Optical image stabilization is a welcome update in the Google Pixel 2, but what's really impressive is that it can be used in tandem with electronic stabilization in video mode. If Google's demo at its launch event today is any indication, it's pretty darn effective and makes for super smooth clips that look like they were shot with a steadicam. While we've seen this in the traditional camera space in 1"-type compacts from Sony and Canon, as well as ILCs like the Canon M5 and Olympus E-M1 II, it's a first for smartphones.
We got a chance to see this same video in person; it was certainly impressive. We're eager to give it a try ourselves when we get our hands on a review unit.
Thumbs up for ois+eis implementation. I do feel the other video could have been shot slightly better, a doubt that will be allayed only when DPR or GSMArena check it out
This is nearly gimbal-like stabilization.. So, you buy a brand new 1600$-ish camera with ibis and stabilized lenses only to be overtaken (at least in terms of camera-shakiness) by a phone camera. You'll probably suggest that pixel 2 is an expensive phone and I'll agree but many features which were premium only a few years back, are now standard in many cheap chinese smartphones. So what I'm trying to say is that camera industry must implement much more tech in their devices if they are to keep pace with smartphones (even touchscreens are a rare feature on expensive cameras..). The appeal a portable do-it-all device is enough to sacrifice the difference in in sharpness, reproduction etc (which are getting better too). If camera companies don't change their policy they will only sell to pro photographers in a few years. I really don't want this to happen.
You are basing this opinion on one feature, and even with this, there is no direct comparison. The Pixel uses optical and electronic stabilization. The electronic stabilization always means there will be a tradeoff in image quality and/or resolution. And no, it's not "gimbal-like" stabilization. A gimbal doesn't really stabilize in the sense that a lens-based stabilization does. If you want to make a proper comparison, it would be a camera gyro that is used to stabilize a camera, and in this regard, a phone cannot compare.
Phones have come a long way in the last decade, who knows where they will be in another decade. We laugh at how big computers use to be, perhaps one day we'll laugh at how photographers use to have so much gear.
I'm a little annoyed this phone has better IS and video than my canon M6 I bought last month. And fits in a pocket, better internet etc. Not a bad tool in the arsenal!
Cameras for now have lenses to their advantage, but hey, now smartphones are coming up with bokeh and depth of field. But agree that consumer cameras really need to show how they will remain relevant.
History teaches us to not underestimate the smartphone.
Since this camera is the top rated camera on DXO, is this better than the RED Monster camera also posted? I can imagine since this is Google, they must of pulled out all the stops.
Unfortunately, the masses that are into their phones, and doing really stupid things, would do this in a heartbeat. They wouldn't even think passenger. This ad just promotes more brainless and stupid activity. Just more to talk about at the hospital or funeral.
Yes will affect entry/beginner devices. Cameras have to go smart. Mods haven't succeeded yet. but I think a capable photography mod by Sony/Nikon/Canon makes more sense than a plain old compact cameras, and the trend can definitely catch up. They should each launch & support at least one mod every 2 years or so. There is so much logic that supports mods. They can launch a joint venture on experimental basis. Might give them more profits than sale of all their compacts combined together, LOL!
Is the EIS anything more than a dynamically shifted crop? Maybe it would be possible to store the full sensor data and enable/disable the EIS during playback or export?
Royal Enfield bullet classic bike on the leh ladakh road - perfect bike and road to demo stabilization! Now I'll have to delay the D850 while I get the Pixel 2 :}
Leh Ladakh road in the Himalayas - the Royal Enfield bullet riders do regular bike trips to the top of the world. Must do trip if you like classic bikes, wild beautiful vistas and adventure riding!
There is no road called Leh-Ladakh road. Ladakh is the high mountain desert region in the Indian state of J&K. Leh is the administrative capital town of Ladakh region.
The famous road is Manali - Leh road that crosses over 3 passes over 18000 feet. Enfields are available for rent in Manali town( which is in the state of Himachal Pradesh and well connected my bus/cars from Delhi). Indian riders regularly self arrange this trip, but if you are a foreigner, it's probably better to go with an organised trip. Altitude sickness is real killer there
Not at all. North Indian states of Uttarakhand and Himachal have totally different landscapes (high mountains, green valleys). Only Ladakh and Spiti region (smaller version of Ladakh) have similar high altitude desert landscape. Nepal only has mustang region , but there are lots of restrictions there. Pakistan might have similar landscape, but I don't know about availability of bikes to ride those roads.
Also Ladakh and Spiti have beautiful Buddhist monasteries everywhere which you can not see in Pakistan.
Yes, some detail is lost but you are missing the "elephant in the room". The heavy camera shake has almost completely gone. If you are worried about looking for the details, use a big stabiliser rig and switch the phone's stabiliser off. Most people don't carry them around on motorbikes.
I would love a phone that could do this and I wouldn't get hung up in the pixel peeping. The essence of what was being filmed certainly wasn't lost on me.
I am not joking. The detail is not adequate. I assume the shutterspeed was high enough in bright sunlight (1/250 ?) to make 30 sharp images per second. Why is the road a big blur. No detail is there. The background looks artifically blurred, really ugly. The unsharp areas are not evenly distributed. The stabilized version is much more blurred than the original.
But i look with a 30 inch monitor here and is maybe the problem. I am sure on a tiny telephone schreen it looks good enought.
It is a MUST that a large amount of detail/resolution get lost with such aggressive Software-based IS
Not only does the phone have to crop the image sensor severely then upscale, and track each frame motion direction and amount, then compensate for it, but also present this data in REALTIME video feed at 30fps and compress it into H.264. All on a mobile phone processor.
It's not for those creating hollywood movies, just those who want to capture a watchable video on a bumpy ride, and view it on the web, on phones and tablets at maximum.
For those who want to use the Pixel for real filmmaking, Apps are available for manual control, LOG/Flat profiles, Ultimately high bit-rates, etc, to a 265GB-ready SD Card slot. EIS can be disabled in the main camera App settings too for OIS only video. Just like Canon's new EIS (but it doesn't lose anywhere near as much detail yet it doesn't stabilize such a bumpy road that aggressively)
Oh, you want it to be clear too!? Buy a Smooth Q ($140 Phone Gimbal).
I know you already know this, but a gimbal is always the best bet vs OIS or EIS. Even Gimbals have issues, so expecting software (on a phone CPU) to work perfectly is unrealistic. The test I'd be interested in is a Pixel on a Smooth Q while walking, and on the bike as in this test.
Gimbal plus OIS is typically the winner. EIS? Meh!
PS: Note that anyone reading these posts is heads above 99% of the kind of people that will buy this phone, and not appreciate much of anything said in this thread.
OMG, you guys are brutal. Perhaps everyone is forgetting this is a CELL PHONE! Optical quality on a STABILIZED video from a frign phone, be darned. It literally fits in your pocket and the lens is smaller than a pea. But...... WE DEMAND MORE!!!!!! We demand perfection! It must be flawless and be viewable from my personal IMAX theater with better resolution and dynamic range than a sensor 60x larger! This cracks me up.
OMG. this is so impressive. It's so good that seems like some kind of a April Fools joke. How is that even possible? Why do you wanna bother with a camera for any web use anymore or even some light commercial work. Bravo!
It's a Sony sensor. If you remember Samsung had the Galaxy NX mirrorless camera, but that was mostly undone by it's high cost(something like $1500 new).
Samsung NX500 was the highest rated APSC sensor on DxO (tied with D7200) and highest resolution (still is) with best UI (and best touch UI) but that didn't help it sell... So, no more Samsung NX.
@Just Another... Anything putting them in a position where they have to choose between one or the other? Because if you haven't noticed Samsung are not making phones only. My refrigerator is Samsung, for god's sake.
@Petak: That was actually what I meant. In the camera market it's actually hard to be the underdog and just release a good camera. While the NX-1 was a very nice camera, their prices and lens selection was miserable.
In this particular case I’d prefer something in between the unstabilized and stabilized video though. I think something intermediate would leave the video with a better feel for the bumpy road than the smooth version.
Yeah I noticed that. I wonder if it only kicks in when filming videos, with EIS kicking in only when you view the finished product (since that needs a lot of computation). We'll have to check. I bet the app they were using for the stickers had all stabilization turned off, since it's computationally intensive?
Sony released a cell phone sized sensor, IMX318 i think, a while ago that has a SoC attached to it for EIS. It most likely is either a feature of the sensor, or qualcomm's SoC.
I seriously doubt that they use EIS after the frame was recorded, I'll bet you that they are using gyro data in real time to select the part of the sensor they are sampling for every frame.
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