Smartphone cameras have gotten better in the last few years to the point that they beat point-and-shoot cameras and even can compete with entry-level DSLR Cameras.
In this article, we will check out the Top 10 Camera smartphones globally and refer to feedback from DXO Mark, several Youtubers (MKBHD, MrWhoistheBoss, GeekyRanjit, etc.), and publications such as TheVerge, Engadget, CNET, and GSMArena for finalizing the recommendations.
What Makes Smartphone Cameras Phenomenal?
The new advancements such as computational photography using AI (artificial intelligence) and machine learning is playing a significant role in the betterment of mobile camera. Smartphones are coming closer to DSLR cameras for imaging and videos.
You would have noticed smartphones optimizing images based on scene detection and doing a lot of post-processing to improve the results.
Companies like Apple, Google, Samsung, Oppo, and others make clicking great images easy for any regular user.
The addition of features such as OIS (optical image stabilization), variable aperture, telephoto lens, macros, wide-angle lenses, and 4K/8K videos makes smartphone photography brilliant.
Having said that, let’s check out some of the best camera phones that are available in the world:
Xiaomi Mi 11 – DxO Mark Camera Score – 120
On 28 December 2020, Xiaomi Mi 11 was launched in China and available in several other countries.
The smartphone has an excellent overall camera Score of 120 based on DXO Mark and has raving reviews from other publications. Let’s check out the details about its cameras.
DxO Mark Camera Score – 120 Overall, Photos – 127, Videos – 107
The Xiaomi Mi 11 comes with an innovative Triple camera setup at the rear that includes
- 108MP Samsung ISOCELL HM1 primary camera with an aperture of f/1.85
- 13 MP ultrawide angle lens with an aperture of f/2.4
- 5MP macro lens along with an aperture of f/2.4
Rear camera details – The Mi 11 offers an AI Erase 2.0, Night mode 2.0, Accurate white balance, Wide dynamic range, Fairly well-controlled chroma noise in low-light, and support 8k video support @24/30fps, 4k video @30/60fps.
Further, The Mi 11 got a 20MP selfie camera with an aperture of f/2.4 that can click detailed images and allow you to make 1080P video @30/60fps.
Other key specs
- 6.81 inches AMOLED WQHD+ curved DotDisplay panel that offers an incredible 3200×1440 resolution.
- Comes in 2 variant that includes 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
- Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 octa-core processor fabricated on 5nm and an Adreno 660 GPU.
- Battery – massive 4600 mAH capacity battery and 55 watts wired and 50 watts wireless charging support.
- Price CNY 3,999, $750, (Rs 45,971).
Oppo Find X3 Pro – DxO Mark Camera Score – 131
Oppo Find X3 Pro is a premium phone from Oppo launched on 11th March 2021.
DxO Mark Camera Score – 131 Overall, Photos – 139, Videos – 111
The Oppo Find X3 Pro comes with a Quad-camera setup at the rear that bit looks like an iPhone 12 pro camera setup:
- 50MP Sony IMX 766 main sensor with an aperture of f/1.8
- 50MP Sony IMX 766 ultrawide angle lens with an aperture of f/2.2
- 13MP telephoto lens with an aperture of f/2.4
- 3MP macro lens with an aperture of f/3.0
Rear camera features – The camera delivers Photo, Night, Video, Portrait, Dual-view video, Slo-motion, Timelapse, Movie, Expert, Panorama, Text scanner, Microscope, Sticker, Google Lens, and up to 4k video shooting support @30/60fps.
For selfies, The Oppo Find X3 Pro got a 32MP front-facing camera with an aperture of f/2.4 that offers Photo, Video, Portrait, Night, Dual-view video, Timelapse, Panorama, Sticker, and up to 1k video recording support @30fps.
Other key specs
- 6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED display and a QHD+(3216*1440)pixels resolution have a 20:9 aspect ratio and 525ppi pixel density.
- – 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
- Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Octa-core processor and Adreno 660 GPU.
- Battery – 4500mAH battery capacity, 65 Watts fast charging.
- Price CNY 5,499, $1000 (roughly Rs 61,000).
OnePlus 9 Pro – DxO Mark Camera Score – 124
OnePlus 9 Pro was launched on 23 March 2021, and this year, Oneplus has collaborated with Hasselblad (a famous camera manufacturer) to optimize cameras on the Oneplus 9 series.
DxO Mark Camera Score – 124 Overall, Photos – 129, Videos – 108
The OnePlus 9 Pro comes with a Quad camera setup at the back that carries
- 48MP Sony IMX789 main camera along with an aperture of f/1.8
- 50MP ultrawide angle lens with an aperture of f/2.2
- an 8MP telephoto lens along with an aperture of f/2.4
- 2MP Monochrome lens
Rear camera features – The camera delivers features like Nightscape, Super Macro, UltraShot HDR, Smart Scene Recognition, Portrait mode, Pro mode, Panorama, Tilt-shift mode, Focus Peaking, Cat/Dog Face Focus, Raw file, Filters, Super Stable, Video Nightscape, Video HDR, Video Portrait, Focus Tracking, Timelapse, Hyperlapse, and up to 8k video recording support @30fps, 4K recording @30/60/120fps.
Additionally, the OnePlus 9 Pro got a 16MP Sony IMX471 front-facing camera with an aperture of f/2.4 and supports up to 1080P video recording @30fps.
Overall, the cameras are good but not as good as the Pixel 5 or Apple iPhone 12 Pro. Also, the front camera sensor is very old, and Oneplus has been using it for years.
Other key specs
- 6.7 inch fluid AMOLED left align punch hole notch display along with a QHD+(3216*1440)pixels resolution including a 1300nits peak brightness, and a 120Hz refresh rate
- Comes in 2 variant that includes 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
- Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, Adreno 660 GPU.
- Battery – 4500 mAH capacity battery with 65 Watts fast charging and 50 Watts fast wireless charging.
- Price Rs 64,999(starting price).
Related – Smartphone Camera Vs DSLR Camera – Which Is Better?
Google Pixel 5 – DxO Mark Camera Score – 120
On 30 September, Google Pixel 5 was launched in the market. I can’t entirely agree with the DXO Mark Score for Pixel 5, and it is one of the best camera smartphones for still photography, thanks to the optimization and post-processing by Google.
DxO Mark Camera Score – 120 Overall, Photos – 129, Videos – 107
The Google Pixel 5 has a dual rear camera setup that includes
- 12.2 MP primary camera with an aperture of f/1.7
- 16 MP ultrawide angle lens comes with an aperture of f/2.2
Rear camera features – the camera offers stunning images, Autofocus with dual-pixel phase detection, Fixed focus, 83° field of view, and up to 4k video shooting support @30fps, 1080P video shooting support @30/60/120fps.
The selfie camera it had is the only 8MP with an aperture of f/2.0, but it offers decent selfie pictures and up to 1080P video recording support @30fps.
Other key specs
- 6.0 inch left align punch hole notch display and an FHD+(2340*1080)pixels resolution including a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and a 432ppi pixel density.
- – 8 GB RAM and 128GB storage.
- Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G octa-core processor fabricated on 7nm and an Adreno 620 GPU.
- Battery – 4080 mAH capacity battery with fast charging support.
- Price Rs 65,050 or US $649
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra – DxO Mark Camera Score – 143
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is one of the best camera phones globally, launched on 29 March 2021.
The phone comes with huge cameras at the back and looks more like a camera first, phone second device.
DxO Mark Camera Score – 143 Overall, Photos – 148, Videos – 117
The Mi 11 Ultra comes with a superb triple camera setup at the rear :
- 50MP Samsung ISOCELL GN2 with an aperture of f/1.95
- 48MP 128-degree ultrawide angle, aperture f/2.2
- 48MP Telephoto lens with f/4.1 provides 120x digital zoom, 10x hybrid zoom, and 5x optical zoom.
Also, the rear camera offers a PDAF, OIS, super night mode and up to 8k video shooting support @24fps, 4k video recording @30/60fps.
Additionally, the phone got a 20MP in-display selfie camera with HDR, Panorama, night mode selfie, and up to 1080P video recording support @30/60fps.
Overall, the phone’s camera delivers good exposure, dynamic range in daylight, indoor, excellent night shots, and immersive video recording quality.
Other Key Specs
- 6.81 inch AMOLED QHD (3200*1440),120Hz refresh rate.
- 12 GB Ram and 128 GB Storage
- Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Octa-core, Adreno 660 GPU.
- OS – MIUI 12 With Android 11.
- 5000 mAH Battery and 67 Watts Charging.
- Price Rs. 67,999
Huawei P50 Pro – DxO Mark Camera Score – 144
On 29 July 2021, the Huawei P50 Pro was launched in the Chinese market and may later launch in other countries.
It is the best camera smartphone according to the DXO rating, ahead of the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra. Let’s check out its cameras in detail.
DxO Mark Camera Score – 144 Overall, Photos – 149, Video – 116
The P50 Pro comes with a high-quality Quad rear camera setup. Each camera in the setup is valuable and can click images with excellent quality.
- 50MP primary camera along with an aperture of f/1.8
- 64MP telephoto lens with an aperture of f/3.5
- 40MP portrait lens with an aperture of f/1.6
- 13MP ultrawide angle lens with an aperture of f/2.2.
Rear camera features – The camera offers AI Cinemagraph, Story Creator, Audio Zoom, and Time-Lapse. Also, it features Dual-View Video, Night, Macro, Portrait, Pro, and Slow-Mo modes. It can record 4K videos @30/60fps.
Furthermore, the P50 Pro got a 13MP selfie camera with an aperture of f/2.4, and it is also records 4K video @30fps.
The overall score is slightly better than the Mi 11 Ultra, which scores a total of 143.
Other key specs of the Huawei P50 Pro
- 6.6-inch FHD+(1228 * 2700 pixels) curved AMOLED display along with a 120Hz refresh rate.
- Comes in 3 variant that includes 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, 8GB RAM and 512GB storage.
- Processor – Comes in two SoC variants – Kirin 9000 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 octa-core processor. Most importantly, both processor offers 5G connectivity.
- Battery – 4100 mAH capacity battery and has got 66 watts wired fast charging support, and 50 watts fast wireless fast charging support.
- Starting Price CNY 5,988 or Rs. 68,800.
Vivo X60 Pro+ – DxO Mark Camera Score – 128
On 25 March 2021, Vivo X60 Pro+ was launched with special camera features like Gimbal stabilization and 8K video recording.
Vivo has done great optimizing the cameras on the X60 series, and the color profile and white balance are quite accurate.
DxO Mark Camera Score – 128 Overall, Photos – 131, Videos – 110
The premium Vivo X60 Pro+ carries a Quad camera setup at the back
- 50MP primary camera with an aperture of f/1.57
- 48MP Ultra-Wide Gimbal camera with an aperture of f/2.2
- 32MP portrait lens with an aperture of f/2.08
- 8MP periscope lens along with an aperture of f/3.4
Rear camera details – The X60 Pro+ offers features like Night mode, Portrait, Photo, High Resolution, PANO, Live Photo, Slow-Mo, Time Lapse, PRO, AR Stickers, Super Moon, DOC, Pro Sports, Astro, Long-Exposure, Double Exposure, detail images with 60x hyper zoom, and record 4k video @60fps, 8K video @30fps.
Additionally, the X60 Pro+ got a 32MP selfie camera with an aperture of f/2.45.
Other key specs
- 6.56 inch AMOLED, FHD+ (2376*1080) pixels resolution, 120Hz refresh rate.
- – 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage.
- Processor – Samsung Exynos 1080 Octa-core, ARM Mali-G78 GPU.
- Battery – 4300 mAH, 33 Watts charger.
- Price Rs 69,990.
iPhone 12 – DxO Mark Camera Score – 122
Apple launched one of the most successful iPhone 12 series last October.
The iPhone 12 and the 12 Pro are excellent camera phones ahead of most Android phones when filming videos.
If you plan to buy a phone to make more videos – the iPhone is a better choice.
DxO Mark Camera Score – 122 Overall, Photos – 132, Videos – 112
For stunning images and high-quality videos, The iPhone 12 has a dual-camera setup at the rear:
- 12MP primary camera with an aperture of f/1.6
- 12MP 120-degree ultrawide angle lens with an aperture of f/2.4
Rear camera features – The camera offers features like 2x optical zoom out, Digital zoom up to 5x, Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control, OIS(Optical Image Stabilization), Night mode, Deep fusion, and up to 4k video recording support @24/25/30/60fps, HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 30 fps.
Also, The iPhone 12 got a 12MP front-facing camera with an aperture of f/2.2 that also delivers same ditto features as the rear camera.
Other key specs
- Display – 6.1 inch Super Retina XDR OLED, (2532×1170) pixel resolution, 460 PPI.
- – 64GB/128GB/ 256GB Storage options.
- Processor – A14 Bionic Hexa core processor, Apple GPU (4-core graphics).
- OS – iOS 14.
- Battery – Video playback up to 17 hrs, and Audio playback up to 65 hrs
- Price Rs. 70,900(starting price).
Related Articles – Top 7 Action Cameras in India, 10 Best Mirrorless Cameras to Click Amazing Images.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus – DxO Mark Camera Score – 119
Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus is a part of the latest S21 series that was launched in January 2021.
DxO Mark Camera Score – 119 Overall, Photos – 124, Videos – 101
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus has a Triple-camera setup at the rear:
- 64MP telephoto camera with an aperture of f/2.0
- 12MP ultrawide angle lens with an aperture of f/2.2
- 12MP primary camera with an aperture of f/1.8
Rear camera features – The camera delivers high-quality images, 30x digital zoom, fantastic night mode, excellent close-up shots, portrait shots, and mainly up to 8k video shooting support @24fps.
Also, The Galaxy S21 Plus got a 10MP front-facing camera with an aperture of f/2.2 that offers bright selfies, good portrait shots, and sharp selfies even at low light conditions.
Other key specs
- Display – 6.7 inch Dynamic AMOLED, FHD+ (2400*1080), 120Hz refresh rate.
- – 8GB RAM and 128GB/256GB storage.
- Processor – Samsung Exynos 2100, ARM Mali-G57 GPU.
- Battery – 4800 mAH battery, wireless charging
- Price Rs. 71,999(starting price).
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra – DxO Mark Camera Score – 123
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra is the flagship from Samsung and comes with improved cameras compared to the S21 Plus.
DxO Mark Camera Score – 123 Overall, Photos – 129, Videos – 102
The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a Quad-camera setup at the rear:
- 108 MP main camera with an aperture of f/1.8
- 12 MP ultrawide angle lens with an aperture of f/2.2
- 10 MP telephoto lens with an aperture of f/2.4
- 10 MP telephoto lens with an aperture of f/4.9
Rear camera features – The camera delivers high-quality, detailed photos, PDAF, OIS(Optical Image Stabilization), night mode, portraits, and up to 8k video @24 FPS.
Additionally, it has a 10 MP selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture that offers bright selfies, good portrait & low light shots.
Other key specs
- 6.8 inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x Infinity O display with 120Hz refresh rate and comes with the S-Pen support.
- – 12GB RAM and 256GB storage.
- Processor – Samsung Exynos 2100, ARM Mali-G57 GPU.
- Battery – 5000 mAH, fast wireless charging.
- Price Rs. 1,05,999(starting price).
iPhone 12 Pro – DxO Mark Camera Score – 128
The iPhone 12 Pro was also launched in Oct 2020, and the iPhone 12 but came with an improved camera system.
DxO Mark Camera Score – 128 Overall, Photos – 135, Videos – 112
The iPhone 12 Pro has a fancy Triple-camera setup at the rear:
- 12MP primary camera with an aperture of f/1.6
- 12MP 120-degree ultrawide angle lens with an aperture of f/2.4
- 12MP telephoto camera with an aperture of f/2.0
Rear camera features – The camera offers features like night mode portrait, Dual OIS, Panorama, Night mode, deep fusion, 4x optical zoom range, Digital zoom up to 10x and up to 4k video recording support @24/25/30/60fps, HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 30 fps.
Additionally, it has 12MP front-facing camera with an aperture of f/2.2 that offers bright selfies and supports 4k video recording @24/30/60fps.
Other key specs
- 6.1‑inch (diagonal) all‑screen OLED display with a 2532×1170-pixel resolution at 460 PPI.
- Comes with 128GB/ 256GB/ 512GB Storage options.
- Processor – A14 Bionic Hexa core processor based on the 5 Nm comes with Apple GPU (4-core graphics).
- OS – iOS 14.
- Battery – Video playback up to 17 hrs, and Audio playback up to 65 hrs
- Price Rs. 1,15,100(starting price).
Tutorial – How To Shoot Better Images With Your Smartphone.
So, that’s all from my side; if we have missed any major smartphone in this list other than Huawei, then do let me know in the comments below.
The Huawei Mate 40 Pro+, Mate 40 Pro, and the Huawei P40 Pro+ are also incredible camera phones. Still, the availability outside of China is minimal, and the Android Ban on Huawei has jeopardized the brand’s global presence.
Written By Ayush Sharma, Edited By Kanuj Sharma
