Still Image Capture, iPhone 4 v. DROID X (Updated)
Last Friday, we published a very basic comparison of the iPhone 4 and DROID X 720p video capture modes. Some of you agreed with our assessment of which video camera performed better, and some of you did not. What several commenters did ask for was a comparison between the still cameras in the DROID X and the iPhone 4…and we thought it would be kind to oblige you. The DROID X is, by default, shooting in the 16:9 aspect ratio with an 8 megapixel, mechanical-shutter camera, while the iPhone 4 is shooting in 4:3 with its 5 MP non-mechanical offering. We took stills of four different objects in three different light settings with each camera. The DROID X’s settings were left on “Automatic” (as that is the default) and the iPhone 4…well, it doesn’t have any settings to muck with. The images were all re-sized using Adobe Photoshop CS5, we simply changed the image width to 641 pixels (to fit in our blog column) and allowed the height to automatically adjust to keep the aspect ratio in-tact. The images were then saved without any JPEG compression, degradation, or optimization. Let us know which camera you think performed better in the comments.
UPDATE: As we mentioned in the post we did not change any of the default settings the DROID X was using when taking these photos. Thanks to an astute commenter, it was brought to our attention that the DROID X defaults to shooting in 6 megapixel mode and not the full 8 megapixels. As you may have noticed the tomatoes were a bit ripe when we took the images last Friday, so they are no longer with us. The glass candies, soapstone knot, and soccer ball managed to survive the weekend. We’ve added some 8 megapixel DROID X shots and re-labeled the images for re-evaluation.
UPDATE 2: We were going to save this for our official review but we figure now is a good a time as any to air this out. We’re finding it very hard to take quality shots with the DROID X on the first try. We think what the issue may be is camera-shake that inevitably has to occur while pushing down the dedicated camera button to take a picture (there is no soft-key on the screen to press). Some of these DROID X shots were taken two or three times before we got one that was not blurry, the iPhone only needed one shot to get the images you see. It is unclear whether this can be fixed with a software update or if you just need a really, really steady hand. We’ll be interested to know what you think once you have the device in your hands.
DROID X Sunlight (6 megapixel)
iPhone 4 Sunlight
DROID X Sunlight (6 megapixel)
DROID X Sunlight (8 megapixel)
iPhone 4 Sunlight
DROID X Sunlight (6 megapixel)
DROID X Sunlight (8 megapixel)
iPhone 4 Sunlight
DROID X Sunlight (6 megapixel)
DROID X Sunlight (8 megapixel)
iPhone 4 Sunlight
DROID X Shade (6 megapixel)
DROID X Shade (8 megapixel)
iPhone 4 Shade
DROID X Shade (6 megapixel)
DROID X Shade (8 megapixel)
iPhone 4 Shade
DROID X Shade (6 megapixel)
iPhone 4 Shade
DROID X Shade (6 megapixel)
DROID X Shade (8 megapixel)
iPhone 4 Shade
DROID X Indoors (6 megapixel)
DROID X Indoors (8 megapixel)
iPhone 4 Indoors
DROID X Indoors (6 megapixel)
DROID X Indoors (8 megapixel)
iPhone 4 Indoors
DROID X Indoors (6 megapixel)
DROID X Indoors (8 megapixel)
iPhone 4 Indoors
Huh … what type of test is this when some of the photos taken in “sunlight” were taken in Shade … which completely changes the Contrast and White Balance, rendering those comparisons inaccurate
I appreciate the comparative shots, but I’m baffled why you had to move the subjects, or take the pictures from radically different positions between shots. It makes it very hard to really discern the subtle differences. It also would have been very helpful to include full scale files, in order to compare details.
I’m not sure what to conclude here, except to have the vague notion that the Droid X and the Apple appear to be roughly equivalent in their picture taking abilities under good lighting conditions.
I do think your comment about possible jittering of the camera during exposure. I’ve seen examples that show very sharp, and others that are distinctly marginal, and they seem to mostly follow the operator. I don’t know if that is good or bad news, but perhaps with practice, or with software improvements, that vulnerability can be eliminated.
Liked.
+6
Wow at all of you saing the Iphone wins. Are you all too stupid enough to read first. It says the Droids settings were untouched. It would have been more fair to adjust the Droids settings for best possible picture vs Iphones (non existent settings) which is ultimately there best pictures
I think maybe you forgot to take the clear protective plastic off of the Droid camera.
I think the point is, that 99% of users are going to pull the phone out of the box and take pictures, which does make this a reasonably valid comparison. This was not intended or described to be a laboratory level test. That said for those 99% of users, the iPhone4 with it’s lower megapixel camera, general produced sharper, more discernable images, as an out-of-the-box, point and shoot device. I wish it weren’t so, as I’m a Verizon customer.
i have a Milestone and the camera is really Bad, Can’t take a simple picture of a document.
clean the lens then retake the shots.
i agree, this totally inaccurate. they are even taken at different angles and different spots. some of the sunlight pics are don’t even have shadows so there must have been clouds. the distance to the objects. there are a lot of things that factor in a picture. get rid of the variables and try again.
i take better pics with a physical button (like a real camera) as i tend to wiggle the phone to touch the on screen icon. just press and hold the button till the photo has been capture. then release.
You guys are crazy! The Iphone has a much better lens and sensor therefor will take better pictures. Your comments about the Droid MP are amusing its like trying to compare a 15.2 mp point and shoot to a Canon 40d 10mp stating that the 5 mp increase will the picture quality. All mp are good for is the size of the picture and with that the Droid X will simply give you larger crap pictures than that of the Iphone 4
Hi there, just a small question, which is not related to this post, but will the Droid x work with other carriers than verizon, because I would like to make it work with a carrier based in switzerland
It looks like there are finger smudges on the lense. the picture of the soccer ball had the halo effect. make sure the lense is clean and fingerprint free.
As many of your previous readers have said, this is a very unfair evaluation. Besides the differences in mp, the Droid X has far more options for the camera. The iPhone is basically a point and shoot.. You’ve basically compared a high-end Nikon with a Walgreens disposable..
and the disposable won… 8mp is a great selling point, but it doesnt seem to mean much…
As a photographer/enthusiast, I’ve found that MP is the most unreliable measure of camera quality. I’ve seen properly tuned 3 MP cameras beat the pants off 10 MP models – and cameras with the exact same hardware spit out entirely different images because of the algorithms which do internal rendering.The reason I believe the iPhone could be a better camera (and I don’t know because I don’t have one) would be the pixel-pitch (better/larger than the Droid X by half a micrometer), and the aperture (f-number) which is also better. I read it also has an internal illumination sensor or what they call the “back-light illumination sensor.” Thats a piece you usually find on high-end real cameras and SLR’s to calibrate photos based on real-world-black . To that end I could understand the iPhone taking sharper, quieter and more saturated images. I think its ironic however that they’ve thought this much about the camera and have invested as much in the technology but don’t allow the user to change camera settings. For that reason I don’t think the pictures are as good as they could be.
Liked.
+5
I have to agree with Ryan. MP is not a measure of quality at all.
To prove my point, here’s a picture I took using a Motorola V3X 2MP phone I had over 3 years ago. (The phone’s long dead of course, before I switched to a smartphone)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdceniza/505469500/in/set-72157604444708743/
I used the macro and chrome setting. This picture is unedited. I’d say lighting plays a huge part.
cool
It’s amazing how badly iPhone 4 sucks. Apple Fanboys will defend it until the end of time however. I will freely note first off that I have the 3GS, and I bought the 4. I returned it and went back to my current 3GS. It was that bad. It’s hilarious to me what Apple fanboys are saying in forums and blogs all across the web, defending this thing like it’s some sacred gem, pretending all its issues don’t even exist. Ridiculous. Check out the video I made on YouTube about “An Apple Fanboy’s take on Life…”. It’s at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPcQ-cYg8iA
In this comparison, all of the iPhone photos look better.
However, it’s obvious your lens was smudged on the DX. I have a DX and my photos don’t show any of the halos and fogginess in your photos, mine are sharp and clear inside and out. Also, as many have noted, the various shooting modes on the DX are *very* good and each one has a different white balance.
I would hazard a guess that a person who knew how to use the DX settings properly should get photos comparable to the iPhone 4.
In your review you mention how it is difficult to take a photo without shaking the camera. The DX has an anti-shake mode – it’s a shame you didn’t use that for comparison. Of course, for people who are used to real cameras, the dedicated shutter button which allows you to hold the DX just like a real camera is a bonus. Hold the camera with your arms in an upside-down “V” braced against your chest, take a breath and exhale half of it and take the shot. This is good practice for any camera.
Lastly, if you shot the DX in totally default mode, the shutter is set to have a 2 second lag when pressing. You can go into the options and set this to 0 and the shutter is much more responsive.
I realize this review was written to try and keep apples and apples (heh), but the fact is the DX is much more flexible than the iPhone and it would be nice if you would try some of the options for comparison. For example, do a sunset shot and use the DX’s sunset mode. Do some macro mode shots, the DX has an excellent macro mode.
Thanks for the review,
John
Oh, and one more thing; Verizon just pushed out a software update to the DX which made the camera more responsive. I tried it out this morning and while not hugely different, it does seem smoother and more responsive when pushing the shutter.
Change the settions=>Review Time to zero and try it out — I think you’ll get more keepers the first time.
thanks,
John
U said the droid x was 6 mp wrong. The droid x has 8 mp and it’s camera. Dummy
What he said is the Droid X defaults to 6 mp which is true; when you get the Droid X you have to change it to 8 mp in camera settings.
Droid owners are feeling the pain of their shotty camera and just can’t help themselves but point the finger elsewhere. Why would BGR lie? What would they gain from photoshopping the iPhone pictures?
I had a Droid Incredible and now I have the iPhone 4, it was blatantly obvious that the iPhone took better pictures. Can’t being on the better network be enough to satisfy Droid lovers?
After reading the comments, I went back and noticed the backgrounds and lighting were different. The subject was “staged” leading me to believe the comparison is inaccurate. My conclusion is both take good on the spot pictures. This is not a digital SLR like many of the cameras used by professionals.
I find it hilarious that Android Fanboys can’t accept that Apple has clearly beaten their precious phones. Every time a report comes out that paints the iPhone in a better light, something was staged, or the conditions were right.
Grow up, accept the fact that the iPhone is better than your precious Droid and move on with your life.
Oh but wait, when someone posts an article that says Android is better, we’re just supposed to accept it at face value and not question it, right?
/facepalm
iPhone is clearly better for people who don’t like to tinker. The camera is a good example-yes, it takes slightly better snaps when used as an automatic camera, but someone who is willing to learn a bit about photography (and change a few settings as appropriate) can shoot some seriously good pics on DX.
Keep in mind that an automatic point and shoot “real” camera will do better than a higher-end camera on “default” settings. But yes, for those who know nothing about photography and don’t want to know, iPhone is a clear win.
Droid Rage