Nothing Phone (2) VS Google Pixel 7a Camera Face-Off | Tom's Guide

  • 9 months ago
The Nothing Phone (2) is a stylish Android phone with a unique Glyph Interface lighting system. It's been upgraded with a new Sony IMX890 sensor, along with a couple of post processing tricks.
However, it's going to need to match the Google Pixel 7a's camera performance if it stands a chance in our camera face-off.
Transcript
00:00 So, the Nothing Phone 2 was just announced.
00:03 It's available right now and it's big news because it's coming here to the US, which
00:07 is important because last year the Nothing Phone 1 was only available overseas.
00:12 The Nothing Phone 2's biggest rival is without a doubt the Google Pixel 7a because they're
00:17 both mid-range phones.
00:18 They're very close in terms of the size, the audience that they're going after.
00:21 They're priced similarly.
00:22 The Pixel 7a is $500 while the Nothing Phone 2 is $600.
00:26 Of course, everyone knows that Google is great and phenomenal when it comes to its cameras
00:31 and the 7a is no different.
00:32 So I'm going to be checking it out along with the Nothing Phone 2 with its new set of cameras
00:37 to see how they stack up against one another.
00:44 When the Nothing Phone 1 was released last year, it was a big attention grabber because
00:47 of its transparent design, of course the glyphs, the lighting system.
00:50 It was great that you could use it for different notifications.
00:53 You could personalize it.
00:55 However, it was really underwhelming with its camera.
00:58 It just wasn't great for low light.
00:59 The photos it took were pale, washed out compared to some of the others out there.
01:03 Now with the Nothing Phone 2, they've actually upgraded the cameras.
01:06 It's still a 50 megapixel main camera.
01:08 You have a 50 megapixel wide camera, but it uses the new Sony IMX890 sensor.
01:13 So hopefully it's going to perform a lot better, especially in low light.
01:17 But with the Pixel 7a, it's a 64 megapixel main camera, 13 megapixel wide angle camera,
01:23 and it has some exclusive features that you'll only find on Pixel, like magic eraser and
01:27 photo on blur.
01:28 Knowing all that, I'm kind of curious about how well these new cameras perform in the
01:31 Nothing Phone 2.
01:32 So I'm going to take it out on the road, take a bunch of photos, and compare the shots against
01:37 the Pixel 7a.
01:39 The first thing that strikes me is just the larger screen.
01:42 It actually looks a lot like the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
01:45 I put it side by side, and at first I thought it was the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
01:50 So it's a 6.7 inch OLED display, and it looks nice.
01:55 So one of the most important things is having a great main camera that's your go-to camera
02:03 for everything, everyday situations, whether it's taking landscapes, you want to make sure
02:07 that captures great details and has excellent dynamic range.
02:10 Because the last thing you want is for the main camera to have the highlights blown out
02:14 when you're taking a photo like this on a sunny day.
02:16 So here's that first shot, and at first they look almost identical, but the Nothing Phone
02:25 2 tends to produce warmer looking colors.
02:27 It's not bad, depending on your taste, but the Pixel 7a definitely has more details.
02:32 I notice it especially with the sign on the left.
02:35 When I punch in, I can read the text a lot more.
02:37 It's sharper and clearer.
02:41 Up next, I'm going to talk about the portrait mode on both cameras.
02:44 Now I checked it out here on the Nothing Phone 2.
02:46 It only uses the main camera.
02:48 There is a slider where you can adjust the aperture so you can go really wide or very
02:51 narrow, and of course there's all the post-processing it does to apply it.
02:55 There's only one camera that does it all, whereas with the Pixel 7a, you get the option
02:58 to punch in up to two times.
03:00 It still uses that regular main camera, but there's no option from the camera app to adjust
03:05 the aperture.
03:06 It just does it all on its own.
03:08 To me, I like the Pixel 7a a lot more because it's realistic looking compared to the Nothing
03:13 Phone 2, even though it has a tighter crop when you actually take the photo.
03:17 I just like how it just adds that perfect amount of bokeh, whereas with the Nothing
03:22 Phone 2, I know you could dial back down the bokeh, but it just doesn't look real.
03:27 It looks a little bit too artificial.
03:29 People love taking selfies, so here on the Nothing Phone 2, it's a 32 megapixel camera.
03:35 Using the app, you actually have the option to do also portrait.
03:38 You have the slider here as well where you can actually adjust the aperture so you can
03:41 get just the amount of bokeh to the background.
03:44 With the Pixel 7a, you also have the option for portrait mode, but there's no slider with
03:49 it.
03:50 It's a tough call here with selfies because I do like how there's more detail with the
03:54 Nothing Phone 2's front-facing camera, but on the other hand, the Pixel 7a does a better
03:59 job of handling dynamic range, and it's also wider with the front-facing camera, so you'll
04:04 be able to capture more of yourself.
04:07 So another thing you want to think about is the ultra-wide camera.
04:10 You'll find it in today's phones, even mid-rangers, and it's important because you're going to
04:14 be able to capture more of the scene.
04:16 For example, a scenery like this where you have landscape, also wonderful if you're taking
04:21 a group shot with people in it so they don't have to be all scrunched up.
04:25 They can be just in one area, and you'll capture everyone perfectly.
04:28 So the ultra-wide camera here on the Nothing Phone 2 is a 50 megapixel camera with a 114
04:35 degree field of view, so you'll be able to get more of the shot into the scene.
04:38 Over here on the Pixel 7a, it actually has a wider field of view.
04:43 It's a 120 degree field of view, so you're going to get more of the scene with the wide-angle
04:47 camera.
04:48 Just like the main cameras, I'm liking the Pixel 7a's ultra-wide camera more in the shot,
04:54 especially because it covers more of the scene.
04:56 You can see it on the sides with the buildings, but on top of that, it handles dynamic range
05:00 a little bit better.
05:01 I can see in the shadows where you can see more of the details.
05:04 [Music]
05:16 While it's pretty obvious which phone does better when it comes to low-light photography,
05:20 it's the Pixel 7a.
05:22 Night Sight mode just makes it a lot brighter.
05:24 It draws out more of the details.
05:26 You can see it in the leaves in the tree.
05:28 Versus the Nothing Phone 2, it's dark, and it's not properly exposed.
05:32 Finally, there's video recording.
05:34 With the Nothing Phone 2, it tops out at 4K 60 frames per second.
05:38 Same thing here on the Pixel 7a, but I will tell you, if you want to use the wide-angle
05:41 here with the Pixel 7a, you've got to switch it down to 1080p.
05:45 You have the option to use the wide-angle with the Nothing Phone 2 at the full resolution.
05:50 [Music]
05:53 This one's a close race because when you look at both videos, they handle stabilization
05:59 pretty well.
06:00 But I do notice some micro jitters on the Nothing Phone 2.
06:03 It's not terrible, but side-by-side against the Pixel 7a, it does stand out a little bit,
06:09 and that's why I'm going to give it to the Pixel 7a.
06:13 So there you go, guys.
06:14 Let me know what you think about the photos in the comments below.
06:17 Which one did you like better when it came to taking portrait shots, low-light photography?
06:20 I'm going to be testing out more, so you can check out my full review over at Tom's Guide.com.
06:25 Check us out on social @TomsGuide.
06:27 You'll find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
06:31 I'm John B., and I'll see you in my next video.
06:33 Yeah.