Taking photographs is a function that has been largely absorbed by smartphones. Obviously, the professional environment can obtain far superior results thanks to experience, training, and specialized equipment, but casual shots are an everyday thing, and doubts about their quality always linger. What makes a smartphone camera "good"? In the video we'll see below, you'll discover several useful details.
The Megapixel Race Is Dead and Buried
Just as it happened with processor frequency, today we can say that the megapixel race is dead and buried. The only ones responsible for keeping it afloat for so long were manufacturers and distributors, addicted to big, artificial numbers to promote their products. For example, consider the Mark II edition of the Canon EOS 7D. If you study its specifications, you'll see it offers 20.2 megapixels effectively. Why does it reach 20.2 megapixels, when other compact and more economical models deliver a similar resolution? The truth is that comparing the Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a compact "point and shoot" is like comparing a fighter jet with a paper airplane. The same happens with the cameras integrated into smartphones, but Marques Brownlee's video helps us understand better:
The Sensor Is Everything
All roads lead to the sensor, its real size and specifications. Smartphone sensors must respect several space limits, and still we can almost always find a slight protuberance around the lens. The surface of the sensor and the effective size of its pixels are fundamental to establishing the difference between a high number of megapixels on the box and a superior response in low-light environments. For this reason we find cameras that respond wonderfully when taking photos outdoors and fall apart when sunlight disappears. This leads us directly to what the aperture is. In general, the larger the aperture a lens can achieve, the greater the amount of light it lets in. The average on smartphones is usually f/2.0, but there are already models with f/1.8.
Stabilization, Flash and Post-Processing
Finally, we enter the field of stabilization, flash and post-processing. Software stabilization only makes minor corrections, and on many models it is insufficient; therefore, a good option is to look for alternatives with optical stabilization, as long as the budget allows. The use of flash is complicated on smartphones, since it tends to "burn" the image regardless of its technology (LED, xenon, etc.). The last step is post-processing. The image the smartphone presents is not what the lens captured. Edge detail, color saturation, color reduction and the "temperature" of the image play a critical role in the final result. Although it's true that the video does not recommend any particular lens, with this information on our side it should be easier to determine which mobile phone best suits our needs.
