The 7 smartphones with the best camera 2020

The predecessor, the Mi 9 Pro Premium, was regarded as a model camera smartphone worldwide. In the Mi 10 Pro, Xiaomi has improved the camera performance once again – industry insiders no longer thought that Xiaomi would outdo themselves. The 108-megapixel main camera comes with a large 1 / 1.33-inch image sensor and is combined with a 20-megapixel ultra-wide camera and two telephoto lenses with a variety of zoom options. The experts at Dxomark particularly praise the richness of detail, the very precise and stable exposure or the white balance, the sharpness of detail at the medium and large zoom as well as the extremely precise depth estimation. The ultra-wide camera is particularly impressive in bright light with good details.

Those who shoot videos more often can look forward to efficient video stabilization and precise autofocus – even in dim light. When shooting in rooms with very bright light, the camera setting of the Mi 10 Pro also delivers a wealth of detail. But even such a premium smartphone has (smaller) camera weaknesses: faces sometimes appear slightly out of focus, red tones a little too matt. Ghosting occurs from time to time with HDR ultra-wide shots and especially in night mode – nevertheless, the bottom line is that the Mi 10 Pro’s excellent camera performance hardly diminishes. For the 10th anniversary of Xiaomi, the Chinese made a big (camera) hit with the Mi 10 Pro. Pre-orders will ship from April 7th.

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• Display: 6.67 inches Super-AMOLED, 2340 x 1080 pixels (386 PPI), refresh rate 90 Hertz, HDR10 +
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
• Memory: 12 GB RAM + up to 512 GB memory, not expandable
• Front camera: 20-megapixel selfie camera with f / 2.0
• Main camera: 108 MP wide-angle camera f / 1.69 (OIS), 12 MP telephoto lens f / 2.0 with double zoom for portrait photos, 8 MP telephoto lens f / 2.0 (OIS) with ten times hybrid zoom, 20 MP ultra-wide-angle sensor f / 2.2
• Video: 8K with 30 FPS, 4K with 60 FPS, Full-HD with 960 FPS (Ultra-Slow-Motion)
• Connections: WiFi 6 (802.11ax), NFC, Bluetooth 5.1, LTE, USB-C, GPS, infrared
• Battery: 4500 mAh
• System: Android 10 with Xiaomi MIUI 11

Other: stereo speakers, in-display fingerprint sensor, quick charge function with 50 watts, dual SIM

You can find out more about Xiaomi here:  What you should know about smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi

Third place goes to Huawei’s current smartphone flagship with a new quad-camera system. Despite the excellent cam in the predecessor Huawei Mate 30 Pro, the Chinese were able to optimize the camera software again, especially with better detail and noise management.

The main camera, a “SuperSensing Cine Camera”, uses 40 MP with f / 1.6 aperture and optical image stabilization. There is also a 40 MP ultra-wide-angle camera (f / 1.8), an 8 MP telecamera (f / 2.4, OIS) and a 3D depth sensor. The front camera has 32 MP at f / 2.0 aperture. Particularly striking: The autofocus now works more stable when using the zoom compared to its predecessor. Even in very poor picture conditions, the Pro 5G delivers excellent film and video recordings. Huawei has once again reduced the focal length of the ultra-wide camera and is using a newly developed anti-distortion algorithm, which has proven to be very useful in practice.

Particularly noteworthy is the extreme richness of detail, regardless of whether you take photos in the light or dark with your smartphone. The Mate 30 Pro 5G also delivers rich, natural-looking, pleasant colours outdoors. The zoom shots are particularly impressive in the close-up and middle range. In the video shoot, the fast, precise autofocus stands out just as much as the natural colours and the impressive details in the clips.

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• Display: 6.53 inch OLED, 2400 x 1176 pixel (409 PPI), HDR10
• Processor: HiSilicon Kirin 990, Octa-Core with 2.86 GHz
• Memory: 8 GB RAM + up to 512 GB ROM, expandable by NM card by 256 GB
• Front camera: 32 MP with f / 2.0, 3D time-of-flight sensor (ToF)
• Main camera: 40 MP wide-angle with f / 1.6 (OIS), 40 MP ultra-wide-angle with f / 1.8, 8 MP telephoto with f / 2.4 (OIS) and triple zoom, a 3D-ToF sensor for depth detection
• Video: 4K with 60 FPS, Full-HD with 960 FPS (Ultra-Slow-Motion), HD (720p) with 7680 FPS (Ultra-Slow-Motion)
• Connections: WLAN 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, LTE, 5G, USB-C, infrared
• Battery: 4500 mAh

System: Android 10 with Huawei EMUI 10, but without Google services such as the Play Store, Google Maps, Google Play and YouTube.

Other: Water and dust-proof according to IP68, in-display fingerprint sensor, quick charge function with 40 watts, wireless quick charge function with 27 watts, reverse wireless charging (can charge other devices wirelessly), dual SIM

Honors flagship will appear in some countries shortly, the exact prices are still not known. In relevant shops, around 630 euros are paid for imports. Honor’s smartphone also works without Google apps, as Honor is a subsidiary of Huawei. A triple camera is installed, which has 40 MP (wide angle), 12 MP (ultra wide-angle) and 8 MP (telephoto lens). In addition to a “normal” selfie cam on the front, there is also an ultra-wide-angle camera, which means that even more people can be taken with selfies.

Honor V30 Pro

Great: If you shoot a video (4K resolution with 30 frames per second), you can first look at the different perspectives of the three cameras and compare them. The best perspective is then selected. All three cameras have PDAF with laser-assisted autofocus. Both the main and telephoto cameras have optical image stabilization (OIS). Despite the slightly unstable autofocus, the V30 Pro delivers excellent detail sharpness with very little noise. The performance of the zoom is excellent up to the medium range. Night shots are particularly successful with the Honor V30 Pro.

• Display: 6.57 inch IPS LCD, 1080 x 2400 pixels (400 PPI)
• Processor: HiSilicon Kirin 990, Octa-Core with 2.86 GHz
• Memory: 8 GB RAM + up to 256 GB, not expandable
• Front camera: 32 MP wide-angle f / 2.0 and 8 MP ultra-wide-angle f / 2.4
• Main camera: 40 MP wide-angle with f / 1.8 (OIS), 12 MP ultra-wide-angle with f / 2.2, 8 MP telephoto with f / 2.4 and triple zoom (OIS)
• Video: 4K and Full-HD with 30 FPS, HD (720P) with 960 FPS (Ultra-Slow-Motion)
• Connections: LTE, 5G, WLAN 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.1, USB-C, NFC, infrared, GPS
• Battery: 4200 mAh
• System: Android 10 with Honor Magic UI 3

Other: Fingerprint sensor on the right side, quick charge function with 40 watts, wireless quick charge function with 27 watts, reverse wireless charging (can charge other devices wirelessly), dual SIM

Apple’s premium smartphone, launched in September 2019, is the successor to the XS Max with a 6.5-inch display in four colours: gold, silver, black and green. The OLED displays no longer offer a 3D touch. There is more battery – 5 hours extra. The new camera system with three cameras now offers a wide-angle lens (120 degrees) in addition to the normal and telephoto lenses. This means that a wider field of view can also be used for close-ups to capture even more of the image. Apple relies on a fourfold optical zoom range – from the telephoto lens to the new ultra-wide-angle lens.

iPhone 11 Pro Max

It is possible to shoot the same subject with all three cameras at the same time. Apple categorizes the results under “Pro Photography” – just like the new high-quality “Pro Videos” that can be edited in the “Photos” app. Thanks to the neural engine of the A13, the camera system combines nine photos taken in quick succession and generates an excellent result. Apple scores with its camera system both with a large dynamic range and with one of the best still images. The autofocus not only works quickly but also very precise. The colours of the pictures are vivid and look natural. The smartphone from Apple does not match the competition in the first four places because the user has to make compromises: Pictures shot with flash are not very detailed, The same applies to long-range zoom shots. Noise is visible in most lighting conditions, which somewhat relativizes the otherwise very good overall impression of the camera system.

• Display: 6.5 inch OLED, 2688 x 1242 pixel (458 PPI), Dolby Vision, HDR10
• Processor: A13 Bionic, 3rd generation neural engine
• Memory: 4 GB RAM + up to 512 GB memory, not expandable
• Front camera: 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera (f / 2.2), selfie videos in slow motion with 120 frames per second (FPS) possible, 4K videos with 60 FPS
• Main camera: 12 MP wide-angle with f / 1.8 (OIS), 12 MP ultra-wide-angle with f / 2.4, 12 MP telephoto lens with f / 2.0 and double zoom (OIS)
• Video: 4K with 60 FPS, Full-HD with 240 FPS, HDR, stereo
• Connections: LTE, WiFi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5, NFC, GPS, Lightning
• Battery: 3969 mAh
• System: Apple iOS 13, upgradeable to iOS 13.4

Other: Face ID for face unlocking, quick charge function with 18 watts, stereo speaker, water and dust-proof according to IP68, dual SIM

Price: 1040 euros for the 64 GB model; about 1300 euros for 512 GB version

The 5G flagship of the South Koreans achieved a good overall rating in almost all tests, the three cameras are also convincing, but do not quite match the higher-placed models from Oppo, Xiaomi, Honor or Huawei. The cam shines especially in the daylight with a richness of detail of the recordings and little noise. The camera gets slight problems in weaker light. The pictures often appear too dark, the colours distorted. Unfortunately, small artefacts sometimes appear, which leads to geometric distortions, ghosting, a loss of sharpness in the corners of photos and streaking.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G

Nevertheless, good results can be achieved in all lighting conditions. High contrast and outstanding HDR processing, especially outdoors, are striking. The Note 10+ 5G is particularly convincing when taking portraits in shady lighting conditions, where the backgrounds are also excellently exposed. The natural colours and high sharpness inspire video recordings.

An optical image stabilizer is not only integrated with the standard but also in the telephoto camera. Further plus points of the note are the high-contrast, huge display with a narrow frame, the large storage space and the S-Pen that can be stowed in the housing. The device is also waterproof.

• Display: 6.8 inches Dynamic-AMOLED, 1440 x 3040 pixels (498 PPI), HDR10 +
• Processor (international version): Samsung Exynos 9825, 2.73 GHz
• Memory: 12 GB RAM + up to 512 GB internal memory, expandable via MicroSD
• Front camera: 10 megapixels f / 2.2
• Main camera: 12 MP wide-angle with variable aperture (f / 1.5-2.4) and optical image stabilization, 12 MP telephoto with f / 2.1 and double zoom (OIS), 16 MP ultra-wide-angle with f / 2.2, 0.3 MP 3D-ToF sensor
• Video: 4K with 60 FPS, Full-HD with 240 FPS, HD (720p) with 960 FPS (Ultra-Slow-Motion), HDR10 +, stereo
• Connections: LTE, 5G, USB-C, Bluetooth, NFC, WiFi 6 (802.11ax), GPS
• Battery: 4300 mAh
• System: Android 9, update to Android 10 with Samsung One UI 2 available

Other: MicroSD slot for memory expansion, water and dust protected to IP68, in-display fingerprint sensor, stereo speaker, Samsung DeX, quick charge function with 45 watts, wireless quick charge with 15W, reverse wireless charging with 9 watts (can charge other devices wirelessly), Dual SIM

The OnePlus company was only founded in China in 2013, and just seven years later, OnePlus won the coveted GLOMO award in February in the “Best Smartphone 2020” category with the 7T Pro in February. The prize is awarded annually by the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) for “proven innovations in the mobile communications industry”. The camera of the OnePlus 7 Pro relies on a triple system under the motto “One lens for every moment” from portrait to wide-field. The specially developed OnePlus UltraShot algorithm is used for optimal shots, which is supposed to provide natural colours and sharp images in all lighting conditions via the AI.

OnePlus 7 Pro

In the rear camera, the Chinese install a 48-megapixel sensor with optical image stabilization, an 8-megapixel telephoto lens with f / 2.4 focal length, a 117-degree ultra-wide-angle sensor with 16 megapixels and an aperture of f / 2.2. The autofocus is three-pole, including with laser focus. Thanks to the Nightscape mode, which is now available in the revised version 2.0, shots look very good even in low light conditions. The front camera element is encased in sapphire glass, which ensures very good protection. The Selfiecam with 16 MP resolution and f / 1.6 aperture automatically moves out of the housing when it is used for self-portraits or for unlocking. Despite the great camera, this device lacks important functions: it cannot be charged wirelessly, is not waterproof and the memory cannot be expanded.

• Display: 6.67 inch AMOLED display, 1440 x 3120 pixels (516 PPI), refresh rate of 90 Hz, HDR10 +
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, 2.84 GHz
• Memory: Up to 12 GB RAM + up to 256 GB memory, not expandable
• Front camera: 16-megapixel pop-up camera, f / 1.6
• Main camera: 48 MP wide-angle with f / 1.6 (OIS); 8 MP telephoto with f / 2.4 (OIS), 16 MP ultra-wide-angle with f / 2.2
• Video: 4K with 60 FPS, Full-HD with 240 FPS, HD (720p) with 480 FPS, HDR, no video recordings with ultra-wide-angle lens possible
• Connections: Wi-Fi 802.11ac, LTE, Bluetooth 5, NFC, GPS
• Battery: 4000 mAh

Other: in-display fingerprint sensor, Dolby Atmos stereo speaker, WarpCharge quick charge function with 30 watts, dual SIM

System: Android 9, update to Android 10 with OnePlus OxygenOS available.

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