Let's look at the list of the best camera phones according to one of the most famous companies in the photography industry. Is that all
Table of contents
- Is DxOMark an office of bad people?
- Honor Magic4 Ultimate
- Huawei P50 Pro
- Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
- Huawei Mate 40 Pro +
- Apple iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
If you ever read news about camera phonesand other flagships, I'm sure you've heard about the DxOMark rating, which allows you to quickly make up your mind about the balance of power in the camera race among smartphone manufacturers. However, despite all the authority of the test authors, there are a number of complaints about the DxOMark mobile rating: Indian brands with zero recognition coexist with flagships from Google, and somewhere in the annals of the rating you can easily find very lousy copies of Vertu. Oh sorry, Meitu.
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The camera rating has at least an advanced information search mode
In short, they have a strange selection.This approach looks especially strange after the huge amount of information they have collected about full-size sensors and digital camera lenses. This data, together with the developed programs for photo processing, provided a great credibility outside a narrow circle of manufacturers. And then wrap it all up...
Is DxOMark an office of bad people?
DxO (no additional characters in the name) -it was once a consulting company that provided recommendations to camera manufacturers to improve their end products and developed software in-house. More precisely, she does all this now, but already in the form of DxO Labs. And DxOMark, better known to the average consumer, is engaged in measurements and ranking.
The DXOMark testing system itself was originallycontained a number of restrictions. In addition to compiling ratings, the company sells a special DxO Analyzer utility to other manufacturers for very detailed testing of cameras and optics. The utility package is expensive, not everyone buys it, but at the same time a huge number of manufacturers are in favor of cooperation. A problem arises from this - a manufacturer that improves camera hardware using DxO Analyzer can get higher scores in tests from DxOMark, because the tests themselves are sharpened to check parameters that are already configured in accordance with recommendations from DxO.
The most frostbitten camera phones ever! Even DxOMark was afraid of them
And the company even tried to get away from this model,along the way, rebuilding its own system of grading and scoring. The result of these changes and the strange policy of choosing devices for filling ratings is endless online text battles on specialized resources about the legitimacy of tests and their results. Judge for soap, as they say. And for examples of pictures taken with almost any smartphone, you can refer to GSMArena and Notebookcheck.
Should I trust DxOMark data?They are constantly trying to improve their testing algorithm by adding new columns in the rating. Now points are awarded to smartphones for the battery, and for the display, and for the sound. However, we are still interested in what DxOMark ate the dog on - cameras. And the best camera phones in their understanding, respectively.
Honor Magic4 Ultimate
Honor Magic4 UltimateMain cameraSamsung GN2, 50 MP, ƒ/1.6, 0.7 µm, PDAF, Laser AFWide cameraOmnivision OV64B, 64MP, ƒ/2.2, 0.7µm, 126˚Telephoto lensOmnivision OV64B, periscope, 64 MP, ƒ/2.2, 0.7 µm, 90 mmcolor module50 MP, ƒ/2.0, PDAF
Honor is desperately trying to return to the camp of the bigAndroid manufacturers. And even shows encouraging results in this. According to Counterpoint, the first quarter of this year was great for Honor - the company took 16.9% of the market in China, reaching fourth place. She managed to overtake even Xiaomi with Huawei.
Now the main flagship of the company is headed byDxOMark rating with some incredible result of 146 points. What should a Chinese smartphone camera be able to do in order to outshine all its competitors? Probably very good to shoot?
technick
Detailing did not work
DxOMark
And this is where I became uncomfortable.And it's not that I was so surprised by the characteristics of the sensors (and they are here, admittedly, at the level). Automation in Honor Magic4 Ultimate ... just sucks. This can be seen even in the review from DxOMark themselves. Too brazen HDR breaks the feeling of naturalness of photos, adds unrealistic shadows and sometimes reduces detail. At the same time, the nature of the shadows, drawn by software, is about the same as that of the Huawei Mate 30 Pro. Only the last one was released three years ago. But everything changes if you start shooting in manual mode. And this also applies to video shooting.
Without these modifications the picture begins to looknaturally. Details are preserved better, and you can appreciate the full power of the optics and sensors used here. Otherwise, this is an ordinary 2022 flagship with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 “under the hood” and a whole bunch of chips (thanks, Honor). With only one hefty minus – You won't be able to install Google services on it. And if by some miracle it succeeds, then with the next system update the American services will simply disappear into oblivion. This is due to the model’s focus on the Chinese market. Therefore, for the domestic buyer there is only one way out - the Pro version from the same line. Why pay more if you can get the same “soap” automatically, but for less money? And even with Google services.
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Wow, and there is no Google support on your fashionable camera phone. Miracles!
Huawei P50 Pro
Huawei P50 ProMain cameraOmnivision OV50A, 50 MP, ƒ/1.8, 23mm (wide), PDAF, Laser AF, OISWide cameraOmnivision OV13B10, 13 MP, ƒ/2.2, 13mm, AFTelephoto lensOmnivision OV64B, periscope 64 MP, ƒ/3.5, 90mm, PDAF, OIS, 3.5x optical zoom, 7x lossless zoomMonochrome moduleOmnivision OV40A, 40 MP, ƒ/1.6, 23mm, AF
For this monster, photos will have to be given toRussian retail is all 120 thousand rubles (in gray retail it is now a third cheaper, by the way). Such is the price of partnership with Leica and not the most favorable situation with exchange rates. Why second place and not first?
The authors of the rating were not satisfied with the picture inviewfinder (you get something completely different from what you see before shooting) and (!) the lack of Google services, which did not confuse them before scoring the first number on the list. Now the top two places are occupied by smartphones without Google services from once related brands.
Who needs camera phones without Google? In China, I’m sure there are no problems with this - there will be sales, but we (for now) need products from the “corporation of goodness”. With them somehow more familiar, or something.
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Huawei P50 Pro
Photo: 皇族拉风2011, Weibo
It helped him to the second place in the top of camera phonesbreak out a system of four main cameras, where the main module uses a sensor manufactured by OmniVision - OV50A. Small pixels (1 micron) and pixel merging, as expected, did not bring the camera to good. Judging by the sample shots from the published reviews, the main module loses too much detail even in normal lighting. Straight, even lines, which should be distinct, appear with slightly blurred edges when approached. And this applies to almost everything that falls into the field of view of the camera. Alas, automation is again not the strongest side of Chinese smartphones. It kills the full potential of sensors and optics.
Huawei P50 Pro isn't trying to ruin everything with blue shadows
DxOMark
Sometimes HDR and automatic software processingphotos here work better than in Honor Magic4 Ultimate. People's faces don't start to look tired, and shadows don't seem so "dirty". Because of this, it would be possible to swap the P50 Pro and Magic4 Ultimate in places, but the loss in detail on the part of Huawei does not allow this.
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra
Xiaomi Mi 11 UltraMain cameraSamsung GN2, 50 MP, ƒ/2.0, 24 mm, 1/1.12", 1.4 µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, Laser AF, OISWide cameraSony IMX586 Exmor RS, 8 MP, ƒ/2.2, 12 mm, 128˚ (ultrawide), 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAFTelephoto lensSony IMX586 Exmor RS, 48 MP, ƒ/4.1, 120 mm, 1/2.0", 0.8 µm, PDAF, OIS, 5x optical zoom
By modern standards, it’s quite an “old man”.However, as soon as you open three tabs on GSMArena with the leaders of the rating (I remind you that GSMArena publishes examples of pictures taken from the same points), it immediately turns out that Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is still an excellent camera phone. With a decent camera and auto detail that you won't find in either the Honor Magic4 Ultimate or the Huawei P50 Pro.
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Pictures on the zoom module are noisy, but at the same time sharp and natural.
Photo: Derrick Chou, Weibo
Yes, they can shoot in manual mode withoutinterventions of automation with slightly better results, however, the concept of mobile cameras today is expectedly reduced to a simple formula “clicked - ready”. If buyers were shooting in bulk in manual mode, then Sony, which has been promoting manual shooting on smartphones for the past few years, would not be so bad with sales of its own camera phones. And Huawei and Honor themselves would use a sane interface for shooting in professional mode. In this regard, they are very far from Sony.
The pictures that the Mi 11 Ultra produces look likenaturally. The edges of small objects do not fall apart when zoomed in, but quite confidently retain clear outlines, albeit with a slight bias towards increasing contrast and the appearance of excess graininess.
Huawei Mate 40 Pro +
Huawei Mate 40 Pro +Main cameraSony IMX700, 50 MP, ƒ/1.9, 23 mm, 1/1.28", 1.22 µm, PDAF, Laser AF, OISWide cameraSony IMX718, 20 MP, ƒ/2.4, 14 mm, PDAFTelephoto lens12 MP, ƒ/2.4, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom + 8 MP, ƒ/4.4, 240 mm, PDAF, OIS, 10x optical zoom
And no, this is not a Google Pixel again.And not even some latest Samsung Galaxy. Thanks DxOMark, now this article looks like an advertisement for Huawei. But jokes aside, this is a well-deserved candidate for getting into the top 5 camera phones.
The flagship of two years ago has absorbed everythingadvantages of the Mate 30 Pro, but lost the unloved touch volume rocker. It was replaced here with a full-fledged physical one, retaining the recognizable crazy corners of the screen.
Instead of sensors from OmniVision and Samsung, the Mate40 Pro+ uses sensors made by Sony. The pixels here are slightly larger than in the P50 Pro, which makes the picture less noisy even against the background of the Mi 11 Ultra. And everything seems to be fine, but here the famous Chinese algorithms come into play, which the reviewers from DxOMark liked so much that the disgusting contrast and missing details are immediately called “excellent texture”.
Of course, there are a little more details, but the algorithms still work poorly. It is enough to compare what the hands of the clock have turned into
Another problem is that this smartphone,apparently, it was released specifically for marketing needs and getting into the top 1 of DxOMark. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain that the Mate 40 Pro + could not be bought without any problems even after the launch. Now it's even more difficult. But with the usual Mate 40 Pro, everything is easier. It is cheaper, and in the same rating it lags behind its older brother by only two points. Leaving room for who? That's right, for Apple.
Apple iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
Apple iPhone 13 Pro (Max)Main cameraSony IMX703, 12 MP, ƒ/1.5, 26 mm, 1.9µm, dual pixel PDAF, sensor-shift OISWide cameraSony IMX772, 12 MP, ƒ/1.8, 13mm, 120˚, PDAFTelephoto lensSony IMX713, 12 MP, ƒ/2.8, 77 mm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoomToF sensorSony IMX590, 12 MP, 1 µm
Such a rating without Apple would look verystrange, given that the company is trying with all its might to become the main trendsetter in terms of the “correct” and almost imperceptible use of computing power for shooting. The result of the work done is still not the heaviest smartphone cameras on the market that can compete with monsters like the Mi 11 Ultra.
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A kind of average result that a huge number of people like
Photo: Ivansidorenko, Weibo
After all these ultrazooms and inch sensors,It’s really hard for iPhones to surprise a sophisticated user with anything. However, judging by the sales of Apple smartphones, many simply do not care at all about periscopes and other achievements of engineers. Simpler is better. And the iPhone copes well with this, producing the results expected from it. It is “ok”, but only if you don’t zoom the resulting images too much. And this is still better than the “soap” that Chinese rating representatives often give out in exactly the same automatic mode with one button on half the screen.