Pixel 3 vs Fuijifilm X-E3 on a sunny day

I recently bought a Google Pixel 3 which, as I mentioned in a previous post, is one of the best cameraphone of 2018. So obviously I wanted to compare its photos with the ones taken with my Fujifilm X-E3. Also I wanted to compare it on a typical use, on the go. That's why on my last vacation in Australia, I tried to take a picture with both devices so I could compare pictures taken like a casual photographer would do in that situation. No tripods or special accessories have been involved.

The X-E3 was paired with Fujifilm's XC15-45 lens. It's not their best lens but it's a fine wide angle lens that has optical image stabilization. Also, at only 135g, it is perfect for traveling. With a camera and lens under 500g, you are not too encumbered by having it around your neck or in your bag all day.

So here is the first pictures I took with both devices:

Fujifilm X-E3, 15.0 mm, ƒ/3.5, 1/4000, 200 ISO

Pixel 3, 4.4 mm, ƒ/1.8, 1/5882, 74 ISO

What is immediately noticeable is the color difference of the sky. I'm not able to recall which color is more like the one my eyes witnessed that day but overall I tend to prefer the Pixel's color on this photo. We can also notice that there is more of the environment in the X-E3's picture. That's because of the wide angle lens I used on the X-E3. The buildings on the X-E3's background are a bit blurry as I made the focus on the signs and used a large aperture: it's the bokeh effect. The Pixel 3 probably would have to simulate it with the Portrait Mode to get the same effect.

Now let's zoom on those pictures:

Fujifilm X-E3

Pixel 3

As we can see, the Pixel 3 is doing an amazing job despite a much smaller sensor than the X-E3. It even looks somewhat sharper than the X-E3! The only issue I see compared to the X-E3 is noise on the sign. But it is definitely hardly noticeable.

I cropped a bit more to be able to display the pixels at original size:

Fujifilm X-E3

Pixel 3

What was surprising to me here is the small difference between a 24 megapixel camera (the X-E3) and a 12 megapixel one (the Pixel 3). Of course that has a lot to do with the optical zoom level used on the lens. On this photo, the extra pixels were mostly used to capture more of the environment instead of having more details on the sign.

My conclusion on this particular photo is that the Pixel 3 beat the X-E3 on color and sharpness but thanks to its wider and bigger lens, the X-E3 better captured the environment and brought the attention on the main subject, the sign post.

I will write a few blog posts with other images but I already put on Flickr all the paired images if you want to check them out.

Also you can check my favorite photos of my trip in Australia, it's an album that features 2/3 photos from the X-E3 and 1/3 from the Pixel 3.