Camera Specs
Google’s Nexus 5 has been drawing a lot of attention these days, as it is a good handset, with powerful hardware and software and an excellent camera, especially when compared with the previous Nexus phones. The camera has an 8 MP resolution and OIS (optical image stabilization) feature for images that no longer have blurs. However, there is a lot of competition in the camera department of smartphones, and plenty of them, such as the iPhone 5S, have excellent shooters.
Specs Comparison
Both the iPhone 5S and the Nexus 5 have the same resolution of 8 MP for the rear camera, but the Nexus 5 has a bigger sensor size of 1/3.4 inches, compared to the iPhone’s 1/3 inches. The Nexus 5 has a smaller aperture of F2.4, compared to F2.2 I the iPhone 5S. However, the Nexus 5 comes with a Single LED, whereas the iPhone 5S comes with Dual LED. Both the phones offer features of HDR, panorama, with the Nexus 5 offering Optical image stabilization and the iPhone 5S offering Digital image stabilization. As for video recording, both the phones have the same resolution of 1920 x 1080, with 30 frames per second.
Good Detail
The Google Nexus 5 offers very good results, though it is not the best. There is no digital noise, except in case of a solid color. As far as the iPhone 5S is concerned, the images are not too sharp and not soft either. The details are as good as those in the Nexus 5.
Low Light Conditions
The Nexus 5 brings in a boost to the color saturation, making them attractive but a little unnatural. The pictures are also a little warmer with a yellow tint. The iPhone 5S also tends to increase the color vibrancy and it is not so neutral in color representation, making them both similar in this aspect. The Nexus 5 takes good indoor shots, even when the lights are dim. The optical stabilization feature enables it to take shots at slower speeds and there are no blurs due to shaking of the hand. Pictures are sharp with good detail and little noise. Considering the iPhone 5S, the indoor pictures are great, but there is some digital noise. In addition, the LED light of the iPhone 5S presents color accuracy effectively.
The Google Nexus 5 camera takes good pictures even at night with little light. The iPhone 5S is also equally good, especially if you enable the night mode on the phone.
Panorama Shots
Panoramic shots are stitched together and the iPhone 5S is the clear winner in this aspect. It has a high-resolution output file around 10,000 px width and this enables it to produce good detail. There are also no problems with stitching images or colors or the exposure. As for the Nexus 5, you need to hold it in the portrait orientation and then slowly pan around. This needs more attention, but you can capture more height in this case. The width is smaller at 2800 px and the resolution is too low, so panoramic shots are not too good and the colors are bad as well.
Video Resolution
Both the devices can take good 1080p HD videos with the primary camera. The Nexus 5 is good at taking videos in daylight, but in low light, the details are considerably lower, but the footage is smooth. The iPhone 5S, on the other hand, takes excellent videos, as it has a fantastic software image stabilization technique that is very effective even during the night.
Verdict
Having great camera specs is not good enough without an equally good interface. The Nexus 5 leaves much to be desired in this regard, as the settings are poorly organized. Yet the Photosphere mode as well as the shortcut for lock screen is nice. As for the iPhone 5S, there are not too many manual settings, but the interface is very easy and the camera is very quick with special modes like HDR and image filters.
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