Choosing the best camera phones for our rating, we focus, in particular, on the rating of a very authoritative (in the relevant circles) network resource DxOMark. But we also try to take into account the reviews of ordinary users as fully as possible, giving preference to reviews on the profile branches of various forums. We hope that the following general information will be useful for inexperienced readers, which can influence the choice specific model camera phone.
All other things being equal, photosensors with larger unit cells give a better picture... At a minimum, the physical dimensions of a pixel should be greater than one micron (ideally closer to 1.4 microns). In addition, the small sensor (1/3 "and smaller) is in dire need of high-aperture optics (at f / 1.9 and higher). Otherwise, one can only dream of good image quality in low light conditions.
Recently, manufacturers are increasingly using cunning multipixel matrices using Quad Bayer or TetraCell technology. On the one hand, they allow marketers to talk about the incredible clarity of the resulting image (without mentioning that it requires ideal shooting conditions). On the other hand, they actually provide an increase in light sensitivity by combining quadruples of pixels and a proportional decrease in resolution.
Another trend of our time is increase in the number of cameras, insofar as a single module does not allow to cover all the variety of shooting modes. Recommendations are determined by your interests. For some, optical zoom is extremely important, someone likes to shoot panoramas, and some of mobile photographers prefer the portrait genre with all the effects it rely on like bokeh. "Sadness" is what really high level quality is still achievable only on the main camera, and this is at best.
If you do not go into technical details - the more pixels, the more information that needs to be processed. Moreover, the existing dependence is far from linear. By the way, this is another explanation why budget smartphones they shoot mediocre enough. Yes, because flagships have better optics, and the cameras themselves are cooler, and there are more computing resources. And the prices are higher, unfortunately. And the recommendation here is simple - choose models based on the latest hardware platform, at least of the middle class.
WITH autofocus not everything is so unambiguous, and it is impossible to give preference to its specific type. It is not surprising that some manufacturers are trying to implement all options in one bottle. It is now considered good practice to install an autofocus system not only in the main, but also in the auxiliary modules.
One of the main parameters of the classic flash units is the guide number - a value that characterizes the power of the generated luminous flux. Alas, as applied to smartphones, it is practically irrelevant, regardless of the number of LEDs available and their brightness. In the best case, we can talk about some help at a distance of a couple of meters to the subject.
Availability save snapshots in uncompressed format- a thing, in itself, useful, but it is extremely difficult to imagine a professional photographer armed only with a smartphone. As well as an amateur who is constantly engaged in serious post-processing of his photos before uploading them to Odnoklassniki. Eating is good, no is not fatal.
And finally - optical or hybrid stabilization preferable to purely electronic.
As you can see, there is a choice, and quite diverse. We do not undertake to advise any of the models with a price even lower. In principle, now most smartphones are able to relatively decently shoot stationary objects in good lighting conditions. More complex tasks require more expensive equipment.
Happy shopping!
Smartphones with a very good camera and special photographic functions are called camera phones. The level of photo and video recording of camera phones is growing every year and is gradually approaching the level of professional digital photo and video cameras. There are also cases of direct cooperation of manufacturers of professional photo and video equipment with manufacturers of smartphones cameras. For example, a leading Chinese manufacturer Huawei smartphones In the development of the new flagship P10, presented at the end of February 2019, he collaborated with the famous German camera company Leica and the equally famous American manufacturer of GoPro video cameras.
This ranking will feature the best camera phones for summer 2019. The ranking took into account comparative tests of smartphone cameras from such resources as dxomark.com, hi-tech.mail.ru. Both professional reviews and blind camera comparisons (when ordinary people compare photographs taken different models phones, not knowing which photo was taken by this or that device). In this case, the priority is given to professional assessments, since only they can assess the correspondence of the photograph to the original, and the outside viewer is often inclined to give priority to bright colors and high contrast, which may not always correspond to reality.
Many will look for the 7th iPhone in the rating, but they need to be disappointed right away: there is no 7th iPhone in the rating, because and professional reviews and blind tests show that in 2019 Apple's flagship camera is inferior to at least a dozen Android smartphones. For example, in the Dxomark ranking, the camera of the 7th iPhone shares 12th place with the 2015 Samsung S6 Edge. On the basis of this fact, one can understand that in terms of the quality of cameras, Apple is 2 years behind Samsung. Blind tests also show that the camera of the 7th iPhone in 2019 does not stand up to the competition. In a blind test of flagship cameras held in April 2019 by the hi-tech.mail.ru portal, the seventh iPhone took the penultimate place. The editors of the portal agreed with the opinion of their readers: "Few people liked the yellowish and dark photos from the iPhone 7 Plus. The camera suffers from an incorrect white balance, which influenced the result. The pictures have good detail and sharpness (except for text), but before the flagships on Android falls short. "
10 LG G6 64GB
The average price is 42,300 rubles. The Korean flagship went on sale at the end of March 2019 and has received 76% of the top fives in Yandex-Market reviews.
The LG G6 follows the trend of dual rear cameras, but offers perhaps the best solution available. If usually the main cameras are not the same in quality, and the second main camera is needed only to simulate the program effect of a strong background blur (bokeh), then the LG G6 developers have abandoned this effect altogether. Here, both main cameras are of equal quality (13-megapixel Sony IMX258 sensor), but they have different lenses: one standard with a 71 ° field of view, and the other ultra-wide angle with a 125 ° viewing angle and f / 2.4 aperture. Due to this, the lens is able to capture as much space as possible in the frame where it is needed. Switching between the two cameras is instant and lag-free. To do this, just click on the special icon in the viewfinder.
LG G6 took part in two blind tests conducted among readers of the hi-tech.mail.ru portal in 2019. In the April test, the Korean flagship took third place after Huawei P10 and Samsung Galaxy S8. The editorial staff of the portal also gave the LG G6 bronze in a professional assessment, and the first two places were taken by Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy S8. In the June blind test, the LG G6 finished third again, this time behind the Honor 8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S8. The editors gave the first place to the Samsung Galaxy S8, and the LG G6 shared the second place with the HTC U11 and Honor 8 Pro.
The 5 megapixel front camera also has an increased (up to 100 °) angle of view, due to which you can take selfies with a good capture of the surrounding space, even without using a selfie stick. It will also allow more friends to be captured in a group selfie.
Like Samsung, LG has revealed a heavily updated flagship to the world when compared to last year's G5. The South Korean company decided to abandon the modularity of the G5, which amazed everyone, while offering a new interesting solution: the screen in the LG G6 is the world's first IPS-display with a QHD + resolution (2880x1440) with a non-standard aspect ratio of 18: 9 (2: 1). The screen-to-body ratio here is pretty much the same as the Samsung Galaxy S8, and the LG G6's 5.7-inch body is smaller than last year's 5.3-inch G5. At the same time, LG did not remove the brand name from the front panel, there was a place for it. The buttons on the front, like in the Galaxy S8, are touch-sensitive rather than physical.
Other characteristics: operating system Android 7.0 with proprietary shell LG UX 6.0, 64 GB permanent and 4 GB random access memory... There is a slot for memory cards with support for a fantastic volume - 2 TB (combined with a slot for a second SIM card). Battery capacity - 3300 mAh. Processor - Quad Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821. At first glance, it is surprising that the processor is not the newest, but it can easily cope with any applications and games for Android available today, therefore, apparently, LG did not consider it necessary to reinvent the wheel and raise the price of its flagship the latest processor. The fingerprint scanner is located on the back.
The editors of the w3bsit3-dns.com portal awarded the LG G6 a victory in the "Best Look" nomination for excellent design and ergonomics, while noting: "LG engineers managed to make one of the most user-friendly smartphones with large display that combines aesthetics with a certified robust design. "
9 Honor 8 Pro 6GB / 64GB
The average price in Russia is 34,000 rubles. Buy Huawei Honor 8 Pro 64Gb on AliExpress is available for 27.2 thousand rubles (delivery to Russia is free). When buying in China, you should pay attention to the different model names in different markets: in China it is the Honor V9, and in Russia and Europe, the same model is sold as the Honor 8 Pro.
The new flagship of the Huawei sub-brand went on sale in April 2019. To date, the model has scored 57% of the top fives in reviews in Yandex-Market.
Model specifications: 5.7-inch screen with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, operating Android system 7.0, 64 GB of permanent and 6 GB of RAM, support for two SIM cards, a slot for a second SIM card is combined with a slot for a memory card up to 128 GB. Battery capacity 4000 mAh. The battery life is 16 hours of talk time, 3 hours 15 minutes of games, 6 hours 45 minutes of video viewing, 453 hours of standby time. As we can see, despite the impressive battery capacity, the huge screen plays a role, discharging much faster than with standard screen sizes. So this smartphone cannot be called a long-playing one. Self-developed eight-core Kirin 960 processor with Mali-G71 MP8 graphics accelerator. Fingerprint scanner on the back.
Unlike the Huawei P9 or Huawei P10, the flagship of the Honor family does not have the Leica logo, but also uses a combination of two sensors: monochrome, which captures light information, and color RGB. Color resolution is 12 megapixels, monochrome is also 12 megapixels. Dual LED flash, laser focusing and phase comparison focusing. Aperture f / 2.2. The front camera has an 8 megapixel sensor.
In June 2019, the hi-tech.mail.ru portal held comparative test cameras of 7 flagship smartphones of 2019, as well as a professional DSLR Canon 5D Mark II. According to the results of blind tests, the Honor 8 Pro won, it outstripped the second-place Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus. Next up is the LG G6, Sony Xperia XZ Premium, ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom, Canon 5D Mark II DSLR, HTC U11, and Xiaomi Mi 6 came in last. The hi-tech.mail.ru editors put the Honor 8 Pro camera in second place (which it shared with HTC U11 and LG G6), first giving back to the flagship of Samsung. Such an impressive result of the Honor 8 Pro suggests that fans of mobile photography can take this model without hesitation. And not only to them, tk. as much as 6 GB of RAM and new processor guarantee excellent performance that will come in handy for fans of heavy mobile games.
8 Sony Xperia XZ
The average price is 37,190 rubles. Sony's flagship, released in the fall of 2016 and designed to combine the two families of the Japanese manufacturer - X and Z, scored 62% of the top fives in reviews in Yandex-Market.
Dxomark specialists gave this model the same points as the Huawei P10, while the Xperia XZ lost 1 point to the flagship of the X family - Xperia X Performance, although in fact the cameras on both models are almost the same: the same 23-megapixel sensor of size 1 / 2.3 as on the Xperia X or X Performance, and the same / 2.0 aperture optics. The camera received an additional infrared sensor that reads information about the color of objects in the frame, which should affect a more accurate determination of the white balance, even when shooting with difficult lighting. Another innovation is the built-in laser, which assists contrast autofocus with determining the distance to the subject. Taking into account the use of phase sensors on the matrix and a predictive motion detection system in the XZ, we get some kind of focusing unit that was previously unthinkable for smartphones. The camera instantly focuses, allowing you to easily capture photos of constantly moving objects. For those who like to photograph children, this is very useful. The front camera has a 13-megapixel sensor 1/3. Selfies come out sharp and detailed even in less than the best lighting conditions.
Specifications: 5.2-inch display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, Android 6.0 operating system, 32 GB of permanent and 3 GB of RAM, support for one SIM card and an external memory card up to 256 GB. The battery capacity is 2900 mAh. Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 processor. There is a fingerprint scanner.
7 Huawei P10 64Gb
The average price in Russia is 34,000 rubles. You can buy Huawei P10 64Gb on AliExpress for 30.3 thousand rubles (delivery to Russia is free). The P10 is Huawei's new flagship, unveiled at the Mobile World Congress at the end of February 2019. To date, the model has scored 80% of the fives according to reviews in the Yandex-Market (see reviews on Huawei P10).
Technical characteristics of the model: 5.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, Android 7.0 operating system, 64 GB of permanent and 4 GB of RAM, support for two SIM cards, the slot for the second SIM card is combined with the slot for a memory card. Battery 3200 mAh. Self-developed eight-core Kirin 960 processor with Mali-G71 MP8 graphics accelerator. The fingerprint scanner is built into the touch button on the front panel, which is slightly recessed into the body. The Huawei P10 is made from a single piece of aluminum.
The cameras on smartphones of the leading Chinese manufacturer Huawei are developing by leaps and bounds: in 2015, the company introduced the world's first smartphone with two main cameras (now this technique is used by Apple and other manufacturers), in 2016, Huawei began cooperation with the famous German camera company Leica ( For example, the Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev uses a Leica camera worth 5 million rubles), and in 2019 Huawei did everything to make the cameras on their smartphones the best in the world, namely, it connected Leica not only to work on the dual module of the main cameras, but also to work on the front camera. But that's not all: starting with the P10, Huawei has partnered with the iconic American manufacturer of GoPro video cameras. As part of the collaboration, GoPro will release an exclusive Quik mobile app for Huawei P10 for fast video processing. The video editor will be built into the standard gallery of the EMUI shell. The essence of the Quik app is to combine photos and videos with music in the background to create a beautiful memorable video. It is worth noting that GoPro has not previously released applications for either Android or iOS.
What happened in the end? The Huawei P10 uses a combination of two f / 2.2 aperture sensors: monochrome, which captures light information, and color RGB. Color resolution is 12 megapixels, and monochrome - 20 megapixels. This combination provides the following benefits: camera huawei The P10 has a 2x lossless zoom, and it also allows you to take pictures with a blurred background - the so-called bokeh effect. There is a special mode, developed by Leica specialists, in which you can take high-quality portrait photos using the monochrome sensor. Leica and Huawei have collaborated on the P10's front-facing camera with an 8MP sensor that produces selfies that are twice as bright and with a wider dynamic range, even in low light conditions.
The camera Huawei P10 received 87 points on the Dxomark resource, which is 3 points less than the leader HTC U11 and took 7th place. At the same time, in the blind test of hi-tech.mail.ru in April 2019, the Huawei P10 camera took first place, beating the models that scored more points in Dxomark, for example, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Google Pixel. The editorial staff of hi-tech.mail.ru commented on the choice of readers as follows: "The majority appreciated the bright and contrasting images, not paying attention to details" and put Huawei P10 in 4th place after Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6 (however, the difference Huawei P10 and LG G6 only got one point).
6 Sony Xperia X Performance Dual
The average price is 29,990 rubles. The flagship of the X family, released in February 2016, scored 43% of the top fives in reviews in Yandex-Market. Specifications: 5-inch display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, Android 6.0 operating system (after purchase, the OS will be updated to Android 7.0), 64 GB of permanent and 3 GB of RAM, support for two SIM cards and an external memory card up to 200 GB. The battery capacity is 2700 mAh. Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 processor. There is a fingerprint scanner.
The main camera is 23 megapixels, the front camera is 13 megapixels. The Xperia X Performance features Predictive Hybrid AF, powered by Sony digital imaging technology, to capture even moving subjects clearly. As soon as you focus on the subject, the camera automatically starts tracking its movement, so the image is always clear and detailed. According to research by Strategy Analytics, the Xperia X Performance has outperformed all the world's leading competitors in autofocus accuracy. DxOMark scored 88 points for the Xperia X Performance camera. This is the third result after HTC U11 and Google Pixel.
5 Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge 32Gb is the most popular Android smartphone in the US and Germany in 2016
The average price in Russia is 44,500 rubles. The flagship from the leading smartphone manufacturer in South Korea and in the world went on sale in March 2016 and today has received 45% of the top fives in reviews in the Yandex-Market (see reviews of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge).
Galaxy S7 Edge at the end of 2016 became the best-selling smartphone of the South Korean company, and also entered the top three most popular Android smartphones in the world. This model became the most popular in the United States, where it took first place in sales at the end of the year. Every 10th Android smartphone sold in the US last year was a Samsung flagship. The Galaxy S7 Edge also took first place in Germany and Hong Kong in terms of sales.
Specifications: 5.5-inch screen with a resolution of 2560x1440, Android 6.0 operating system, 32 GB of permanent and 4 GB of RAM. There is a slot for memory cards up to 200 GB. Battery capacity - 3600 mAh. The battery life is 27 hours of talk time, 74 hours of music listening. Support for two SIM cards.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge has a 12MP main camera and a 5MP front camera. Samsung cites the following advantages of the camera in this smartphone: a lens of higher aperture (F1.7) and larger pixels of the matrix (1.4 microns) capture much more light, which allows you to consistently get clear and detailed photos even in low light conditions; smartphones support Dual Pixel technology: all pixels of the matrix have two photodiodes, and not one each, which allows the sensor to focus as quickly and clearly as the human eye, and Dual Pixel technology provides such fast and flawless autofocusing that you can capture even the sharpest driving in low light conditions; for the first time, you can capture motion in an animated panorama mode.
Last year Samsung flagship The Galaxy S6 had a Sony IMX240 sensor and a 16MP main camera. The S7 has a new sensor - Sony IMX260 with a resolution of 4 megapixels less. Portal w3bsit3-dns.com in Samsung review Galaxy S7 Edge 32Gb writes: “Samsung made an interesting step by completely changing the camera after the success in the previous generation. What is worse. In the eyes of ordinary people, four megapixels are really lost, but an experienced amateur photographer will tell you that happiness is not in the number of megapixels. " "Samsung Galaxy S7 edge sets a new quality standard for cameras in smartphones for at least the next year. For excellent photos both day and night, spectacular videos, optical stabilization and a variety of shooting modes, the editors of w3bsit3-dns.com marks the SGS7 edge with the" Nice Shot "sign."
Dxomark gave the Galaxy S7 edge 88 points, which is the third result. Also, 88 points were scored by HTC 10, Sony Xperia X Performance and, oddly enough, the new Samsung flagship Galaxy S8. However, other comparisons indicate that the Galaxy S8 still slightly surpasses last year's flagship in terms of shooting.
4 HTC 10 32Gb
The average price in Russia is 34,390 rubles. You can buy HTC 10 on Aliexpress for 25.8 thousand rubles (delivery to Russia is free). The flagship from the second largest Taiwanese manufacturer was released in May 2016 and today has scored 66% of the top fives in Yandex-Market reviews. Specifications: Android 6.0 OS, 5.2-inch AMOLED screen with 2560x1440 resolution, 32 GB of permanent memory (23 GB of which are available to the user) and 4 GB of RAM. Support for external memory card. Supports only one SIM card. The battery capacity is 3000 mAh. Talk time - 27 hours, standby time - 456 hours. There is a fingerprint scanner.
The main advantage of this model is its cameras. Main - 12 megapixels, frontal - 5 megapixels. Optical image stabilization is introduced for the first time in both the main and front cameras. The camera shoots well in low light conditions. The manufacturer's website says: "You can expect perfect lighting for great photos. Or you can trust the main camera of HTC 10, which captures up to 136% more light in each shot. No magic - just the next generation UltraPixel technology, complemented by optical stabilization and a fast lens ƒ / 1.8 ". The front camera of the HTC 10 is just as impressive as the main one. The size of its photosensitive elements is increased, the lens has an aperture of ƒ / 1.8, and the screen perfectly plays the role of a flash. A wide-angle lens will allow you to capture not only your own portrait, but also a group of friends. For the first time, the HTC 10 complements 4K video recording with 24-bit Hi-Res stereo audio recording. An audio track recorded in this format contains 256 times more detail and reproduces twice the frequency range. The HTC 10's camera starts up in 0.6 seconds - almost instantly.
Various reviews and comparison tests show that the HTC 10 has one of the best cameras in the world today. In July 2016, Phonearena conducted a comparative test of flagship cameras, in which HTC 10 took first place, beating the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Sony Xperia X Performance. The HTC 10's camera scored 88 on Dxomark, the third result.
3 Samsung Galaxy S8
The average price is 50,000 rubles. The flagship from the leading smartphone manufacturer in South Korea and in the world went on sale at the end of April 2019 and today received 57% of the top fives in reviews in Yandex-Market.
Fans of the South Korean brand had to wait for the new flagship for a whole year (last year's summer flagship Galaxy Note 7 does not count, because Samsung was forced to withdraw this model from sales shortly after they started due to battery problems) following the launch of the Galaxy S7 in March 2016. As a result, the release of the Galaxy S8 caused an incredible excitement: in the first two days, the number of pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus (a larger version of the model) amounted to 550,000 pieces (for comparison: Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge were ordered by 100 thousand people in the first 2 days) ... Of course, a one-year waiting period for a flagship by itself is not capable of causing such a stir, for example, Apple consistently releases flagships once a year, but at the same time sales of the seventh iPhone turned out to be rather weak due to the fact that new iphone for the most part turned out to be the same eggs, only in profile, when compared with the 6th iPhone. Samsung did not repeat the mistakes of a competitor and presented a truly innovative model that cannot be confused with any smartphone on the market today.
Specifications Samsung Galaxy S8: 5.8-inch screen with QHD + resolution (3840x2160), Android 7.0 operating system with Samsung Experience 8.1 proprietary shell, 64 GB of permanent and 4 GB of RAM. There is a slot for memory cards up to 265 GB (combined with a slot for a second SIM card). Battery capacity - 3000 mAh. The battery life is 20 hours of talk time, 67 hours of music listening. Let's dwell on these specs a bit and compare them to last year's Galaxy S7 Edge. The diagonal of the screen has increased by 0.3 inches, the resolution has also increased noticeably, while the phone itself, paradoxically, has become even a little smaller and lighter. This effect was achieved due to the fact that the screen now occupies more than 80% of the front panel area: physical buttons(they became touch-sensitive), the Samsung inscription, there are practically no side frames, the free space and took the screen. The amount of permanent memory has doubled. However, there is a small step back: the battery capacity has decreased, in connection with this, the battery life has become shorter, while it is about the same as, for example, the seventh iPhone. The processor is a proprietary Samsung Exynos 8895.
In terms of cameras, Samsung decided to ignore the trend of dual main camera in the flagship model, which was followed by Apple, Huawei, LG and in the old-fashioned way has a single main camera, improved over the already excellent S7 camera. The S8 has a new 12MP Sony IMX333 sensor with DualPixel technology. The front camera (8MP) is equipped with a fast lens for perfect selfies even at night, and also supports Intelligent AF with Face Detection. By the way, face recognition has become one of the interesting features of the S8: you don't need to use a fingerprint scanner to unlock your smartphone, you just need to show your face to the smartphone. There is also a third method: scanning the iris of the eye (however, this method will be inconvenient because wearers of glasses or contact lenses).
Dxomark scored 88 points for the Galaxy S8, which is the third result. Galaxy S8 took part in two blind tests conducted among readers of the hi-tech.mail.ru portal in 2019. In the April test, the Korean flagship took second place after Huawei P10. The editorial staff of the portal in a professional assessment also gave the Galaxy S8 silver after the Google Pixel, commenting on the camera's capabilities as follows: “The Galaxy S8 Plus camera is universal. dynamic range or detailed shots in the dark. But in every scene, the Galaxy S8 Plus showed consistently excellent results. We can safely recommend it to mobile photographers. " Galaxy test The S8 finished second again, this time behind the Honor 8 Pro. The editors gave the Galaxy S8 the first place, while the Google Pixel did not take part in the test.
2 Google Pixel 32Gb
The average price in Russia is 40,980 rubles. The model from the American manufacturer, presented in October 2016, received 65% of the top fives in reviews in Yandex-Market.
Specifications: 5-inch screen with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, the latest Android 7.1 operating system, 32 GB of permanent and 4 GB of RAM, support for one SIM card. The smartphone does not support an external memory card, but Google provides unlimited storage for photos and videos taken on the Pixel. Besides, backup copy all data is automatically generated on Google Drive. After that, the phone will offer to free up space on the internal storage by deleting already copied files. Battery capacity 2770 mAh. The battery life in the talk mode is 26 hours, in the standby mode - 456 hours, in the music listening mode - 110 hours. 4-core Qualcomm processor Snapdragon 821 MSM 8996 Pro with Adreno 530 GPU. Rear-mounted fingerprint reader. Body material - aluminum and glass.
The main advantage of the Google Pixel smartphone is its camera. This is one of the best smartphone cameras in the world. Dxomark gave the Google Pixel 89 points, making it the second best camera in the world. In the April comparison of the flagship cameras, the editors of the hi-tech.mail.ru portal awarded the first place to the Google Pixel: "We liked the Google Pixel camera the most. Wide dynamic range, high contrast, close to ideal color reproduction." It beats the Samsung Galaxy S8, LG G6, Huawei P10 and the seventh iPhone.
What is the Google Pixel camera? There is a Sony IMX378 sensor with a resolution of 12 MP and an aperture ratio of F2.0. There is a laser focusing system. There is no optical stabilization, it is replaced by digital. The camera is enabled by default HDR mode+, in many respects due to which the excellent quality of shooting is achieved. It is worth noting that optics by themselves still do not guarantee perfect shooting in smartphones. Software plays a big role. For example, the same Sony IMX378 sensor has last year flagship Xiaomi Mi5S, however, thanks to the superiority of the Google Pixel software, squeezes the best out of the camera. You shouldn't be surprised at this, because it is known that Google is the developer of the Android OS, therefore it has an advantage over all other smartphone manufacturers. If you want to use Android exactly as you intended it to Google then it's worth buying a Google Pixel.
The front camera is equipped with an 8 megapixel sensor with an aperture of F2.4 and the ability to shoot video in 1080p.
1 HTC U11 64Gb
The average price is 45,000 rubles. You can buy HTC U11 64Gb on AliExpress for 43.2 thousand rubles (delivery to Russia is free). The new flagship from the Taiwanese manufacturer went on sale in June 2019 and has yet to receive customer feedback. At the same time, already at the start of sales, it is obvious that, unexpectedly for everyone, HTC released the brightest flagship of the first half of 2019, which surpassed competitors in camera quality and performance. The superb camera quality of the HTC U11 was to be expected, given that last year's flagship HTC 10 was ranked best camera of 2016 for most of the year, only giving way to the Google Pixel in October. Now the Google Pixel camera has moved to second place in the ranking of the Dxomark resource, and the HTC U11 topped the rating with a record 90 points (Google Pixel has 1 point less).
The main module has a 12-megapixel UltraPixel 3 sensor with a pixel size of 1.4 microns, optics with an f / 1.7 aperture and optical stabilization. The UltraSpeed Autofocus system is responsible for focusing, in which every pixel is involved.
The review on the hi-tech.mail.ru portal says about the camera of this model:
"The U11 locks onto the target instantly, without missing, even in low light.
I was impressed by the work of the software. You do 10 frames in a row - and all 10 will be the same. That is, the settings for exposure, shutter speed, ISO do not go astray at the slightest movement of the phone, and the built-in algorithms do not recognize this as a change in composition. This is often found in Chinese smartphones, and even in some flagships, such as the Google Pixel or LG G6. There, the two photos can differ in brightness or graininess - as the automation wishes.
When shooting against the sun or bright skies, HDR Boost "stretches" details even in the darkest areas. The dynamic range is as wide as in the Google Pixel shots. There is a logic to this: the companies collaborated on the development of Pixel. Perhaps HTC has lent the capacity of its factories, and in return Google has shared secret HDR + algorithms. "
The front camera has an incredible 16 megapixel resolution, f2.0 aperture, video is recorded in 1080p.
In a blind test of comparison of cameras of flagship smartphones and Canon 5D Mark II DSLRs, conducted among readers of hi-tech.mail.ru HTC U11 took the penultimate place, gaining 1 point less than a DSLR. The portal's editors explained it this way: "HTC U11 fell into the same trap as the camera: excellent detail, correct exposure, but looks too simple against the background of bright competitors." At the same time, not the final sample was used in the test, but the test one, which could affect the quality of the shooting.
Other specifications: Android 7.1 OS, 5.5 inch Super LCD screen with 2560x1440 resolution, 64GB ROM and 4GB RAM. Supports external memory card up to 2 TB. Support for two SIM cards. The battery capacity is 3000 mAh. Talk time - 24.5 hours, standby time - 336 hours. There is a fingerprint scanner on the front. HTC U11 has pressure-sensitive edges, which means that simply by squeezing the smartphone in your hand, you can take a photo with the camera, launch applications, and turn on the flashlight.
HTC U11 is IP67 protected and can be immersed in water up to 1 meter for 30 minutes and sprinkled with sand.
Also worth noting is the beautiful glossy body.
At the moment, HTC U11 ranks first in terms of performance in the study of the AnTuTu resource, beating not only all Android smartphones, but also the seventh iPhone, which has been in first place for a long time.
The innovative system of laser autofocus of the camera on smartphones is very popular. This technology allows the camera to quickly and accurately focus on subjects. For the sake of fairness, let's say that there are drawbacks in technology. The beam cannot travel back long distances. There are also problems with transparent and reflective objects. Therefore, let us understand some models of smartphones with laser autofocus in 2016.
LG G3
The smartphone that first got around to getting a laser autofocus system was the LG G3. The model can truly be called real tablet phone due to its large size... Although the case is plastic, it looks like it is nothing more than metal. The laser rangefinder and dual flash are located on the back of the device.
LG G3 is equipped with an IPS sensor matrix. The diagonal of the screen is 5.5 inches, and the resolution is 2560x1440 pixels. The brightness of the display is manually adjusted or by automatic adjustment. With the help of multitouch technology, the gadget copes with 10 simultaneous touches.
The screen showed excellent viewing angles, and there is no significant color shift at large gaze deviations. It is also impossible to keep silent about good color tone of the white field and uniformity of brightness. Color reproduction is natural, color saturation and clarity are present.
High-quality and loud sound is achieved using a powerful speaker connected to an amplifier. The device has two digital camera modules 2.1 and 13 megapixels. The front camera does a great job with self-portraits. The rear 13 megapixel main camera deserves special attention; it has advanced optical image stabilization and laser focusing. That is, the model, like professional SLR cameras, uses this technology to determine the distance between the object and the camera with a laser beam.
The gadget functions on software platform Google Android 4.4.2 KitKat. The hardware platform is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801. The volume of RAM is 2 GB, and the built-in 16 GB, which can be expanded with a memory card up to 128 GB.
The introduced lithium-polymer battery is capable of providing a battery life of the model of about two days in an average load mode.
Lg g4
The successor of the LG G3 is the G4. The gadget undergoes changes in the camera, design, display and now has a more perfect filling. Back cover possesses graceful leather options. As for the materials of manufacture, there is genuine leather, and the body is all plastic. You can purchase a total of six different leather trim colors: red, black, brown, yellow, beige and sky blue.
The model is supplemented with a sensor matrix without an air gap IPS, and also protective glass ... A new type of display is used here - LG IPS Quantum, which produces color reproduction by about 20%, more brightness and higher contrast. The diagonal of the screen is 5.5 inches, while the resolution is 2560x1440 pixels. In the display settings, you can use automatic brightness control. Plus, a pleasant surprise awaits the user in the form multitouch technology, the device processes 10 simultaneous touches.
The screen will demonstrate excellent viewing angles without any significant color shifts, in case of any deviations in the gaze. The sound of the model did not stand out in anything special, it sounds a little better than the predecessor G3. The speaker is extremely loud and sounds clear and uninterrupted.
The front camera of the device has a solid The 8-megapixel module produces good quality images. The 16 MP main camera has an improved optical image stabilization system, as well as laser autofocus with lightning fast response time... What's more, the advanced camera has a color gamut sensor that is designed to improve color accuracy. We can definitely say that the camera shots are the best among smartphones today.
The LG G4 is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 platform, which is renowned for its many advanced and connectivity options. Hardware platform Google phone Android 5.1 Lollipop. The model received a decent rechargeable battery with a capacity of 3000 mAh.
Nexus 5X
The model is made of plastic. The design can be called simpler than original. The front panel is complemented by a tinted flat protective glass... The LG Nexus 5X has an IPS touchscreen, enhanced with In-Cell Touch technology, along with Gorilla Glass 3. The screen is 5.2 inches diagonal with a resolution of 1920 × 1080. The light sensor automatically adjusts the brightness of the display.
Outer screen surface has a special oleophobic coating, which protects against the appearance of fingerprints. The gadget demonstrates a high maximum brightness, which means that taking into account anti-reflective properties, images will be clearly visible even on the sunniest day.
The color saturation is excellent, the color rendition is good. As for the sound, its parameters are very modest, while the sound in the headphones is much better and more pleasant. During a telephone conversation, no distortions can be traced.
The gadget has two camera modules for 5 and 12.3 megapixels. The front camera is equipped with a 5-megapixel sensor, no autofocus or flash. The shooting quality of this camera is acceptable, the level is sufficient for selfies. The main camera has a Sony IMX377 sensor and a laser infrared rangefinder for focusing, which has a dual multicolored flash, but there is no image stabilization function here.
In this model, the manufacturer has expanded support for the energy saving function. There is also a fingerprint scanner system, here called Nexus Imprint. Powerful and relevant enough 6-core SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 ensures the operation of the apparatus. The phone, having such a powerful platform, demonstrates a very high level of performance.
Video playback test results showed that the device is equipped with all the necessary decoders capable of playing most common multimedia files.
The built-in non-removable battery has a 2700 mAh capacity. In general, the smartphone shows good battery life, although in video mode the tested phone lasted only 6 hours, and the back panel was clearly experiencing overheating.
Oppo R7 Plus
Oppo is trying to establish itself as a manufacturer of quality products. OPPO R7 is equipped with a huge 6-inch display, it is made using AMOLED technology, the resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels. The model has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory.
The device contains a 4100 mAh battery. But with such a large display and powerful processor, it cannot hold a single charge long enough.
The front camera is unremarkable, at 8 megapixels, the quality of the selfie is acceptable. The main 13 megapixel camera is supplemented with image stabilization and laser autofocus.
OPPO R7 has Android 5.0 operating system. The advantage is that the device supports dualSIM of the nano SIM format. The approximate cost of the model is $ 490.
Meizu MX 5
One of the most anticipated gadgets is the Meizu MX5. It has almost everything users wanted: slim aluminum body, huge screen with small bezels, great sound, a fingerprint scanner, a capacious battery and an advanced camera.
A nice touch is the size of the phone. With a 5.5-inch screen, it's not big at all. The assembly can be considered good quality, but not very neat. The screen resolution is 1080x1920 pixels. The screen of the gadget uses an OLED matrix.
It is possible to manually adjust the color balance between cool and warm tones, but the factory setting for the color balance is not satisfactory. The main camera of 20.7 megapixels has an aperture ratio and six lenses, there is laser focusing, as well as a dual flash. A high-quality selfie is performed by a 5 megapixel camera. True, it is without ultra-wide optics and a flash, but this does not affect the result in any way.
In this smartphone, the manufacturer paid particular attention to the quality of music reproduction. The earpiece also sounds gorgeous, the sound is clear and loud.
Although the phone has two slots for nanoSIM, however, there is only one radio module, which means that it is impossible to talk to both numbers at the same time. Inside there is a 3150 mAh battery tightly sealed. Autonomous operation of the device shows the ability to work the device until the evening. In video playback mode, the device also performed well in terms of autonomy.
Asus Zenfone 2 Laser
The front panel of the device is covered with durable Gorilla Glass 4. The back side of the phone looks very interesting: in the center there is a large lens of the main camera, next to it - identical ovals of laser autofocus and LED flash.
The diagonal of the screen is 5 inches, and the resolution is 1280x720 pixels. The display is manufactured using TFT IPS technology, there is an oleophobic coating. The picture is very colorful, bright, and the viewing angles are maximum. The sensor is capable of processing up to 10 clicks simultaneously. The phone responds very quickly, the finger glides easily over the surface. The brightness is a little lacking in a cloudy day or in the dark.
The smartphone is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm MSM8916 processor with a frequency of 1.2 GHz. The size of the RAM is 2 GB, and the internal memory is 16 GB. There is the possibility of expanding memory via memory cards up to 128 GB. The device easily copes with resource-intensive programs, easily loading them.
A pleasant bonus, the user will note the 13-megapixel camera with laser autofocus. The work of the camera is very high quality, the pictures are bright and natural, and there are many modes and settings. Autofocus works just instantly. The front camera, of course, is inferior in the quality of images, but it is quite enough for selfies. The battery with a capacity of 2400 mAh copes with autonomous work for two days.
It should be noted that Sony is optimizing smartphones for MediaTek chipsets, so the Xperia M5 long time annoyed customers with various "glitches", by today's standards the Helio X10 processor is slow, and it works in the M5 not at its maximum capacity. The case heats up with or without reason, the autonomy is poor. But branded shell comfortable, high-quality cameras, bright and clear display, and the prestige of such a smartphone in "glamorous" circles is much higher than that of any Huawei or Xiaomi. Official distributors are crazy and ask for the old Sony for a completely ridiculous 25 thousand rubles, but the "gray" sellers Xperia M5 Dual is estimated at 15-16 thousand - quite a fair price for such a model.
ZTE Nubia Z11 mini S
ZTE has a luxury division Nubia, and it, in turn, has the flagship Z11 series, which has a simplified version of the Z11 mini, which recently underwent an update in the house that Jack built. We should pay tribute to the Chinese - the Z11 mini S differs from the Z11 mini radically and only for the better.
A very nimble smartphone with a brutal body and red accents. You can't really get into the specs: the fast Snapdragon 625, 4GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. And it's also nice that ZTE (whose "hands are sharpened" more for adjusting the sound path than camera algorithms) made a big gesture and equipped the Z11 mini S with a 22-megapixel rear camera based on the Sony IMX318 sensor. The much more expensive ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe and Xiaomi Mi Note 2 are equipped with the same sensor, if you are not aware.
Mobile photography has changed the world. Now every photographer, and for this it is not necessary to have a bunch of expensive equipment. Comparing pictures from three years ago with the current ones, you are amazed at how quickly cameras in smartphones are developing.
In this article, I collected best smartphones 2017 for photography.
9. Honor 9
You have two cameras at your disposal. The first is color, with a resolution of 12 megapixels and an aperture of f / 2.2. The second is monochrome at 20 megapixels and a similar aperture. As conceived by the creators, a black and white camera takes a picture with an extended dynamic range and detail, after which colors from the second module are added to the photo.
At good lighting the smartphone produces sharp pictures with the correct white balance. Laser autofocus quickly clings, there is a 2x optical zoom without loss in quality. At night, the result is not so good - the picture becomes noisy and blurry.
Following the trends, the Honor 9 can shoot with bokeh effect. The background is blurred well, but far from perfect. Small details are often blurred, but more expensive smartphones are also guilty of this.
Front camera wide-angle: 8 megapixels with f / 2.0 aperture. The quality of the images is excellent, but again only during the day. I would like a larger aperture, but for now, in low light, it's better to forget about selfies.
Honor 9 is a cool mid-budget smartphone for those who want to get more for the sane money.
In terms of the camera, it practically does not differ from the more expensive P10. The only thing missing is the fashionable Leica nameplate and optical stabilization.
8. Sony Xperia XZ Premium
Sony's flagship has only one camera with a 19MP wide-angle lens and f / 2.0 aperture. Optical stabilization was not delivered again, it remains to be content with digital.
The camera is nimble and takes nice pictures during the day. The picture is rich, sharp, but the impression is spoiled by the clumsy operation of the machine. During the day, he can easily illuminate the sky, and in artificial lighting, the white balance is incorrectly set.
At night, autofocus behaves nervously and constantly tries to refocus. Photos in automatic mode the result is noisy and soapy.
To experience the real possibilities of the XZ Premium camera, shoot in manual mode... In this case, you can turn on HDR, adjust exposure, shutter speed, focus and get flagship-grade shots. The downside is that it kills all the charm mobile photo... Few will be poking around with manual settings when you need to shoot quickly here and now.
Predictive shooting does not work in manual mode. The camera takes 1-3 frames even before you press the shutter. As a result, you will get 3-4 pictures, from which you can choose the best one. The idea is interesting, but the smartphone does it automatically and when it sees fit.
In XZ Premium good 13 megapixel widescreen front camera. Suitable for sharing selfies, and the result is decent in all lighting conditions.
And the main highlight is the world's first smartphone to shoot super slow motion video at 960 fps. It looks impressive, but, as for me, play around a couple of times. Videos are a lot, it's hard to get a smooth picture without optical stabilization. Only 0.18 second pieces are recorded, which are stretched into 6-second clips.
For all its advantages, XZ Premium will only be chosen by true fans of the brand.
7. LG G6
The LG G6 has two cameras, each with 13MP. The first - with an aperture of f / 1.8 - received phase detection autofocus and optical stabilization. The second is a 125-degree wide-angle lens and an f / 2.4 aperture.
The wide angle for the second camera seems to be more useful than the notorious bokeh. It is perfect for shooting architecture, landscapes, joint photos with friends. On other smartphones, you will have to shoot a panorama for this, which is not always convenient.
But for an ultra-wide angle, you have to pay off with distortion (barrel effect). In addition, the second camera lacks autofocus and optical stabilization. Because of this, pictures are often out of focus.
The main camera does nice photos... Optical stabilization works as it should, no shake. The picture comes out clear, with the correct color rendition. The LG G6 has HDR enabled by default in auto mode. This allows you to retain more detail in the light and dark areas of the frame.
The front camera has only 5 megapixels and an f / 2.2 aperture. A strange decision for a flagship - the results are worse than many mid-budget smartphones. Even a wide-angle lens of 100 degrees does not save - the quality of the images leaves much to be desired.
LG G6 - interesting smartphone but the camera is not his strongest point. Therefore, only 7th place.
6. Samsung Galaxy S8
The camera in the Galaxy S8 is not particularly new compared to its predecessor. But at the same time it remains one of the best on the market.
The smartphone has the only 12 megapixel module with optical stabilization and Dual Pixel technology for fast autofocus. The f / 1.7 aperture allows for very cool shots in low light conditions. Night photos of the top Samsung smartphones are reference.
That being said, do not expect Galaxy cameras S8 realistic pictures. It will be cool, juicy, but far from the gray reality. The camera algorithms aggressively distort the image to eliminate any imperfection. Good or bad is a matter of taste.
What's really cool is the front-facing camera. It has a resolution of 8 megapixels, intelligent autofocus and f / 1.7 aperture. Not all smartphones have such high-aperture optics, even in the main camera.
The result is stunning selfies at any time of the day and under any conditions. The lens has a wide enough angle so that you can comfortably take pictures of the company.
Considering today's price tag for the Galaxy S8, this is one of the best mobile cameras on the market.
4. iPhone 8 Plus
I have been using the plus version of the iPhone for three years because of its photo capabilities. In the iPhone 8 Plus, there have been no major changes compared to its predecessor. But the camera has gotten a little better in everything.
There are still two 12 megapixel modules here. First telephoto lens with ƒ / 2.8 aperture. The second is a wide-angle ƒ / 1.8 aperture. Alas, the telephoto lens did not acquire optical stabilization, as well as an increased aperture. This is the prerogative of the iPhone X.
Changes in the iPhone 8 Plus affected the lens system and sensor matrix, improved post-processing algorithms for photos.
In fact, 8-figure shots are brighter, more contrasting and richer. The camera renders colors more accurately, skin tones in portraits have become more realistic. In general, everything is good with the white balance in the number eight, in this regard it makes many competitors.
HDR performance has become better, it is now always in automatic mode. Previously, you had to constantly turn it on manually, which sometimes infuriated.
The focus is more accurate and faster, the pictures are sharper. This is especially noticeable when the image is enlarged.
In low light, the picture is more detailed, but the quality and quantity of noise is inferior to the HTC U11.
IPhone 8 Plus introduces new Portrait Lighting modes that don't just blur the background, but simulate different lighting schemes. The thing is cool, but so far it works crookedly. For now, because this is not the final version yet and will work better over time.
The regular portraits of the iPhone 8 Plus are great. The background blurs fairly accurately, focuses correctly on objects. By the way, the lighting scheme can now be changed after you take the picture. So there is room for creativity.
And it also made sense in Live Photo. Now you can make a gif of them or choose the best frame. A kind of analogue of burst shooting, which is useful for photographing moving objects.
The front camera has not changed compared to the 7 Plus. The same 7 megapixel with ƒ / 2.2 aperture. The pictures are normal, but they are noisy in low light. I would like the camera angle to be wider, the Galaxy S8 is more interesting in this regard.
What can I say, this is the most popular camera in the world, and deservedly so. The changes are not drastic, but the pictures are better.
3. Samsung Galaxy Note 8
A huge flagship from Samsung, which left positive emotions.
The smartphone has two 12 megapixel cameras. The first module is wide-angle with f / 1.7 aperture. The second is a telephoto lens with an f / 2.4 aperture. Both have optical image stabilization so that even 2x zoom is sharp.
The camera blurs the background beautifully, and the degree of blur can be adjusted both before and after the shutter is released. Pictures are saved from both cameras.
The bokeh itself seemed to me not as natural as on the iPhone. But, perhaps, it will be improved further programmatically.
In daylight, photographs delight with excellent detail and vivid colors. Yes, the oversaturation is still there, but the pictures are still cool. On the spot and oversharp, it is especially noticeable in low light, when the noise begins to work actively.
Automatic HDR works well in both artificial and natural light.
Night shots, as always, are at their best, few can compete with them. The picture is contrasting, sharp even when viewed from a computer.
Front camera Galaxy Note 8 in terms of aperture as the main one - f / 1.7, resolution 8 megapixels. There is autofocus, the image quality is top-notch, everything is at the level of the Galaxy S8.
In general, I was satisfied with the camera and did not find any obvious shortcomings. Only the huge size of the smartphone can push away, but that's another story.
2. iPhone X
The main camera of the iPhone X is almost the same as in the iPhone 8 Plus. Optical stabilization is now in both modules, and the telephoto lens aperture has been increased from f2.8 to f2.4. What does it do?
Pictures are always sharp when zoomed in. Previously, the picture used to be blurry at 2x zoom. Especially if the little hands are shaking, which is no wonder in such cold weather. It's easier to shoot in portrait mode. No shake, focused and got a cool portrait.
Thanks to the increased aperture of the telephoto lens, portraits are not so dependent on lighting. The picture became less noisy even in the evening under artificial lighting. A dozen retains more detail, small elements look sharper.
In terms of color and dynamic range, the iPhone X delivers similar results to the iPhone 8 Plus. True, viewing pictures is more interesting with the iPhone X - the OLED screen makes the already bright photos livelier and more saturated.
Changes have also been made to the front camera. Selfies can now be captured with blurred backgrounds thanks to the True Depth sensor. Various studio lighting modes are available, but the result is not always successful.
I feel like the iPhone X and Galaxy Note 8 are roughly equal. The former has better color rendition and portrait mode. The second shows itself perfectly in night photography and selfies.
1. Google Pixel 2
Best mobile camera 2017 Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. They are identical.
The smartphones have one 12.2 megapixel camera with f / 1.8 aperture. Google decided that two modules are not needed for cool portraits. Blurring the background is only obtained with software.
The background is really effectively blurred, but certain conditions must be observed. For example, get rid of small accessories like glasses, do not take off in windy weather with flying hair. Otherwise, the camera will overwrite them.
It is better to photograph at close range close-up. If you want to shoot to the waist, you have to give up bokeh. In this regard, the iPhone is less finicky.
On the other hand, when done right, the photos are amazing. Oddly enough, the blur looks more natural than on the iPhone X. The main thing is that this is all the work of a neural network that is learning all the time. I think that in six months there will be fewer restrictions, and the quality of the images is better.
Smartphones have optical stabilization and Dual Pixel phase detection autofocus. The camera has a wide dynamic range, no matter if you are shooting on a sunny day or already at dusk. Autofocus is extremely fast, even surpassing that of the Note 8 in speed.
Automation sets the correct white balance both on the street and in a visit. The picture is juicy, bright, the colors are correct, without kinks.
The front camera is 8-megapixel, it also produces excellent pictures. Portrait mode works here as well, and no depth sensor is needed. The only thing - they could have installed faster optics: the f / 2.4 aperture is not enough in the evening.
In the end, Google managed to make a really cool smartphone for mobile photography. Although, to be honest, sometimes you have to strain to get a high-quality picture. This is especially true for portraits.
In this regard, I like the iPhone X better. Everything is simple and clear there, but the quality of the images is inferior, albeit insignificantly.
