The Nexus 6P has often been called the best smartphone for camera lovers. But is it?
Over the year, we’ve reviewed Nexus phones, giving them top marks in performance and design, but the camera was always their weak point. That changed this year, with the Nexus 5X and 6P. Many have praised the camera on these smartphones, and it’s evident that Google has finally heard what consumers are saying.
Of the two Nexus phones though, the Nexus 6P far outperforms the 5X in the camera department. The phone has a 12MP rear camera, which has even been called the best smartphone camera in the market today. We put the Nexus 6P against the iPhone 6s and OnePlus X to determine how good the camera is.
Having the OnePlus X in the comparison is of course, slightly unfair, but you’ll be surprised with how well it performs against the two much higher priced smartphones. What you must notice is that while the three phones have 12.3MP, 12MP and 13MP cameras respectively, this comparison also demonstrates accurately, why the megapixel count doesn’t determine camera quality.
Note: Click the images to enlarge. (Above: Images clicked with the Nexus 6P)
The first thing you notice about the Nexus 6P is that the details are a lot better as compared to both the other phones. While the OnePlus X ends up overexposing parts of an image under direct sunlight, the iPhone 6s neither provides as sharp an image as the Nexus 6P, nor can is reproduce the details that the Nexus 6P does. Moreover, the Nexus 6P’s laser auto-focus system makes it as fast as the iPhone 6s and the phone also takes little time to process images.
What makes the Nexus 6P undoubtedly better than the iPhone 6s though are the colours that it produces in images. In the image of the bike, the colour on the Nexus 6P is much closer to the original than the iPhone. The iPhone’s high shutter speed allows less light, which makes the image darker, and you see a darker shade of the original colour.
Note: Click the images to enlarge. (Above: Images clicked with the iPhone 6S)
The shortcomings of the iPhone 6s become very evident when pitted against the Nexus 6P. Apple may have increased the megapixel count on the camera, but the 12MP iSight camera isn’t able to reproduce the details or colours that the Nexus does. In addition, under the studio lights, the iPhone’s algorithm almost removes the effect created by the lights. Now this is something that many may like, but it’s not as accurate a depiction as the Nexus.
The iPhone though, not surprisingly, does a better job than the OnePlus X.
Note: Click the images to enlarge. (Above: Images clicked with the OnePlus X)
Of the three cameras mentioned here, the OnePlus X, on paper, has the most megapixel count. It is still the weakest of the lot though, which is expected from a phone that costs less than half of what the other two do. The OnePlus X has a pretty good camera and does fairly well with the details, considering its price range. It doesn’t however deal with light very well. In the images taken under sunlight and bright studio lights, the OnePlus X overexposes parts of the subject, which is not ideal. The colours on the OnePlus X though, are great, with it being better even than the iPhone 6s in some cases.
The weakest aspect of both the OnePlus x and iPhone 6s though is in the fact that they can’t deal with low or uneven light as well as the Nexus 6P can. What's worth noting is that the OnePlus X is much closer to the iPhone 6s in terms of camera quality, than one would expect, based on their pricing.
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