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Top-tier Smartphone Cameras Review 2020

July 28, 2020

Smartphone enthusiasts usually discuss some of the most eye-catching specs of top-tier phones, such as display, CPU, GPU, and memory. Even though we’re all aware that our favorite smartphones have excellent cameras, it seems that they don’t get the amount of recognition they deserve. Today we’re going to compare the cameras some of the most prominent smartphones are supplied with, so let’s get straight to it.

Google Pixel 4 Cameras

Google’s Pixel 4 will be a year old in October, and as one of the most powerful Pixel phone to date, it’s obvious that it packs a variety of exceptional cameras.

Pixel 4 sports two ‘main’ cameras; the first rocks 12.2 megapixels with dual-pixel PDAF (phase-detection autofocus) technology while the second is even stronger, boasting 16 megapixels, PDAF, and OIS technologies, as well as 2x zoom.

Some of the most prominent features of the main cameras are dual-led flash and automatic-HDR panorama. These are both 4k cameras that work smoothly at 30 frames per second.

There are also two selfie cameras aboard Google Pixel 4; they’re Full HD 1080p cameras that sport 8 megapixels, automatic-HDR, but they don’t feature autofocus.

With this in mind, we can conclude that Pixel 4 has sharp cameras that support 4K video footage; they offer interesting features and effects, but they offer minimal zooming capabilities. They’re great for close-up photography, snapping portraits, selfies, and filming close-up footage. Their sharpness and accuracy do not amount to much at long range, which is the only reason why they are pretty limited to snapping photos and shooting clips that are in the immediate vicinity of the photographer.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Cameras

The Galaxy S20 is easily one of the most advanced smartphones ever to be released, and we’ll just say it outright – its cameras are so potent that they’ve put some of the top-shelf DSLRs to shame.

S20 features three main cameras, two of which rock 12 megapixels, while the third offers 64 MP. The first ‘main’ camera rocks a dual-pixel autofocus and OIS, which is excellent for taking group photos. Sports and travel enthusiasts will be able to utilize the second 12-MP camera to film ultra-sharp 8K videos with the super-steady video feature, while the 64-MP camera is an all-purpose one, allowing you to take lifelike photos and videos with ease.

Even the selfie camera S20 comes supplied with offer 10 megapixels and dual-pixel PDAF, but that’s not all – it’s also capable of taking 4k selfie videos at 60 frames per second. In short, S20 cameras are superior in literally every field, from close-up single-target photos to landscape panorama videos.

Apple iPhone 8 Plus Cameras

The first Apple iPhone we’ve picked for our top-tier smartphone camera reviews is the iPhone 8. Although it’s already a couple of years on the market, it comes supplied with a variety of high-quality cameras that offer pristine clarity and pinpoint accuracy.

The iPhone 8 packs a dual-lens 12-MP PDAF main camera that features HDR and quad-LED flash, making it absolutely ideal for night-time photos and capturing 4K clips in poorly-lit environments.

It offers a single-lens selfie HD camera that packs 7 megapixels, face detection, and HDR. Even though it’s not as potent or as versatile as the cameras our previous picks are outfitted with, it’s still great for taking self-portraits and front-up group photos.

Apple iPhone 11 Cameras

We’re moving up to 2019 with the iPhone 11. This iPhone is immeasurably superior to all of its predecessors in terms of specs, and that obviously includes the cameras it comes packed with.

The iPhone 11 sports a dual-lens 12-MP dual-pixel PDAF front camera, which puts it on even ground with the iPhone 8. However, its focal length is superior, and its video-shooting capability is greater. Namely, iPhone 11 can take 4k videos at 60 fps, and it rocks HDR for both photos and panorama-based effects.

Furthermore, iPhone 11 is outfitted with a dual-lens 12-MP SL-3D camera that is supplied with a biometrics sensor, which offers impeccable tracking accuracy. It’s also capable of taking 4K videos at 60 fps and rocks gyro-EIS and HDR features.

It seems that the selfie camera this iPhone comes supplied with is slightly more versatile than its actual main camera. This smartphone is perfect for taking close-up and mid-range photos and clips, but since it doesn’t offer any kind of zoom, it’s not so great for long-distance footage.

Apple iPhone SE Cameras

The brand-new iPhone SE is the strongest, best-rounded, and most versatile iPhone to this day, and most people were not too happy to discover that its cameras are actually weaker than the ones its predecessors were supplied with.

In fact, iPhone SE offers the least in terms of both raw performance and versatility out of the five models we’ve picked today.

The main camera of this smartphone is a single-lens 12-MP model with PDAF and OIS features. It offers quad-LED flash, HDR, and panorama effects, and it can take 4K videos at 60 fps. It’s not terrible by any means, but the fact that it’s a single lens camera leaves plenty of room for improvement.

Furthermore, the selfie camera is also a single-lens one. It offers 7 megapixels and a decent focal length, face detection, HDR, and panorama effects. Unlike some of the earlier iPhone versions, this camera can only shoot Full HD (1080p) videos at 30 fps.

Overall, the iPhone SE’s options are pretty limited as far as photography and film-shooting are concerned. It works great for snapping daytime photos at close range, but since it also rocks the quad-led flash, it could potentially be used for taking photos at night-time (and in poorly lit areas).

Conclusion

Google’s Pixel, Apple’s iPhones, and Samsung’s Galaxy are all titans in the smartphone industry, and they’re supplied with different cameras that serve different purposes. All things considered, we can conclude that Samsung’s S20 is leagues above the rest; Pixel 4 shares the second place iPhones 8 and 11, and the bronze medal goes to the iPhone SE.