Samsung Galaxy Note8 has joined Apple's iPhone 8 Plus as the top-ranked smartphone camera on DxOMark's Mobile ranking. With an overall score of 94 points, Samsung has managed to deliver great result its very first attempt at dual camera smartphones. The results reveal that photography is the strongest asset of Note8 and it falls short of the competition in the video department.
The Galaxy Note8 is the first smartphone ever to achieve a photo sub-score of 100 with the help of its zoom capability, good noise reduction and over preservation of details. DxOMark notes that Note8 also offers fast and accurate autofocus. In comparison, iPhone 8 Plus has a photo sub-score of 96 while Google's Pixel received 90.
The testing also highlights that Note8 delivers "bright and vivid colours with high levels of details preservation" under bright light but its dynamic range is limited in comparison with Google Pixel. "Occasional white balance irregularities are also visible in bright outdoor scenes, with a visible pinkish cast evident, but colour saturation remains strong for some stunning results," it notes.
Even in indoor conditions, the Note8 performs well with excellent exposure, well-managed noise, good details but it tends to overexposure in the extremely low light situation. The Note8 features dual 12MP rear cameras with one wide-angle sensor and another telephoto sensor. The telephoto sensor with f/2.4 aperture and optical image stabilisation is capable of 2x optical zoom. DxOMark says that the zoom feature is the "stand-out attribute of the Note8."
It says the Note8 offers excellent result while shooting with 2x optical zoom and the images are usable even while shooting with a 4x digital zoom. The Note8's bokeh mode has also been found to work well most of the time by artificially blurring the background. But the images shot using bokeh mode do tend to have artefacts and repeatability is a hit and miss. While Note8 nails photo, it seems to struggle when it comes to shooting videos.
With a video sub-score of 84, it falls behind Pixel's 91 and iPhone 8 Plus' sub-score of 89. The Note8 offers good white balance and colour rendering, fast autofocus and exposure but lacks autofocus tracking in default mode. The video stabilisation is found to be good but not in the same league as its competition.
Samsung Galaxy Note8's numero uno position with iPhone 8 Plus will soon have new challenges in the form of Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. The smartphone will also face competition from iPhone X, which offers dual optical image stabilisation and Huawei's Mate 10, which is promising to offer improved imaging experience with Leica-branded lenses.