Well, the good reviews are nice, I guess, but I don’t trust CR reviews on any sort of technology, so the iPhone getting a good review is still pretty much meaningless to me.
We need to see how CR conducted their reviews, because I call BS. How many phones did they actually test, and by what manufacturers?
CR has got to the stage where it does not really have any credibility. So an 8 has a better camera has an 8 plus? And where is the Pixel 2XL? Isn’t supposed to have the best camera ATM? Even though at this point between these flagship phones, it is really splitting hairs and how the reviewer feels that day.
And of course, this CR reports is released just after the galaxy 9 with its apparently spiffy camera, instead of logically waiting to see how it does.
We need to see how CR conducted their reviews, because I call BS. How many phones did they actually test, and by what manufacturers?
CR has got to the stage where it does not really have any credibility. So an 8 has a better camera has an 8 plus? And where is the Pixel 2XL? Isn’t supposed to have the best camera ATM? Even though at this point between these flagship phones, it is really splitting hairs and how the reviewer feels that day.
And of course, this CR reports is released just after the galaxy 9 with its apparently spiffy camera, instead of logically waiting to see how it does.
It's all explainable if you think that clicks is what they're going for and not integrity. The Iphone X may or may not be the best, but it is not CR which will tell you, or DXO, whose own testing has been under fire for years in the photography community.
Yeah, smartphone photo is pretty close, where Apple gains is how quick it is to go take your phone out and take a usable shot of various things. That's basically never measured anywhere and it's the reason for existing of those smart phone cameras.
I'm pretty sure that Consumer Reports was once a valuable resource for people deciding what to buy.
In any case, these days, they are only relevant because of their past. I treat their reviews at about the same level as a blogger I've never heard of. I'll read the review, but I won't rely on it.
Good point. What's funny is that when I am considering something I always go to Amazon first and read their reviews. Even if I am in a store, pull up Amazon. Very little chance I'll buy it on Amazon if I'm at the store (unless the savings are absurd) but when I want reviews I want to know how average spares like me would use the product. Way more useful than waiting on a company to do a review under their scenarios.
I subscribe to CM and find it to be a very useful publication in many areas (food, home appliances, insurance, household goods, etc) but for electronics I take it with a grain of salt. I'd much rather read customer reviews on Amazon and Best Buy before I trust CM. I recently purchased a new washer and dryer and CM was my go-to for starting my research on what to buy. After reading their reviews on a specific Maytag model that received high marks, I then went to several web sites and read consumer reviews and ratings, all of which confirmed this was a solid unit to buy. 4 months in and I'm very happy with my new appliances. CM got the ball rolling and helped me narrow down a good unit out of hundreds available. So they have their place, but they're not the all-encompassing source for finding out about products.
I'm editor of a weekly newspaper and have a Nikon Coolpix B500 as work camera. It does great in good lighting, shoots quickly, and has 40x optical zoom.
In poor lighting, it's a disaster. I was taking pics of Christmas parade last year and realized it was hopeless, and used 5S to shoot rest of parade. They pics were usable but not stellar.
Bought a X and had high hopes. The camera features are fairly astounding, including the optical zoom, but it seems that action shots in poor lighting aren't great; doesn't seem to freeze the action even with flash, and the flash makes things look weird sometimes. I have yet to test it under many conditions, but it has managed to impress and disappoint at the same time. Mayhap I expected more of a leap after advancing five models up the product line.
Those edge cases are the reason why actual real cameras exists, physics limits what the cameras on those smart phones can do.
As an iPhone owner...Any best smartphone camera list that doesn't include the Pixel 2 is a joke. This not only doesn't rank it best but doesn't rank it at all, and I just can't believe it doesn't make the cut from everything else we've seen. CRs name was already in shambles.
Since this article references the slapdash CR review of the HomePod, I’ll ask here: whatever became of the proposed meeting between CR and AI to discuss that review (and its inherent problems with methodology)?
Still going back and forth as far as I am aware. I am not the one who will be going as I am in VA, and they are in NY.
They have still yet to answer my questions that I posed, however.
Thanks for the shout out. We would still welcome AI over. Happy to answer questions face to face.
Since this article references the slapdash CR review of the HomePod, I’ll ask here: whatever became of the proposed meeting between CR and AI to discuss that review (and its inherent problems with methodology)?
Still going back and forth as far as I am aware. I am not the one who will be going as I am in VA, and they are in NY.
They have still yet to answer my questions that I posed, however.
Thanks for the shoutout. We would love for AI to come over. Happy to answer your questions in person.
Sorry but I don’t agree with these findings. I have an 8 Plus, which has some great camera features but I find doesn't use enough pixel sharpening. Magnify an 8 Plus photo and the details are more akin to a water painting than a photograph! Also low-light noise on videos is appalling! My old 5S faired much better.
Comments
So an 8 has a better camera has an 8 plus? And where is the Pixel 2XL? Isn’t supposed to have the best camera ATM? Even though at this point between these flagship phones, it is really splitting hairs and how the reviewer feels that day.
And of course, this CR reports is released just after the galaxy 9 with its apparently spiffy camera, instead of logically waiting to see how it does.
The Iphone X may or may not be the best, but it is not CR which will tell you, or DXO, whose own testing has been under fire for years in the photography community.
Yeah, smartphone photo is pretty close, where Apple gains is how quick it is to go take your phone out and take a usable shot of various things. That's basically never measured anywhere and it's the reason for existing of those smart phone cameras.
I recently purchased a new washer and dryer and CM was my go-to for starting my research on what to buy. After reading their reviews on a specific Maytag model that received high marks, I then went to several web sites and read consumer reviews and ratings, all of which confirmed this was a solid unit to buy. 4 months in and I'm very happy with my new appliances. CM got the ball rolling and helped me narrow down a good unit out of hundreds available.
So they have their place, but they're not the all-encompassing source for finding out about products.