**Comparing the Google Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open: A Photographic Analysis**

As we explore the capabilities of foldable phones, it's essential to examine their camera performance. In this article, we'll delve into the photography features of the Google Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in various lighting conditions.

**Cup of Coffee: A Comparative Study**

Our analysis begins with a simple yet telling example: a cup of coffee from Four Barrel Coffee in San Francisco. Both phones capture decent photos, but there are notable differences. The Pixel Fold's snap has better exposure, protecting the highlights and delivering contrast that makes the details in the foam pop. In contrast, the OnePlus Open's photo is exposed brighter, but still retains good detail. Notably, the Pixel Fold's main camera excels at preserving background focus, keeping more of it sharp than the OnePlus Open.

**Recent Happy Hour Outing**

Next, we examine photos from a recent happy hour outing with friends. Neither phone's Night mode performance is exceptional, but the Pixel Fold's image is superior in terms of exposure and skin tone accuracy. The OnePlus Open's photo is darker, with highlights like the chandeliers and background not blown out to white. This difference in exposure is largely due to the longer shutter speed used by both phones, which introduces motion blur from people shifting or moving.

**Telephoto Camera: A Comparative Study**

We shift gears to a telephoto camera comparison, using each phone's primary lens to capture images of Pebbles the cat. The Pixel Fold uses its five times optical zoom, while the OnePlus Open employs six times digital zoom (with 32 megapixels). Although both phones produce excellent results, the OnePlus Open's telephoto camera excels in terms of white balance and detail. The Pixel Fold's image appears flat by comparison.

**Focal Length: A Key Differentiator**

The main difference between these two phones lies in their telephoto lens focal lengths. The Pixel Fold features a five times optical zoom, which is an excellent telephoto length. However, the OnePlus Open's three times optical zoom, combined with its 64 megapixel sensor, provides more versatility and flexibility. This means the OnePlus Open can take higher-quality photos at longer focal lengths.

**Night Mode: A Showdown**

Night mode is a critical feature for any smartphone camera. We compare the performance of both phones in low-light conditions, using their main cameras to capture images of a colorful laser during last month's APEC conference. The Pixel Fold produces a brighter and sharper image, with better dynamic range and more details visible in the darkness. In contrast, the OnePlus Open's photo is darker, with softer details.

**Telephoto at 5x: A Comparative Study**

Finally, we examine night mode photos taken with each phone's telephoto camera at 5x magnification. The Pixel Fold delivers an image that's brighter and sharper, with more defined details in the darkness. In contrast, the OnePlus Open's photo is darker and softer.

**Xan Mode: A Unique Feature**

One of my favorite features on either phone is the Xan mode on the OnePlus Open. This camera feature combines multiple images to create a single, wide-format shot (70mm equivalent) that captures more scene real estate. I've had mixed results with this feature, but it's undeniable that it produces some stunning photos.

**A Conclusion and Final Thoughts**

In conclusion, both the Google Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open are capable of producing excellent photographs. However, the Pixel Fold has a slight edge in terms of computational magic, which enhances its overall camera performance. While neither phone is perfect, I believe the Pixel Fold's results fit better with my aesthetic. That said, I'm eager to hear from you: which phone do you think took better photos? Additionally, if you enjoy this video, please give it a thumbs up and thank you for watching!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is the Google pixel fold it cost $1,800 and folds from a phone into a mini tablet and this is the $1,700 OnePlus open which does the exact same thing now both of these phones represent The Cutting Edge in terms of phone technology hence those Cutting Edge prices but then there are the cameras now neither foldable has the absolute best camera system because there's no room for them but Google and OnePlus found ways to overcome that so how do the cameras compare let's find out foldables like the pixel fold and OnePlus open have a space problem in order to fold in half and not be cumbersome when they're closed the phones are made extremely thin but that means there's even less room for camera sensors and lenses so while you're paying $17 or $1,800 you're getting a camera that's closer in quality to something on a $700 phone or well at least that's been the case until 2023 the pixel fold has a camera bar on the back that sticks out and this gives the camera Hardware more depth and that helps improve the image quality and that bar houses a main wide-angle camera an ultrawide and a five times telephoto camera and when I pitted it against the Galaxy Z fold I preferred Google's photos at every turn now OnePlus takes the concept of Google's camera bar and goes to the extreme the circular camera bump on the OnePlus open feels like someone cut a hockey puck in half and glued it to the back of the phone it sticks out a lot but it gives more room for image sensors and lenses and like the pixel the open has a main camera an ultra wide and a telephoto but it opts for a three times optical zoom which will be the same camera used in the upcoming OnePlus 12 that has already launched in China now for this video I'm just going to compare photos taken with the rear cameras but make sure to read my full written camera comparison between the two phones on CNET the link is in the description so let's take a look at some of my favorite photos that I took with each phone starting with the Google pixel fold and ending with images from the OnePlus open as you can see both phones are capable of some decent photos but let's do a few direct comparisons and start with a cup of coffee or well in this case a cappuccino from four barrel Coffee in San Francisco both photos look good if I had to nickp pick the pixel fold snap has better exposure and did a better job at protecting the highlights and the contrast makes the details in the foam pop the oneplus's photo is exposed brighter but still has good detail the image isn't as oversharpened as the pixels photo notice the difference between the cappuccino foam and the wood table that it's sitting on now despite having the same f1.7 aperture the pixel folds main camera keeps more of the background in Focus here are a couple more photos uh of a recent happy hour outing with my fellow seets now neither of these photos was taken with night mode and well neither is great but the pixels photo is superior the exposure is good and people's skin tones look better both of the photos used a long shutter speed to let in more light but because of that both photos have some motion blur from people shifting or moving the one Plus's photo is darker but the highlights like the chandeliers and the background aren't blown out to White now let's shift from happy hour to a cat sitting happily under medium lighting I use the telephoto camera on each phone to snap these photos of Pebbles the cat and as you can see he was thrilled the pixels image was taken with a five times optical zoom whereas the OnePlus photo was taken at six times digital Zoom so not exactly a fair comparison but the OnePlus image looks better to me it nailed the white balance and captured the detail and Pebbles for better by comparison the pixels photo looks well flat now here are a couple more photos taken with a telephoto camera on each now this comparison is less about the image quality I mean both are good but the fold has better dynamic range and more about focal length the five times optical zoom on the pixel is a great telephoto length but so is the three times optical zoom on the OnePlus open but here's why this is a fair comparison what's nice is the OnePlus on this telephoto camera has a 64 megapixel sensor compare that to the 10 megapixel one on the pixel so if I take a photo at six times magnification I'm still using 32 megapixels even though I'm cropped in all of this to say I think the OnePlus opens telephoto is a more versatile camera because of it and that said the pixel's main camera has a 48 megapixel resolution and I can take a three times digital Zoom with it to mirror the OnePlus open and I still get a decent 12 megapixel photo now let's take a look at some night mode images from each phone I took these of a colorful laser that was aimed over San Francisco during last month's Apec conference now the OnePlus photo is okay but it still looks pretty dark and details are soft the pixels photo is brighter has a wider dynamic range and sharper details now these photos were taken with the main camera but here are some night mode photos from the ultrawide camera on both phones and here are two more night mode images taken with each phone's telephoto at 5x for the pixel and 6X for the one Plus for night mode the pixel fold wins in my book now before I give you my final thoughts I want to give a shout out to one of my favorite features on either phone the xan mode on the OnePlus open it's named after the famous analog camera called the Hasselblad xan that could take photos with 35mm film that were 70 mm wide so basically a wide photo that's twice the width of a regular photo the one plus can take an xan photo combining a couple images into one and it's ridiculous and there's not a great way to show these off but I adore this feature and while the field of view takes some getting used to I've taken a lot of bad xan photos I truly have gotten some cinematic photos like this one with the OnePlus open oh and one more thing I don't like on the OnePlus is that the camera shutter button is red I mean why it makes me have this little mini freak out like I'm getting ready to record a video instead of take a photo not good not good but at the end of the day the Google pixel fold and OnePlus open push the bounds of foldable phone photography I still give the pixel a slight Edge because of Google's computational Magic and I feel like the results fit better with my aesthetic but I want to hear from you which phone do you think took better photos let me know in the comments lastly if you like this video give it a thumbs up and thank you for watchingthis is the Google pixel fold it cost $1,800 and folds from a phone into a mini tablet and this is the $1,700 OnePlus open which does the exact same thing now both of these phones represent The Cutting Edge in terms of phone technology hence those Cutting Edge prices but then there are the cameras now neither foldable has the absolute best camera system because there's no room for them but Google and OnePlus found ways to overcome that so how do the cameras compare let's find out foldables like the pixel fold and OnePlus open have a space problem in order to fold in half and not be cumbersome when they're closed the phones are made extremely thin but that means there's even less room for camera sensors and lenses so while you're paying $17 or $1,800 you're getting a camera that's closer in quality to something on a $700 phone or well at least that's been the case until 2023 the pixel fold has a camera bar on the back that sticks out and this gives the camera Hardware more depth and that helps improve the image quality and that bar houses a main wide-angle camera an ultrawide and a five times telephoto camera and when I pitted it against the Galaxy Z fold I preferred Google's photos at every turn now OnePlus takes the concept of Google's camera bar and goes to the extreme the circular camera bump on the OnePlus open feels like someone cut a hockey puck in half and glued it to the back of the phone it sticks out a lot but it gives more room for image sensors and lenses and like the pixel the open has a main camera an ultra wide and a telephoto but it opts for a three times optical zoom which will be the same camera used in the upcoming OnePlus 12 that has already launched in China now for this video I'm just going to compare photos taken with the rear cameras but make sure to read my full written camera comparison between the two phones on CNET the link is in the description so let's take a look at some of my favorite photos that I took with each phone starting with the Google pixel fold and ending with images from the OnePlus open as you can see both phones are capable of some decent photos but let's do a few direct comparisons and start with a cup of coffee or well in this case a cappuccino from four barrel Coffee in San Francisco both photos look good if I had to nickp pick the pixel fold snap has better exposure and did a better job at protecting the highlights and the contrast makes the details in the foam pop the oneplus's photo is exposed brighter but still has good detail the image isn't as oversharpened as the pixels photo notice the difference between the cappuccino foam and the wood table that it's sitting on now despite having the same f1.7 aperture the pixel folds main camera keeps more of the background in Focus here are a couple more photos uh of a recent happy hour outing with my fellow seets now neither of these photos was taken with night mode and well neither is great but the pixels photo is superior the exposure is good and people's skin tones look better both of the photos used a long shutter speed to let in more light but because of that both photos have some motion blur from people shifting or moving the one Plus's photo is darker but the highlights like the chandeliers and the background aren't blown out to White now let's shift from happy hour to a cat sitting happily under medium lighting I use the telephoto camera on each phone to snap these photos of Pebbles the cat and as you can see he was thrilled the pixels image was taken with a five times optical zoom whereas the OnePlus photo was taken at six times digital Zoom so not exactly a fair comparison but the OnePlus image looks better to me it nailed the white balance and captured the detail and Pebbles for better by comparison the pixels photo looks well flat now here are a couple more photos taken with a telephoto camera on each now this comparison is less about the image quality I mean both are good but the fold has better dynamic range and more about focal length the five times optical zoom on the pixel is a great telephoto length but so is the three times optical zoom on the OnePlus open but here's why this is a fair comparison what's nice is the OnePlus on this telephoto camera has a 64 megapixel sensor compare that to the 10 megapixel one on the pixel so if I take a photo at six times magnification I'm still using 32 megapixels even though I'm cropped in all of this to say I think the OnePlus opens telephoto is a more versatile camera because of it and that said the pixel's main camera has a 48 megapixel resolution and I can take a three times digital Zoom with it to mirror the OnePlus open and I still get a decent 12 megapixel photo now let's take a look at some night mode images from each phone I took these of a colorful laser that was aimed over San Francisco during last month's Apec conference now the OnePlus photo is okay but it still looks pretty dark and details are soft the pixels photo is brighter has a wider dynamic range and sharper details now these photos were taken with the main camera but here are some night mode photos from the ultrawide camera on both phones and here are two more night mode images taken with each phone's telephoto at 5x for the pixel and 6X for the one Plus for night mode the pixel fold wins in my book now before I give you my final thoughts I want to give a shout out to one of my favorite features on either phone the xan mode on the OnePlus open it's named after the famous analog camera called the Hasselblad xan that could take photos with 35mm film that were 70 mm wide so basically a wide photo that's twice the width of a regular photo the one plus can take an xan photo combining a couple images into one and it's ridiculous and there's not a great way to show these off but I adore this feature and while the field of view takes some getting used to I've taken a lot of bad xan photos I truly have gotten some cinematic photos like this one with the OnePlus open oh and one more thing I don't like on the OnePlus is that the camera shutter button is red I mean why it makes me have this little mini freak out like I'm getting ready to record a video instead of take a photo not good not good but at the end of the day the Google pixel fold and OnePlus open push the bounds of foldable phone photography I still give the pixel a slight Edge because of Google's computational Magic and I feel like the results fit better with my aesthetic but I want to hear from you which phone do you think took better photos let me know in the comments lastly if you like this video give it a thumbs up and thank you for watching\n"