manner that makes them pop out from the background.
It should be noted that aside from the lack
of OIS, all of these problems can really be ironed out in software over time if Cyanogen decides to make the investment.
There is an EIS (Electronic Image Stabilization) for video recording instead
of OIS (Optical Image Stabilization), and that doesn't even help in stabilizing the recording.
Also, taking photos of moving subjects is nearly impossible without a tripod, and if you're also in motion, the lack
of OIS is quite a major drawback.
In the past, the cameras of the 4.7 - inch and 5.5 - inch variants have only been differentiated by the availability
of OIS on the larger phone and not the smaller one.
The rear camera comes with f / 2.2 aperture and it is the same you see on the Galaxy S5, but addition
of OIS is indeed going to help here.
If so, we'd expect the to perform comparably to the best Android phones out there right now, given the strength of Google's HDR + processing and the likely inclusion
of OIS (missing from last year's 6P.)
With the addition
of OIS and a faster lens, I have no doubt that these sensors and this processing could provide a top - tier overall camera experience.
In lower light, the slow - ish lens and lack
of OIS were apparent — if I steadied my hand and took a few different shots I'd usually get one that was perfect and crisp, but any random shot when I pulled the phone out and didn't have physical stabilization it'd be more of a mixed bag.
That was due in no small part to Google's excellent photo processing, which paired with camera hardware that lacked the typical assistance
of OIS (optical image stabilization) and produced fantastic photos regardless.
The lack
of OIS is overblown.
HTC's addition
of OIS to its selfie camera proves that it's ready for the self - obsessed generation of Periscopers, Facebook Live Video users, and Snapchaters who love taking videos of themselves.
This situation quickly degrades in low - light, helped in no small part by the lack
of OIS and the sluggish autofocus, but still, it is far from the worst phone I have tested for this.
The latter's not surprising given the lack
of OIS — optical image stabilization — in the Honor 8 Pro's cameras.
The primary sensor comes with a 16 - megapixel resolution Sporting a f / 1.8 aperture and support
of OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation).
While images seemed to hold up well despite the lack
of OIS, video takes a bit of a hit in quality due to the lack of physical stabilization (electronic image stabilization never proves to be a direct replacement).
The other 4K options available on the device are Steady shot same as
that of the OIS feature and touch block which blocks all the touch screen options while your are recording the video.
Live Photos on iPhone 7 are also getting better as they will now make use
of OIS.
The lack
of OIS becomes a problem during video recording as well, as you have to keep your hands steady to avoid taking videos with too much shake.
What's fascinating, though, is that Google combines the power
of both OIS and EIS to produce a super stable image.
LG claims that this smartphone offers superior low - light imaging with the help
of OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation).
The same can be said about the video that looks really good in natural light but is very blurry in low - light especially with the lack
of OIS, so that steady hands are necessary for decent video.
There were no mentions
of OIS specifically for either spec, so we assume it to be absent (Google did say they tie the gyro into the camera to stabilize video, though).
HTC has announced the HTC Desire 830 with some notable improvements over its predecessor including an upgraded display and the addition
of OIS to the camera.
That's partially thanks to the addition
of OIS, and Google's software skills are improved this year, leading to a portrait mode that works with just one camera on both the rear and front cameras.
Almost every smartphone has some form
of OIS on its main camera, but none of the second cameras have had this — until now.
The addition
of OIS, combined with all of Google's multi-shot image processing, leads to astonishing results in low light.
The lack
of OIS means the camera is much slower to capture, resulting in a lot of out of focus shots and a noticeable lack of sharpness and detail.
It has a 16MP RGB sensor paired with a 20MP monochrome sensor, with a f / 1.8 aperture and PDAF, but there is no mention
of OIS in the specifications list.
As fun as the wide - angle lens is, it's not great in low light which is to be expected from the narrower aperture and lack
of OIS compared to the main sensor.
The lack
of OIS means it can't match the sharpness levels of the Galaxy S7 and G5.
Interestingly, in low light, the iPhone 7 Plus's software is clever enough to know that the 2x lens's narrow aperture and lack
of OIS will let the quality down and the phone deliberately keeps using the main stabilised lens, using digital zoom instead.
The lack
of OIS and the time it takes to process HDR shots, means you'll want a steady hand.
Having said that, the lack
of OIS is still noticeable.
When it comes to video capture, the lack
of OIS means that both phones create some shaky videos.
You can shoot 4K video with the Pro 6, and while the video quality is decent for the most part, the lack
of OIS is very noticeable here, making for some very shaky videos.
Video capture goes all the way up to 4K for the rear cameras, but the lack
of OIS results in a picture that isn't stabilized on the hardware level, so footage can look a bit shaky, especially at 2x zoom.
However, in low light, with the lack
of OIS or EIS, there is lots of softening going on to keep the noise at bay.
Low light performance, however, remains an issue (although the device handles glare very well) and the absence
of OIS means that capturing moving objects can be a little iffy.
Lack
of OIS and dual - tone LED flash means that you're better off shooting images during the day.
There is a 16MP Sony IMX298 lens in the main camera, boasting the likes
of OIS, EIS, and PDAF.
Don't let the lack
of OIS, or the missing sub f2 aperture on the camera lens fool you in thinking this is sub-par camera.
While the hardware does not have optical image stabilization (OIS), it is very fast at capturing images and I haven't noticed any issues with a lack
of OIS.
Honor's post-processing helps a lot with overall image quality, but the lack
of OIS still means that a shaky hand can easily ruin a shot.
That combo
of OIS in both cameras is evident on video.
You can record 1080p videos, but lack
of OIS is very apparent.
The benefit though is that the Pixel is one of the only phones out this year without a camera bump, if the omission
of OIS is the cause of this we don't know, but it is a case of «pick your poison».
On the selfie camera front, there have been some minor tweaks although the megapixel count stays on same — there is a new retina flash, «advanced pixel technology» and something called «auto image stabilization» (some relative
of OIS, we suspect).
Note 8 edge out in front a bit because
of OIS in the second camera.