The Top 4 Smartphone Cameras on the Market

For capturing life’s big events, or even for some of those more special, intimate moments, a high quality camera is always good to have in hand. Sometimes it’s just not practical to reach for our digital SLR camera or keep it at the ready 24/7. This is where a high quality camera on your smartphone comes in. Here, we’ll look at the top rated smartphone cameras and how they perform against one another.

Galaxy S7 Edge

DxOMark, a camera review site, gave the Galaxy S7 Edge a recent score of 88 out of 100, making it the highest scoring smartphone camera currently on the market. The score was based on a number of factors, including separate scores given for photos and videos. One of the features mentioned in the review talks specifically about how the camera is able to preserve finer details in low light and in bright light. DxOMark noted that the camera on the Galaxy S7 Edge allows for good exposure for images taken both inside and outside. When the flash is used, the colours are accurate and not blown out.

The one concern DxOMark had about the Galaxy S7 Edge camera was that there was a warm/yellow tone to an image taken when shot under a tungsten light source.

It’s important to note that while DxOMark didn’t specifically take the camera on the non-edged Galaxy S7for a test drive, it does feature the same camera as the S7 Edge.

Galaxy S7 Edge camera specs:

• Resolution: 4032x3024px
• Aspect ratio: 4:3
• Sensor size: 1/2.6”
• Pixel size: 1.4μm
• Focal length: 26mm
• Aperture: F1.7
• Megapixels: 12MP

iPhone 6S Plus

The new iPhone 6S Plus has had some serious improvements made, making it far better than its predecessor. With the true-tone flash, focus pixels and 4K video, the new camera on the 6S Plus is fiercely competitive with its android counterparts.

In a review by Phone Arena, the iPhone 6s Plus outperformed all other cameras during a test drive in which both light and shade were present in an outdoor, daylight photograph. The dynamic range of the camera was a highlight, meaning that both detail and colour contrast were impressive. In this review, the constant mention of colour and the production of images that were pleasing to the eye meant that the camera was given a score ranging between 7.5-8.5 in different shooting scenarios.

In a review by Android Authority, the iPhone 6s Plus was given an overall score of 84, which put it in third place, behind the LG G5 which took first place in this review with a score of 91, and the Galaxy S7 Edge which came second with a score of 85.

iPhone 6S Plus camera specs

• Resolution: 4032×3024
• Aspect ratio: 4:3
• Sensor size: 1/3″
• Pixel size: 1.22μm
• Focal length: 29mm
• Aperture: ƒ/2.2
• Megapixels: 12MP

Huawei Nexus 6P

One major differentiating factor when it comes to the Huawei Nexus 6P is the fact that its front facing camera is 8MP. Most other smartphones have 5MP units. While taking a high quality selfie with the front camera doesn’t only rely on the number of megapixels, it does have a significant impact. In a review by Android Central, the Huawei Nexus 6P is awarded first prize in the selfie-taking category, with the reviewer citing that the additional megapixels not only ensured more details were captured in the image, but it also had no issue obtaining a sharp focus even in a dimly lit environment.

Huawei Nexus 6P camera specs

• Resolution: 4000×2992
• Aspect ratio: 4:3
• Sensor size: 1/2.3″
• Pixel size: 1.55μm
• Focal length: 29mm
• Aperture: ƒ/2.0
• Megapixels: 12.3MP

Microsoft Lumia 950

One of the most talked about features of the Microsoft Lumia 950 is the fact that it is the only one of these smartphones which has a dedicated camera button. This allows for fast access to your camera when you want to take a quick capture. What’s also handy about the camera button is that like many actual cameras, this button works as a two-stage shutter button. When you depress it halfway, it focuses. Then you depress the button completely to capture.

The second point to mention about the Lumia 950 is its true-to-life colours. It’s also capable of capturing solid detail in an image and with its easy to use manual controls, it allows you to take charge of your smartphone photography.

Of all of the smartphone cameras, it has significantly more megapixels. As mentioned earlier, while this doesn’t always necessarily ensure a sharper or clearer image, it does often ensure a more pleasing capture in many different shooting environments and when you want to crop an image later.

Microsoft Lumia 950 camera specs

• Resolution: 4992×3744
• Aspect ratio: 4:3
• Sensor size: 1/2.4″
• Pixel size: 1.12μm
• Focal length: 26mm
• Aperture: ƒ/1.9
• Megapixels: 20MP 

It depends on your needs

Overall, each one of these smartphone cameras has their own array of advantages and disadvantages. What you will be using your smartphone camera for will have an impact on which camera best suits your needs. In general, you can’t go wrong with any of these smartphone cameras. As four of the best smartphone cameras available on the market, they not only do the job, but provide you with captured memories you’ll treasure for a lifetime.