What makes one cell phone camera better than another?

For many people, producing and preserving photos and videos is part of an almost daily routine. Many people use them to express their creativity on TikTok, YouTube, and other social networks. And the source of most of these images and movies is, of course, cell phones. Hence the question of which devices are the best or, at least, the most suitable for taking photos and videos.

Are the most expensive models of the manufacturers a reference? Some specialists have an opinion on this subject, but most believe that the more expensive a cell phone is, the better the camera system is, because this is basically the most expensive part of the hardware.

Eduardo Amador, Director of Sales of Mobile Experiences at Samsung Ecuador, says that there is not necessarily a price-value relationship. “Although the fact that a cell phone is a premium range and, therefore, its price is one of the highest on the market, this does not, in the end, guarantee that the camera corresponds to the price of the equipment in its entirety. What consumers should take into account when paying for a high-end device is the technology that supports the brand of the device, its history and the advances that it can bring. It’s not just how many lenses the camera has, but its software and the sensors.

Amador gives the example of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which has a 2.4um pixel sensor —Samsung’s largest pixel sensor—, which enables the camera lenses to capture more light and data, optimizing lighting and details. of photos and videos. In addition, the advanced Super Clear Glass lens helps to take smoother and clearer night videos without flare. You also have to take into accounttheir camera needs: If you’re a content creator, you may be looking for a camera and device that can take the best photos and videos possible. And the connectivity offered by the smartphonebecause it’s no use having the best photos that you can’t share or intervene later “.

The operation of the cameras is highly intuitive, that is, it does many things by itself. On the other hand, the different cameras can also be manually selected on the screen.

What other factors influence the photographic quality of mobile phones?

Experts say that a larger image sensor is better, as it offers images with less noise. An optical image stabilizer is also very useful if done right. It is hardly possible to draw conclusions about the image quality based solely on the technical characteristics, and that this can only be verified in practice.

Smartphones have multiple lenses, but how does this help? Rodolfo Forster, Product Marketing and Go To Market Leader for HMD Global in Latin America, says that “it helps in the sense of providing a physical, optical capture of a scene with specific format or requirements and minimizing the need for manipulation by software. For example, to capture a panoramic image outdoors we will have better results using a wide angle lens instead of capturing it with the normal lens and then having to do crop and manipulate the image”.

“The variety of lenses with different focal lengths not only allows good results when blurring the background, but also offers a greater variety of approaches, and with them greater possibilities of taking real photos or capturing more information in a single shoteven if it’s a selfie”, highlights Amador.

In no case should you let yourself be infected by pixel mania, specialists warn. More pixels does not mean more image quality at all. Conversely, too high a number of pixels on a tiny camera sensor increases image noise. In that case, the device would have to filter out this noise with great effort, which would cause other errors in the image.

“In external characteristics, we must always take care of the light of the environment in which the photograph is going to be taken, while in internal hardware of the equipment will always have an important role in the quality of the photograph”thinks David Paz y Miño, Huawei Marketing and Public Relations Manager in Ecuador.

Amador maintains that it is not only a matter of the combination of lenses or number of cameras, but also of the software and technology. “The S22 Series (Samsung) camera has also been enhanced to allow users to take high-quality photos and videos of distant subjects and in low-light environments. Features that improve the sharpness of selfies and remove Moire patterns that appear when capturing TV screens or monitors have also been added to the gallery, bringing a new photo remastering experience. The photo editor’s automated AI eraser intelligently detects and removes shadows and light reflections more efficiently than if users were to manually select and erase objects.”

When shopping for a new device, you can assume that a good camera will deliver both good photos and good videos. “After all, the lens and the image sensor are the same,” Michael Wolf of the German product evaluation organization Stiftung Warentest explains in DPA, adding: “Videos, however, are more demanding in terms of processing capacity”.

Is it possible to orient yourself by the names of well-known lens or camera manufacturers that usually appear on cell phones or lenses? “One thing is a Reflex camera and another is mobile cameras. Although there is a similar principle in both, mobile photography has other precepts and characteristics that differentiate them”, emphasizes Amador.

While Forster comments that having the support of a brand that has a tradition and reputation in the field of lenses or photography is always a good indicator. “But that doesn’t mean cameras that don’t have that association can’t have comparable or even higher quality.”