Google Pixel smartphones have some of the best and most consistent cameras among flagship smartphones. The Google Pixel 9 Pro won Android Police’s 2024 Readers’ Choice Phone award thanks to its new design, improved performance, incredible cameras, and compact form. I put the Google Pixel 9 Pro against Oppo’s new flagship, the Find X8 Pro, to see how it compares.
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A detailed look at camera hardware
A closer look at what powers these camera systems
Before diving into the photo comparisons, let’s quickly go through the camera hardware on these flagship Android smartphones. The Oppo Find X8 Pro ships with a 50MP primary camera with an f/1.6 aperture, multi-directional PDAF, and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). It also includes two periscope telephoto sensors: a 50MP for 3x optical zoom and a 50MP for 6x optical zoom. It also has a 50MP ultra-wide sensor offering a 120-degree field of view (FoV).
The Pixel 9 Pro has a single 48MP telephoto sensor with 5x optical zoom, a 50MP primary camera with an f/1.7 aperture, dual-pixel PDAF, OIS, and a 48MP ultra-wide lens with a 123-degree FoV. While the Find X8 Pro provides two zoom sensors, the Pixel relies on a single 5x optical zoom sensor. Both phones can crop from the primary sensor to produce 2x optical zoom shots.
Testing rear cameras in real-life settings
How each phone performs in everyday scenarios
This camera comparison focuses on shots from the rear cameras of both phones, not the front-facing selfie cameras. All photos were taken in point-and-shoot mode, with no tweaks, to mimic how most people capture photos. Pro mode wasn’t used on either phone, though I found the side camera button on the Find X8 Pro useful for quickly launching the camera app (though I didn’t use it much for capturing shots).
The Oppo Find X8 Pro’s photos appear first (the left image in the gallery), followed by the Google Pixel 9 Pro (the right image, which is second in the gallery).
Color science and HDR: Vibrant vs. balanced tones
In daylight shots, the Oppo Find X8 Pro delivers the familiar punchiness and vibrance typical of many Chinese OEM phones, while the Pixel 9 Pro sticks to its realistic style with subdued, natural-looking processing.
For example, in the shot above of candles at a Christmas market, the Find X8 Pro captures a vibrant image with sharp textures and vividly popping glitter. However, the brightness is slightly high, and some finer shadow details are lost. The Pixel 9 Pro offers a subdued approach, with toned-down colors and cooler processing. The Find X8 Pro will appeal to those who prefer vibrant photos, while the Pixel 9 Pro will appeal to those who prefer real-life-like-looking processing.
The same can be seen in images of the Christmas-themed market stall and Hamleys storefront. The Find X8 Pro captures lively, punchy colors, while the Pixel 9 Pro leans towards balance and natural tones. In the stall shot, the Find X8 Pro produces a more vivid image without being overly exposed, whereas the Pixel 9 Pro, though sharp, feels slightly muted, losing the festive vibe.
On the other hand, the shot of the Hamleys storefront shows that the Find X8 Pro makes colors pop more but slightly overexposes the scene, with a white balance that seems slightly off. In contrast, the Pixel 9 Pro handles shadows and highlights better, avoiding overexposure (check the “Est. London 1760” label below the store name).
A similar theme is evident in a postcard shot taken at a bustling café. While both phones capture sharp, crisp details, the Find X8 Pro’s shot features saturated colors, giving the image a vibrant vibe. The Pixel 9 Pro sticks to its subdued color profile, maintaining its natural look. Both images feature a strong, natural bokeh effect, isolating the subject effectively from the background, but it comes down to your preference for color processing.
Portrait: Vivid colors vs. realistic look
Both phones take a different approach, as shown in the portrait shots. The Find X8 Pro delivers vibrant, warmer tones with exceptional subject sharpness. However, it leans toward an overly blurred bokeh effect, which can feel slightly overprocessed in certain areas.
The Pixel 9 Pro adopts a more natural look, with muted tones and smoother transitions in background blur. Skin tones appear cooler, and the processing is softer, contributing to a realistic feel of the scene. The Pixel 9 Pro also performs better at handling finer details, such as the subject’s edges. For example, the right ear is more accurately processed than on the Find X8 Pro.
Ultra-wide: Sharpness vs. natural tones
The Google Pixel 9 Pro offers a wider FoV, which is evident in the ultra-wide comparison above. From the same point, the Pixel 9 Pro captures more of the scene than the Find X8 Pro. As for the image, the Find X8 Pro applies slightly warmer processing with impressive dynamic range, balancing bright skies and darker building areas. However, the image feels a bit oversharpened.
The Pixel 9 Pro adopts a softer approach with less aggressive sharpening (especially noticeable in the building’s front tiles) and more natural colors, particularly in greens. Still, the sky in the Pixel 9 Pro shot appears washed out in the upper-left corner compared to the Find X8 Pro’s image.
Low-light: Better noise control vs. brighter tones
Low-light photography has historically been a strong point for Google Pixels, thanks to Night Sight processing, but here things get interesting. The Find X8 Pro captures a nighttime street scene with well-balanced exposure, highlighting building lighting, advertisement boards, and reflections on the ground. The vibrant tones and HDR processing are commendable, though some areas have a slight oversharpening.
The Pixel 9 Pro slightly overexposes the scene (likely due to a longer Night Sight exposure), losing some building lighting details and creating overly bright shadows. The sky also appears somewhat overexposed, and the image lacks the vibrant pop shown in the Find X8 Pro’s shot.
Things get more interesting with the 5x (Pixel 9 Pro) and 6x (Find X8 Pro) zoom shots of a dome-lit building. The Find X8 Pro accurately captures warm orange tones and architectural details under artificial lighting, with minimal halo effects around the domes.
The Pixel 9 Pro overprocesses the shot, producing deeper shadows that add drama but result in slight oversharpening and a more pronounced halo effect around the building.
In the shots of the shelf and bar, the Find X8 Pro brightens the frame with vibrant tones, while the Pixel 9 Pro opts for controlled highlights, deeper contrasts, and slightly muted warmth.
A clear difference lies in how the two phones handle light. The Find X8 Pro softens the light source below the shelves, spreading it gently, while the Pixel 9 Pro contains it more effectively, adding a dramatic feel. This approach allows the Pixel 9 Pro to capture certain details better, such as the hanging wine glass rack and the stone wall texture.
The Pixel 9 Pro excels at handling exposure in low-light shots, creating a realistic and balanced scene. The Find X8 Pro brightens the frame, delivering a vibrant result that will appeal to those who prefer livelier esthetics.
Pixel 9 Pro vs. Oppo Find X8 Pro: Which phone clicks better pictures?
Which flagship smartphone takes the crown?
Deciding which flagship clicks better pictures depends on your personal preference. The Pixel 9 Pro leans toward realism and natural tones, while the Find X8 Pro excels at bright, vivid, and punchy images. The Find X8 Pro performs exceptionally in very low light scenarios, while the Pixel 9 Pro occasionally over-processes and brightens shots but handles artificial lighting better.
Both phones ship with feature-rich photo-editing tools and AI features, allowing you to refine shots after they are captured. Even if your initial results fall short of your expectations, these tools make it easy to achieve the desired look.
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Google Pixel 9 Pro
The Pixel 9 Pro is a new addition to Google’s lineup, slotting in as a smaller premium flagship to pair with the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The latter is the direct successor to 2023’s Pixel 8 Pro despite its new XL moniker, whereas the Pixel 9 Pro brings a new form-factor to Google’s high-end offerings, sporting the same dimensions as the standard Pixel 9 model while packing all the AI and camera prowess we’ve grown accustomed to from Google’s Pro lineup.
