Which smartphone has the best cameras? We compare the last 9 flagships

Many of you valued this analysis very positively, since it is not usual to be able to see the same scene captured at the same moment by different flagships. However, some of you also suggested us not to focus only on the main camera.

Well, we’ve listened to your feedback, and this time we’ve decided to expand our testing to cover the main (wide), telephoto, and ultra-wide cameras, as well as Portrait mode.

In addition, we have widened the comparison to nine flagship ships : Pixel 7, iPhone 14 Pro, Huawei Mate 50 Pro, OPPO Find X5 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Xiaomi 13 Pro, HONOR Magic5 Pro, Vivo X90 Pro and OnePlus 11 .

Analysis Index

1. Camera Specifications
2. how it has been tested
3. wide angle camera
4. ultra wide angle camera
5.  camera
6. Portrait mode

Camera Specifications

In each scene, you can read a short comment about my impressions, as well as download a ZIP file with the original images as they come out of the smartphone so you can compare the captures for yourself.

Note: This test is not intended to be a definitive comparison, but rather a help for those who wish to better understand the differences between the cameras of different smartphones when capturing a static scene.

How the test was done

The nine phones have been configured with the settings that are active by default , so that the test is as representative as possible of what a user who simply takes a photo without complicating his life gets. Better results could be obtained in some cases using Pro modes or shooting RAW.

By default, all six phones capture photos at approximately 12 MP resolution, all making use of 4-in-1 or 8-in-1 pixel-binning. Therefore, those tests where the image has been cropped to better appreciate the differences in sharpness, the number of pixels in each crop is similar, so the comparison is fair.

The photographs were taken by hand, without using any tripod or support , at the same instant of time, with differences of only a few seconds. In night scenes, to avoid penalizing a phone for unexpected movement (for example, wind), multiple shots were taken with each phone. In this case, the best has been chosen, although the differences have been minimal in all cases.

wide angle camera

Scene 1

It’s often said that in bright light, even the worst phones take good photos. However, even at the high end, there are noticeable differences in the way you capture colors and adjust exposure.

In this comparison, the  Vivo X90 Pro  has increased the intensity of the colors (oversaturation) as it is not written, giving rise to an image with excessively bright greens. The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, HONOR Magic5 Pro , OnePlus 11 and Xiaomi 13 Pro also suffer from somewhat oversaturated colors, but it is not so obvious.

The Huawei Mate 50 Pro, Pixel 7 and iPhone 14 Pro are the ones that, in my opinion, capture a more real scene.

Photos taken with the wide-angle camera

To assess the sharpness of the image, I have made a 20% crop in the central area of ​​the image. In general, all smartphones resolve a good amount of detail, except for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, which produces a somewhat blurrier image.

Detail of photos taken with the wide-angle camera

Download the original images here

scene 2

These photos have also been taken in good light conditions, and again, all smartphones take good shots, albeit with differences in color tones.

As in the previous scene, the Vivo X90 Pro exaggerates the colors excessively, above the OnePlus 11 , which also saturates the colors a little more than the rest.

The capture of the Xiaomi 13 Pro catches my attention , since it looks brighter in the central area and darker on the sides. If we enlarge the images, the story of the previous scene repeats itself: All smartphones resolve a similar amount of detail except for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra , which looks blurrier.

Photos taken with the wide-angle camera

Download the original images here

scene 3

This scene taken at night shows how different smartphones capture low-light environments. All smartphones do a good job, but we have interesting differences.

If we look at the letters “GRILL CORNER” on the sign on the right, we see that some smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Vivo X90 Pro, Huawei Mate 50 Pro and HONOR Magic5 Pro , are capable of keeping the light from the streets confined. letters, while, in the rest, the light escapes and forms an unflattering halo around the labels.

All smartphones produce a similar exposure, except for the Huawei Mate 50 Pro , which captures an abnormally dark image. The shot of the Xiaomi 13 Pro also looks somewhat darker than desired.

As for the sharpness of the image, if we enlarge some details, such as the post with direction indications in the background or the restaurant menu, we can appreciate some differences. In my opinion, the HONOR Magic5 Pro produces the cleanest image.

scene 4

These images were also taken in very low light, so it’s a good way to test the phones’ night-time photography capabilities.

The orange lights of streetlights always present a challenge for cameras when it comes to adjusting the white balance. The OnePlus 11 and OPPO Find X5 Pro manage to correct the color cast quite well, while at the other extreme, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra shows an excessively orange image.

If we look at the sharpness of the image, the iPhone 14 Pro is the one that best manages to resolve the detail of the bricks, since the rest of the phones show blurred spots in some areas of the image.

Photos taken with the wide-angle camera

Download the original images here

ultra wide angle camera

scene 5

Ultra wide angle cameras allow you to capture a large number of elements in the image, which is why they are widely used when capturing landscapes, buildings or large areas. However, many manufacturers pay little attention to these cameras, equipping them with inferior quality sensors and lenses.

In this first scene, we can compare a scene captured by the ultra-wide angle camera during the day. The first thing that stands out is that there are different degrees of angle, with the HONOR Magic5 being the one that offers the widest vision.

As was the case with the wide-angle camera, the software processing makes the Vivo X90 Pro capture produce exaggerated colors, far removed from reality. The rest of the phones produce quite similar captures, although I miss a little more contrast in the Xiaomi 13 Pro .

Photos taken with the ultra wide-angle camera

If we look at the detail that each phone resolves, the Huawei Mate 50 Pro is the one that manages to capture the most detail, although all the phones are on par.

Download the original images here

scene 6

As we mentioned in the previous section, ultra-wide-angle cameras do not stand out for the quality of their sensor, so night photography is usually a pending issue. In this scene we can compare the differences between the different smartphones.

If we enlarge these images, we can see that few smartphones manage to maintain the texture of the bricks. Still, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra does a great job, followed closely by the iPhone 14 Pro.

At the opposite extreme, the results of the Huawei Mate 50 Pro and the OnePlus 11 are clearly improvable in this situation.

Fotografías tomadas con la cámara ultra gran angular

Descarga las imágenes originales aquí

Cámara teleobjetivo

Escena 7

En los últimos años, muchos fabricantes han pasado de ofrecer un factor de ampliación 2x a valores más altos como 3x o 3.5x. A mayor ampliación, más complicado resulta obtener una buena captura, ya que la apertura de la lente disminuye y el riesgo de foto movida aumenta.

Nota: Lamentablemente, solo hemos tenido acceso al Pixel 7, por lo que no hemos podido probar la cámara teleobjetivo del Pixel 7 Pro.

En este punto merece la pena notar que el Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra ofrece dos cámaras teleobjetivo, siendo una de ellas 3x y la otra 10x. Lógicamente, la cámara teleobjetivo 10x tiene ventana al captar elementos lejanos y es, por tanto, el ganador indiscutible. En esta comparativa, sin embargo, nos centraremos en su cámara 3x.

La cámara 3.5x (90 mm) del HONOR Magic5 Pro es la que produce una imagen más nítida de los objetos lejanos, y la cámara 3.5x (90 mm) del Huawei Mate 50 Pro también queda muy cerca.

Entre los menos capaces está, obviamente, el OnePlus 11, que se conforma con una cámara teleobjetivo 2x (48 mm).

Fotografías tomadas con la cámara teleobjetivo

Descarga las imágenes originales aquí

Escena 8

Aquí tenemos una escena nocturna captada por la cámara teleobjetivo, donde podemos apreciar mejor las diferencias entre los smartphones en una situación difícil.

De nuevo, las cámara 3.5x (90 mm) del HONOR Magic5 Pro y Huawei Mate 50 Pro destacan frente al resto, siendo capaces de mostrar con mucho detalle los letreros del centro de la imagen.

Portrait Mode

 scene 9 and 10

Lo primero que llama la atención es que existe bastante diferencia entre el grado de desenfoque aplicado por defecto en los retratos, incluso dentro de un mismo teléfono en función del encuadre.

Todos los smartphones tienen problemas con el pelo, especialmente cuanto mayor el grado de desenfoque del fondo. En este aspecto, el HONOR Magic5 Pro ofrece cierta ventaja, ya que retiene algunos mechones de pelo que otros teléfonos han hecho desaparecer.

En general, las imágenes captadas por el Xiaomi 13 Pro se ven algo oscuras, mientras que las del OPPO Find X5 Pro tienen poco contraste.

If we look at the texture of the skin, in my opinion, the iPhone 14 Pro does the best job. Some smartphones, like the Xiaomi 13 Pro , over-smooth the skin, while others, like the Pixel 7, produce an unfortunate texture.