In good light conditions a Google phone is aa poin and shoot camera that outperforms the P20 Pro. In low-light conditions no point and shoot exists that can compete with the P20 Pro wide angle camera (stills) except the Huawei P20. Don't trust people who mention an Rx100 or something like that. When you just want to point and shoot, an Rx100 will deliver far worse results due to physics and due to worse image processing. People who just think that 1" sensor means better image quality are very wrong and I am surprised that so many people are uneducated.
I don't have an RX100 but I do have a new (less than a week old) Canon refurb G7X Mk II that has a 1" sensor (20 megapixels) and I've been extensively testing it against my other cameras the past few days. (And previously against my Canon S45, S100, G15, 300D, T2i, 60D, 6D, M, M6, M50.) And against Topaz A.I. Gigapixel upsizing.
I have a Pixel 2. I don't have any experience with the P20 Pro.
I agree with noisephotographer (based on the cameras I have) At the same focal length my Pixel 2 generally has better image quality than the G7XII. The main advantage the G7XII has is that it has optical zoom. The Pixel 2's zoom-by-cropping falls down horrible at 3X zoom compared to real optical zoom.
I say "generally" because a lot depends on light conditions. In full sunlight there are a lot of differences based on lenses and how they handle very wide dynamic range. If the scene's dynamic range is limited then there are different results. As does lens quality (in the case of ILCs.) etc., etc. There are a lot of variables. "Generally" covers a lot of ground. I can cherry pick results to support any "which is better" assertions (for a single comparison.)
I have previously posted my comparisons in my
Pixel 2 vs. my Canon S100, and my
Pixel 2 vs. my Canon EOS-M6 threads. (Both Canon cameras were shot in raw and I needed CC 2018 ACR to wring Pixel 2 parity (in the case of the M6, not so much for the S100) out of the Canon sensors. OTC Canon images flunked horribly.) None of my more recent comparisons has changed my opinions expressed in those threads.
But so long as I'm not doing insane (for most purposes) upsizing, the Pixel 2 beats any camera I have up to APS-C. At the same focal length.
Quoting DPReview, the Pixel 2's
sensor can often behave like one nine times its size (approaching Micro 4/3). Period. Full stop. In my case, substitute the M6's APS-C sensor. (I don't have any Micro 4/3 equipment.) And "often" means almost always.
When I get back to my new GX7II's 1" sensor, I get discouraged about it. I'm keeping it because it it and my Pixel 2 gives my jacket pocket portability (fall is coming in the US Northeast) and I can use the GX7II for when I need zoom. If I feel like taking a camera bag, then my M kit has Pixel 2 parity at the same focal length (only with PPed raw files), but a lot more zoom and wide capability (3 M bodies with 10-18mm, 15-45mm, and 55-200mm lenses mounted) And somewhat more resolution. (Pixel 2 is 12 megapixels. My newer Ms are 24 megapixels. 2X 12 megapixels is 48 megapixels. 300D is 6 megapixels. 2X 6 megapixels is 16 megapixels. S45 is 4 megapixels... A.I. Gigapixel is also changing things.)
The only bright side (for my camera investment) in my comparisons is that Pixel 2 images don't fare well with A.I. Gigapixel upsizing. My other cameras upsize a lot better. Google's computational photography falls down at pixel level sharpness. Upsizing to 96 megapixels uncovers a lot of badness. But 4K monitors/TVs are eight megapixels. What are our use cases for displaying images these days?
At native resolutions (i.e., not attempting to make mural sized prints) the Pixel 2 beats my G7XII (and my other P&Ss) at the same focal length. It is only when I use optical zoom where the G7XII (and my other P&Ss) pulls ahead. It has parity with my APS-C cameras at the same focal length.
If the camera industry would implement Pixel 2 level computational photography then this would change. But they aren't and it doesn't look like they are going to in the foreseeable future.
As of right now, you need either a sensor >= to APS-C and optical zoom to truly beat the Pixel 2.
Wayne
p.s., This post is long and I haven't touched ISO, noise levels, FPS and a lot of other "but what about...?" issues. Sorry. I covered aspects that are important for my own use case.
