Kensuke Mashita: "I'd love to put a one-inch sensor and G Master lens in a smartphone."

Since 2015, the editors of the site began to talk seriously about smartphones, because the camera in these gadgets has become not just a tool in the hands of a photographer. Today we can state that yesterday's smartphone users with a good camera are gradually switching to amateur and professional cameras.

Sony Mobile offered us an exclusive interview with Kensuke Mashita, Senior Manager of the Sony Mobile team. Mashita-san is in charge of the technologies used in the camera unit Sony smartphones Xperia.

We tried to ask him the most important questions about cameras Sony Xperia, about smartphone cameras in general, and where mobile photography is going to go next.

- Has the compact camera segment died with the rise in smartphone sales?

The market for compact digital cameras is falling. Our colleagues at Sony Digital Imaging are now focusing on high end compact cameras. On the other hand, smartphones occupy the position of low-end and mid-range compacts. And I think this trend will continue.

- What are the prospects for smartphones in the photo market?

Smartphones today have achieved fairly high image quality, comparable to compact cameras that were released a few years ago. But a smartphone is more than just a camera: it has connectivity, advanced graphics and computing power, stronger than cameras, DSP, large display and simple interface. Therefore, smartphones are completely different, they give us a new experience. For example, if it were not for the development of this market, there would be no selfie. We have to look and find new scenarios that are available not so much to the camera, but to the smartphone as a camera and a mobile device with mobile and wireless networking capabilities.

- To what extent is the smartphone camera today the reason for buying a new device or replacing an old one?

According to our research, device design, camera and time are the most motivating factors for buying a new smartphone. battery life. These three factors are central to the buyer and they work in tandem. The Russian market is especially focused on smartphone design. This is called show off, when the main goal is not to enjoy the appearance of the gadget, but some kind of boasting. This is where self-expression comes into play through device design.

The camera is just as important because it allows you to show off your best self, your accomplishments and your surroundings.

It's no secret that Sony Semiconductors is a major supplier of sensors for mobile cameras. How is Sony Mobile related to this company?

Yes, all major manufacturers use Sony sensors in their smartphones. But each of them installs sensors with different characteristics. Of course, in mobile photography, the sensor is important, but so is the optics. Because all the restrictions apply to it, including the thickness of the smartphone.

In most Sony smartphones, the camera does not protrude from the body, but in iPhone and other devices, the camera protrudes by a millimeter or more. Our designers strive to ensure that nothing protrudes and that the functions and capabilities of the smartphone do not suffer. For the buyer, design is extremely important, and we try to find a balance. But believe me, it's very difficult.

I can't say which Sony sensor is the best today. Sony Mobile's strategy has previously focused on a high resolution of 23 megapixels. But today, most manufacturers put sensors with a resolution of 12 megapixels, including Samsung and Apple. This is the difference in approaches, because Sony used a high resolution because of the greater image stabilization capabilities, better picture quality when it is zoomed in. Of course, in such scenarios, our camera outperforms 12-megapixel sensors. But on the other hand, the physical size of the pixel is very important.

With the development of dual cameras in smartphones, many different solutions have appeared on the market. For example, thanks to zoom lenses, the quality of the approximation has become an order of magnitude higher. We can say that a new era of mobile photography has begun, and in the next generation we will show our vision. Unfortunately, I cannot share the details of our new strategy, but we will change something in the near future.

The relationship between Sony Mobile and Sony Semiconductors has traditionally developed in such a way that we received a top-end sensor on exclusive terms. IMX300 got to us, with the IMX400 the same situation. This interaction will continue in the future. We act as a leader who tests new technologies.

G8142 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/500 s

G8142 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/500 s

G8142 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/500 s

How popular are the new features of the Motion Eye camera unit (predictive shooting, super slow motion video shooting and tracking autofocus during continuous shooting), built on the basis of the Sony Exmor IMX400, with smartphone buyers?

The Sony Exmor IMX400 processor has a sensor with a stack memory of 128 megabytes, and thanks to this it is possible to record video in super slow motion mode, to carry out predictive shooting. With our camera you can see what the human eye cannot see.

Unfortunately, not much time has passed since the release of the first smartphone with Motion Eye (- ed. note). Not enough data has been collected yet. We have an idea how many people take photos on a smartphone, and how many videos. Now we are trying to find out how many people use super slow motion. We found that at the time of getting to know a smartphone, many people try to evaluate the recording at a speed of 960 frames per second. Our goal is to make interest in know-how permanent. I think Sony's Super Slow Motion is beyond expectations. Some would say that this was done only to attract the attention of buyers, but we really wanted to create something new.

The most common argument of those who do not like Sony Xperia is: “All smartphones have a Sony sensor (Samsung, Huawei, iPhone and others), but they all shoot much better than Sony Xperia smartphones.” Do you have an understanding why this is happening?

Unfortunately, in mobile photography it is impossible to achieve the best quality in different conditions. Quality may vary depending on shooting conditions, functions used. Cameras with a 12-megapixel sensor and a larger pixel size do better in low light conditions, but if you shoot a daytime landscape, you can achieve more detail due to the higher resolution of the sensor. In my opinion, if you shoot landscape, Sony Xperia will win, but in some scenarios we can lose to competitors. The question of approach is also important here. With our smartphone, you can take a good picture in the dark, and its resolution will be one and a half times higher. We focus on high resolution as it provides better image stabilization.

If we made the same camera as other brands, perhaps there would be haters of a different order who would get to the bottom of the truth and find the difference in the performance of our camera compared to competitors.

Unfortunately, most pay attention to "laboratory" camera tests, but it's better to look at real photos. Sometimes one conflicts with the other. Of course, our priority is user experience.

At the same time, we listen to the feedback of our users. For example, in the Sony IMX400, the resolution was reduced from 23 to 19 megapixels, thereby slightly increasing the pixel size. We tried to find a compromise and improved the situation with shooting in low light conditions. At the same time, super slow motion and stack memory appeared. Thanks to the latter, the situation with video recording, including HDR, has improved. This is only possible with memory. Soon we will have another improvement, which is kept secret for now.

All Sony Xperia cameras are tested in over 100 different scenarios. Lighting conditions at the same time are different in different parts of the world. In Russia, daylight tends to zero, so high-quality shooting in low light conditions is extremely important for us. At the same time, there are different shades of light: people want to look good in photographs, so that the skin looks not only natural, but also beautiful. Across the planet, similar feedback is being accumulated from the regional offices of Sony Mobile. It's impossible to standardize, but work is underway. The camera functions according to some average algorithm, a compromise is reached.

G8342 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/2000 s, 4.4mm equiv.

Why does Sony Mobile ignore the optical image stabilization in the main camera and continue to use their electronic SteadyShot system?

If we installed optical stabilization in a smartphone, there would be many photos in which moving objects are very blurred due to the increase in shutter speed. This does not happen with SteadyShot. Yes, it might look spectacular, but I'm not sure that everyone will like it. SteadyShot gives us the ability to shoot at fast shutter speeds and avoid most blur. Automation itself understands what to do: if there is a dynamic plot in the frame, then the shutter speed will be minimal; if the picture is more static, the shutter speed increases. Of course, in normal conditions and in the absence of moving objects in the frame, smartphones with optical image stabilization shoot better than Sony, but here again we are talking about different scenarios.

- In what proportions and what affects mobile photography: sensor, optics, post-processing algorithms?

Sensor - 30%, optics - 30%, image processor (ISP) - 30% and post-processing algorithms - 10%. It all depends on the type of processor. For example, there is almost no post-processing in SLR cameras. Smartphones have technical limitations, so processing and post-processing is very important.

Any module developed in Sony Mobile is shown in the Digital Imaging division. They test our functions and issue some kind of certificate of conformity.

Sony Mobile is the only brand on the market, with the exception of the Google Pixel 2 smartphone, which completely ignores the dual camera trend. Why is this happening? When to expect a dual camera from Sony?

We monitor various trends. There are ideas for creating triple, quadruple cameras, combinations various cameras. We introduced the stacked camera to the world. In our opinion, it gives a better experience than the dual camera. Technology in processors and graphics is evolving, as is the camera. In the near future, it will be time to show the dual camera. Perhaps Sony will surprise you.

G8142 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/5000 s

- When will the Camera app on Sony Mobile devices become more convenient?

We work not only for professionals, but also for a general audience that is not so well versed in various settings.

If we talk about manual settings, then for most users there are enough parameters such as shutter speed, ISO, focus, white balance and exposure. All this is in our application. But there are more advanced and demanding users. I can't go into details, but there will be changes to the app in the near future.

At this point, Mashita-san asked us what we would like to see in Sony smartphones. Our answer was simple: RAW format.

- I would like to know your attitude to testing DxOMark. At the moment, Sony smartphones are not even in the top ten.

We are always looking at the scoreboard and feedback from this site. Some of their comments help us a lot. But I'm not sure if their tests can be 100% useful for most people in their use cases. Your colleagues at DxOMark have been giving us a lot of feedback while developing the testing policy, and it has been really helpful in many ways. However, in September, the benchmark changed, it included estimates for optical zoom and background blur, and, of course, new system focused on the dual camera. We have always taken and continue to take this platform seriously, but we want to look at a new method for distributing ratings, to understand the logic and trends. Time needs to pass.

In fact, we are talking not only about DxOMark, but also about other laboratory tests and methods that are used on the market. In my opinion, real shots show the camera performance better than any tests. We will continue to observe the methodology, look at the results, and perhaps turn to them again for feedback.

G8342 SETTINGS: ISO 40, F2, 1/1600s, 4.4mm equiv.

What are the technical limitations in cameras today mobile phones? Is it possible to see some kind of major breakthrough? For example, a one-inch matrix (as they did in the Panasonic CM-1) or a real telephoto lens. If you dream up, what would you like to see in a mobile camera? And what can really happen?

In my opinion, a one-inch sensor in a smartphone camera is a great solution. But for sure, because of this, the thickness of the case and the weight of the gadget will increase. An optical telephoto lens also requires more space. And today the market offers us a solution in the form of a dual camera. But this is not enough for us. Most likely, in the near future the size of the sensors will not change. Perhaps the problems will somehow be solved by double, triple and “smart” cameras with artificial intelligence and machine learning.

I think that increasing the camera module is the next step in smartphone building. But if you dream up, then a one-inch sensor is great, but it is very difficult to insert it into a smartphone case. It may make sense to separate the smartphone and the camera, but Sony had it in the QX series. Maybe something will change in optics: G Master will be used instead of G Lens optics. The cost of such a smartphone will be very beneficial for us, but people will most likely not appreciate it. Technically, such an implementation is possible.

Still, the restrictions in SLR and mirrorless cameras are much less than in smartphones. But computing power is on the side of smartphones. Cameras have their own development path, smartphones have their own. Cameras should be comfortable and ergonomic, and they usually cost more than smartphones.

(Watch out, lots of letters!)

Once again, for those who are always right by nature and without reading many letters, they begin to broadcast their undeniable miserable truth. I'm not a fan of Lumia, I understand perfectly well that this is a dead end branch and there can be no prospects for development. But what has been achieved on this platform in the past is objectively (based on a comparison of real shots) to this day ahead in all respects (sensor, high-quality light glass, color, sharpness throughout the frame, WB, depth of field, lack of movement due to optical stabilizer , the presence of well-developed post-processing software and excellent 4K video, evaluated on high-quality 4K TVs, replaceable batteries, and finally, which is important for heavy use for photos) when compared with any "photo flagships" on Android with all their sophisticated dual cameras with zooms and pseudo-bokeh ...

Whenever it comes into hand new smartphone, positioned by the manufacturer as a device with certain “steps forward”, I compare its photo properties and 4K video with the Lumia 950XL smartphone, an unsurpassed standard so far (it appeared on the market in October 2015). Previously, the standard was Nokia Lumia 1520 (announced back in October 2013), but it died untimely, although I'm sure it could remain so in the future. Images from both devices have been successfully and repeatedly used for printing in a magazine and other glossy printing publications.

Microsoft became the "flagship killers" Lumia 950XL, Lumia 950 and Lumia 1520. They buried not only Nokia, but also Windows Mobile, and with them advanced technologies in the field of mobile photography ...

If you don't know what a standard is...

For several years I have been trying to find at least something comparable in the camp of devices on the Androd platform. But, making comparisons, I come to the same disappointing conclusion that There is not a single decent smartphone on Androd that can be compared in terms of photo and video quality. with Lumia 950XL. Moreover, it seems that things are only getting worse. Especially these marketing biases towards dual cameras with pseudo-telephoto, pseudo-bokeh or (as it were) variable aperture ( samsung galaxy S9+)! Manufacturers try to advertise their “achievements” with data on aperture increase (up to f / 1.7 and even up to 1.6) or sensor pixel size, while hiding others important parameters, such as the quality and resolution of optics or the sophistication of processing algorithms, and, often, the type of sensor used. By the way, "mobile" concepts of focal length and aperture are ambiguous. In DSLRs, it’s easier: there are only a few manufacturers of “bodies” and “glasses”, mostly full frame or APS-C. Based on these things, you already understand the rest. In mobile photography, everything is very difficult in the presentation and comparison of such concepts as aperture, sensor size / type, ISO, focal length, etc. “Mirror” skills and ideas can be forgotten here ...

What kind of sensors are used on Android?

Almost all Androd cameras are based on numerous and very mediocre Sony sensors. There are also sensors from Samsung (ISOCELL) and OmniVision, but they are, by and large, also very dull in quality.

Formats

It is important to understand that some sensors are designed for shooting in the basic 16:9 aspect ratio, and others in 4:3 format, although both will provide the same resolution, say, 16 megapixels. At the same time, you can shoot in non-mainstream formats, but the resolution will be only about 12 megapixels, obtained by a crop from 16 megapixels, which phone manufacturers do not usually report about.

By the way, in the Lumia 1520 sensor, shooting in these formats is arranged a little differently. Here the 4:3 format is 4992 x 3744 pixels (18.7 MP), and 16:9 is 5376 x 3024 (16.25 MP). Thus, the Lumia 1520 sensor has a usable size of 5376 x 3744 pixels (20.1 megapixels). This so-called multi-aspect sensor. Similarly, in Lumia 950/950XL: 4:3 - 4992 x 3744 (18.7 MP) and 16:9 - 5344 x 3008 (16.1 MP). The name of the sensors in these Lumia (and who makes them) is not known, they are made using PureView technology developed by Nokia and Carl Zeiss (aperture f / 1.9, matrix diagonal 1 / 2.4 inches). Further, this case was continued (buried) at Microsoft and now the Chinese are picking up again in collaboration with Carl Zeiss ...

According to the principle of "best of the worst"

According to Chip magazine for November 2017, the next five are considered the best in the test of cameras - HTC U11 (color hereinafter in the text the most acceptable devices on Android are marked - "best of the worst"; there will be practically no Samsung reviews due to their price politicians), Google Pixel 2 , Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Google Pixel 2 XL and Apple iPhone X. The popular rating of the kimovil.com resource for the same period produced the following list of smartphones with the best photo properties (in descending order): ZTE Nubia Z17 , Apple iPhone 8 Plus, Sony Xperia XZ Premium, Sony Xperia XZs, HTC U Ultra, Oppo R11s Plus, Oppo R11s, Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S8+, Vivo Xplay 6, OnePlus 5T, HTC U11, Xiaomi Mi Note 3, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy Note 7, OnePlus 5, Apple Iphone X, Apple iPhone 7 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S7 Active, Google Pixel 2 XL, Google Pixel 2, Nubia Z17S , Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom ZE553KL, Xiaomi Mi6, HTC U11+ , Apple iPhone 7, Apple iphone 8, Nokia Lumia 1020, Nubia Z17 Mini S, Samsung Galaxy S6, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, Oppo R9s, Oppo R9s Plus, Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+, HTC 10 , LG G5, LG G5 SE, Google Pixel XL, Sharp Aquos S2, Nubia Z17 Mini, Nubia Z17 Lite, Archos Diamond Alpha, LG V20, HTC 10 Lifestyle, Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe, LG G6, etc. Meizu is not on the list at all.

Many smartphones have sensors with a default aspect ratio of 4:3. So, OnePlus 3/3T, Xiaomi Mi5, Asus ZenFone 3, ZTE Nubia Z11, Nubia Z11 mini, Nubia Z11 Max, LeEco Le Pro 3, Huawei Mate 8, Oppo R9 Plus and others use a sensor Sony IMX 298 Exmor RS, from which by default shooting is performed in the specified 4:3 format with a size of 4640 x 3480 pixels (16.1 MP), and 16:9 frames are obtained by cropping a 4:3 frame - 4640 x 2610 (12.1 MP). The diagonal of this sensor is 6.521 mm (1/2.8 inches). The total number of pixels of the sensor is 4720 x 3600, effective - 4672 x 3520, active - 4656 x 3496. Good pictures, perhaps, only in the ZTE Nubia Z11 (f / 2.0 hole), although this model is already outdated and disappears from the shelves. The positive point is the 4-axis optical stabilization. Despite the fact that the same sensor is installed on the other smart phones listed above, the frames from them are not so acceptable.

Relatively new sensor Sony IMX 398(release - October 2016) "class 16 Mp" is installed so far only on smartphones from BBK Electronics (it owns the brands OPPO, OnePlus and Vivo; it is this company that "holds" the Chinese market, not Xiaomi or Meizu). Sensor resolution - 4608 x 3456 pixels. The default is 4:3 frames. The sensor diagonal is 6.4 mm (1/2.8″), the pixel size is 1.12 microns. Used in Oppo R9S/Oppo R9s Plus (f/1.7, no OIS), OPPO F3 Plus (f/1.7, OIS), OPPO R11s Plus (f/1.7, no OIS) and OnePlus cameras 5/5T (dual camera - main camera with Sony IMX 398, f/1.7, no optical stabilization). In addition, in June 2017, the OPPO R11 and R11 Plus smartphones were presented, on which both the selfie modules and the main module have high-resolution cameras. In particular, a dual main camera module is used - 16 MP (Sony IMX398, wide-angle lens, f / 1.7, PDAF) and 20 MP ( Sony IMX350, telephoto, f/2.6, 1/2.8″, 1 µm). The 20MP front camera is equipped with an f/2.0 lens.

On the contrary, if landscape (16:9) is adopted as the main shooting format in the phone, then the 4:3 frame format is obtained as a 16:9 frame crop. Let's say, on such smart phones as LG G5, LG G4 (H815) or ZTE Nubia Z9 /Max/mini with a sensor Sony IMX 234 Exmor RS the main frame in 16:9 format has a pixel size of 5312 x 2988 (15.9 MP), and in 4:3 it will already be cut along the wide side - 3984 x 2988 (11.9 MP). The total size of this matrix is ​​6.433 x 4.921 mm, and the diagonal of the working area is 1/2.8 inch, which is equivalent to 6.521 mm, the pixel size is 1.12 microns. In this case, the full resolution of the sensor is 4720 x 3600 pixels, i.e. - 16.99 megapixels, some of them are apparently used for electronic image stabilization, etc., so the so-called effective resolution is 4672 x 3520 (16.44 megapixels), and only 4656 x 3496 is available for shooting (the number of active pixels) or 16.28 megapixels, however, not all of them are used. Of the entire line of smartphones on this sensor, only the LG G5 and LG G4 (H815) can be considered quite good in terms of photo properties. However, the G4 is almost out of stock, and the G5 is not a super novelty either. Frames with the G5 when shooting with the main camera (f / 1.8) have good color reproduction and white balance, an average dynamic range, sharpness is too high (by software), focusing is not always confident and fast. For some reason, LG decided to shoot wide-angle shots with a second 8-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 dark hole, although it is clear that there should be more information and more megapixels in a wide-angle shot.

A smartphone with a sensor can be a good choice Sony IMX 318 Exmor RS on board. This sensor has a 1/2.6″ format (which is slightly smaller than the IMX 260 - 1/2.4″, used, in particular, in the Galaxy S7). This model The sensor was introduced in early 2016 and was one of the first to feature fast hybrid autofocus (0.03s) and a built-in 3-axis digital stabilizer for video. The pixel size is 1 µm. The basic format is 4:3, i.e. when shooting in 16:9 format, the “informativeness” of the frame in pixels will be lower (crop). Such sensors are used on Asus ZenFone 3, Asus ZenFone 3 Deluxe (f/2.0, OIS), Asus ZenFone 3 Ultra (f/2.0, OIS), Nubia Z11 mini S, Nubia Z17, Xiaomi Mi Note 2 and others. Here, it is important to have high-quality lenses and well-developed software. Photo examples show that the Nubia Z17 will be the best option on this sensor in terms of sharpness, detail, color and dynamic range, and the Asus ZenFone 3 will be the worst. On the Nubia Z17, the main camera in the dual module is a camera with a sensor Sony IMX 362(seemingly) at 12 MP with f / 1.8, and telephoto - Sony IMX 318 with 23 MP and f/2.0. In terms of cameras, the frameless Nubia Z17S is identical to it - also Sony IMX 362 at 12 MP (f / 1.8) and Sony IMX 318 at 23 MP (f / 2.0) for a double optical zoom. This approach is not entirely clear - it would be more logical to use a higher-resolution camera in wide-angle mode, for telephoto - 12 megapixels is enough. This is not an isolated case. Both devices do not have optical stabilization. On Xiaomi Mi Note 2 you can also get good shots. It uses one Sony IMX 318 sensor. The maximum resolution of the received photos in 4:3 format is 5488 × 4112, which corresponds to 22.56 megapixels. Aperture f/2.0. There is no optical stabilization. Everything would be fine, but the device itself, unfortunately, has several significant unpleasant properties (rounded screen, specific firmware, etc.).

Minus CMOS sensor Sony IMX 362 is a low resolution - only 12 megapixels. Otherwise, it is quite good in terms of color, sharpness and dynamic range. Of course, a lot depends on the luminosity and quality of the optics, as well as on the diligence of software writers. Xiaomi Redmi Pro 2, Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom ZE553KL, Lenovo Moto G5 Plus, Lenovo Moto Z2 Play, HTC U11/HTC U11+, Sharp Aquos S2, Meizu M6 Note, Asus ZenFone 4 ZE554KL, Coolpad Cool M7, above described by Nubia Z17/17S and Archos Diamond Omega. It is the HTC U11 at f/1.7 that performs well in the camera test (otherwise it is terrible, especially in design). Even the budget Meizu M6 Note, with not the best glass (but f / 1.9) and the absence of optical stabilization, shows acceptable results. You can take. For me, it’s just a mystery: why again they took out the microUSB connector from the dust and didn’t put USB-C. And the golden Chinese colors are unnerving ... Good daytime pictures of the Sharp Aquos S2 (according to the version). It has a dual camera: the main one with IMX 362, f / 1.8 glass (reported - f / 1.75) and optical stabilization; the second camera is 8 megapixels. But in low light - poor watercolor. In March 2018, a balanced "middle peasant" of the new Meizu E3 line was presented with a dual main camera - 12 MP (Sony IMX362 sensor, Dual Pixel, f / 1.9, no OIS) + 20 MP module ( Sony IMX350, f/2.6). A double zoom is implemented here - 1.8x (optical) and 2.5x (without loss of quality). Of the pluses - finally USB Type-C, screen - 5.99 ″ LCD IPS, stone - Qualcomm Snapdragon 636, battery - 3360 mAh, AnTuTu - 112.478. It is worth taking a closer look and waiting for the tests of this smartphone.

On relatively old Meizu MX6 bodies (f/2.0, no OIS), Meizu Pro 6s (f/2.0, OIS), Meizu Pro 6 Plus (f/2.0, OIS), Meizu M3X (f/2.0, no OIS), Huawei Honor 6X and Huawei Nova, as well as on fresh Huawei Mate 10 Pro (f/1.6, OIS), Motorola Moto Z2 Force (f/2.0, no OIS), Meizu Pro 7 (f/2.0, no OIS), Meizu Pro 7 Plus (f/2.0, no OIS), Xiaomi Mi Max 2, Xiaomi Mi MIX 2, Xiaomi Mi6 and Xiaomi Mi Note 3 uses a 12 MP CMOS sensor (3968 x 2976 pixels) Sony IMX 386 Exmor RS, announced in the summer of 2016. The standard frame aspect ratio here is 4:3. None of the smartphones with this sensor can be recommended as acceptable in terms of photo properties. The lack of optical stabilization at f / 2.2 hole on the "shovel" Xiaomi Mi Max 2, presented in May 2017, gives very mediocre results in all modes. Xiaomi Mi Note 3 seems to be equipped with a light glass with an f/1.8 aperture (on the second camera it is worse - f/2.6) and optical stabilization, but it practically does not differ from Xiaomi Mi6: they both produce mediocre shots, both in sharpness and color and dynamic range. Especially in low light. Also chromatic aberrations. So, the camera from Xiaomi Mi Note 3 is praised in vain ... Meizu Pro 7 Plus shows some better photos during the day due to good glass, but when the light decreases (especially in the evening or indoors), “watercolor” begins. Introduced in September 2017 Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 about equipped with the same sensor (the only rear camera on the device) with optical stabilization and f / 2.0 optics. It is no better than its “sensor brothers”. Good color and accurate exposure, but shots lack detail, over-sharpening, noise and watercolor in low light.

Only released at the beginning of 2017, the flagship smartphone LG G6 turned out to be quite a compromise. Together with the innovative FullVision 5.7″ screen (with a diagonal of 18:9 or 2:1), which occupies almost the entire surface of the front side of the smartphone, the device received a far from new Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and a dual camera with a 2015 sensor - Sony IMX 258 at 13 MP. This sensor has a diagonal of 5.867 mm (1 / 3.06 ″), the total number of pixels is 4224 x 3192, effective - 4224 x 3144, active - 4208 x 3120, while the real image in 4:3 format is even smaller - 4160 x 3120, and in 2:1 (18:9) - 4160 x 2080 (test frames from the LG G6 US997 version are 4160 x 2340 pixels). One camera provides wide angle shooting at 125°, the second at 71°. The optics of the main camera with f/1.8 aperture, the second with f/2.4. Photos do not shine with detail - instead of them, "watercolor" with a significant oversharp, night shots are very dull and noisy. The budget smartphone LG Q6 /Q6/Q6+ with a FullVision screen, introduced in the summer of 2017, has a single rear camera, apparently with the same 13 MP sensor (LG does not specify the brand, although some sources indicate the installation of a sensor of LG's own production) and f/2.2 aperture optics. In 4:3 format, frames have a similar size of 4160 x 3120 pixels, and 18:9 images are also obtained by cropping a 4:3 frame (9.7 megapixels in total). The G6 has optical stabilization, the Q6 does not.

It was a disgrace to put such a sensor on the flagship G6, of course, the footage from it does not cause any enthusiasm. By the way, on a very successful, but budget Xiaomi Redmi note 4X, the same Sony IMX 258 sensor looks more logical and quite sufficient, so users rate the quality of photos from its camera much higher than LG G6 owners.

The same sensor is also used in smartphones Sony Xperia XA, Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus, ZTE Nubia z17 mini (f/2.2), ZTE Nubia z17 miniS (f/2.2, OIS), UMIDIGI S2 (dual - 13 MP on Sony IMX 258, the second at 5 megapixels) and, apparently, in Nokia 8.

Sony IMX 351 Exmor RS. The sensor has a resolution of 16 megapixels, a diagonal of 5.822 mm (1 / 3.09 ″), the total number of pixels is 4688 x 3648 (about 17.1 megapixels), effective - 4688 x 3512 (16.46 megapixels), active - 4656 x 3496 (16.28 MP), grain - 1 micron. Installed on Asus ZenFone 4 Selfie Pro (one main camera, f/2.0, no OIS) and LG V30/V30+. In the new LG V30 and LG V30+, the dual main camera module has the following composition: a standard camera based on Sony IMX351 with a coverage of 71 ° (f / 1.6, OIS), a second camera of 13 MP with a Samsung S5K3M3 sensor (size 1/2 .9″, 120° wide angle camera, f/1.9). By the way, Samsung S5K3M3 is also used in the Xiaomi Mi6 photomodule (together with the main camera with a Sony IMX 362 sensor). Frames from the LG V30/V30+ leave a strange impression: it feels like widescreen photos (the S5K3M3 is involved here) were taken on a 12-megapixel sensor, and then “bloated” up to 13 megapixels by interpolation - watercolor everywhere and soap around the edges. It's a pity that LG is moving along with a volatile and obsessive market, like many other smartphone manufacturers with "good" cameras, in the wrong direction. The last one was quite decent LG G4, and subsequent LG G5, LG G6 and LG V30 / V30 + became by and large a failure and disappointing in terms of photo properties. The same Sony IMX351 Exmor RS sensor is used on other variations of the family - LG V30S and LG V30S Plus (f / 1.6, OIS, announced in February 2018).

Sensor Sony IMX 378. It has large grains. Introduced in September 2016. Size — 7.81 mm (1/2.3″), pixel — 1.55 microns. The aspect ratio is 4:3, it allows you to take frames of 4048 x 3036 (4056 x 3040) pixels, and this is about 12.3 megapixels. In general, the sensor is one of the most acceptable in the Sony lineup, but only 12 megapixels, which is not enough! It is installed on pathetically expensive Google Pixel and Pixel XL (with OIS), as well as on Xiaomi Mi5S (without OIS), BlackBerry KEYone, Huawei P10, Huawei Honor 9 and HTC U Ultra (f/1.8, OIS). The HTC U Ultra delivers photos that fall short of the quality of the Google Pixel. The colors are normal, there is little noise, the sharpness is good, you can shoot with manual settings in RAW. Night shots are not so good, but acceptable. Xiaomi Mi5S: color, dynamic range and sharpness are on top. A good alternative to the overpriced Google Pixel. A significant minus is that there is no optical stabilization, so when shooting in low light conditions, the automatic lifts the ISO to reduce shutter speed, from which we get strong noise and watercolor. Frame resolution is exactly 4000 x 3000 pixels. Huawei Honor 9 has a dual camera - 20 megapixels in b/w mode (monochrome) + 12 megapixels color (with IMX378 sensor, f/2.2, OIS, frame size for some reason 3968 x 2976 pixels - apparently "eats" the stabilizer) . Phase + laser autofocus. Similar tricks are traditional for Huawei, similar to Huawei P10 and P10 Plus. Two sensors are used for color shooting with a final resolution of 20 megapixels (a "synthetic" image using the technology of combining data from a black and white sensor and data obtained from a color sensor), as well as for zoom and "portrait". Evaluation of images shows that "chemistry" with color and resolution does not give a positive result.

Sony IMX 380— the next Google-sensor. Worth only on Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL (frames are 4032 x 3024 pixels). Sensor resolution - 4096 x 3040 pixels (12.4 MP), size - 7.81 mm (1/2.3″), pixel - 1.55 microns. Announced in October 2017. I won’t talk in detail about the pictures - they seem to be quite good, f / 1.8 hole, but their resolution of the “12 MP class”, as noted above, does not provide wide opportunities for post-processing, which often involves alignment and cropping, which further reduces the frame size. Well, the price tag is unfriendly (XL - almost 60,000 rubles at the end of 2017 and will not get cheaper), Google phones are such “apples” in the camp of Android devices ...

Sony IMX 377- another "coarse-grain" sensor of the "class 12 MP". Its resolution is about 12.35 megapixels, the sensor size and pixel size are the same - 1 / 2.3 ″ and 1.55 microns. It was put on expensive LG Nexus 5X, HTC 10 and Huawei Nexus 6P. They produce frames with a size of 4032 x 3024 pixels. The quality of the photos is not bad for its time, but the devices are already obsolete and there are only used ones ...

More pixels, better!

There are few offers in the segment of smartphones with high-resolution sensors. But in vain. Previously, "multi-pixel" sensors were used more widely - this applies to Sony IMX 318 Exmor RS (23 MP), which was discussed above, and to the Sony IMX 230. However, their time is running out. More or less modern Sony IMX 300 and Sony IMX 400 sensors are installed only on Sony devices. This is bad.

An interesting, high-quality and inexpensive device at one time was the LeEco LeMax 2 (X820), introduced in April 2016. It is equipped with a 5.7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 4 or 6 GB random access memory, 32, 64 or 128 GB of internal memory, 3100 mAh battery with support for Qualcomm QuickCharge 3.0 fast charging, USB-C connector and 21.5-megapixel main camera with sensor-based optical stabilization Sony IMX 230 Exmor RS(hole f/2.0). The sensor is not new at all - the release was in April 2015. It has the following parameters - CMOS, diagonal 7.487 mm (1/2.4″). The total number of pixels is 5408 x 4112 (about 22.24 MP), effective pixels are 5360 x 4032 (21.61 MP), active pixels are 5344 x 4016 (21.46 MP). Pictures of LeEco LeMax 2 (X820) have a size of 5312 x 3984 pixels (21.16 MP) in 4:3 format and 5312 x 2988 in 16:9 format (crop, almost 15.9 MP). Good color and detail, quite acceptable shots at ISO values ​​up to 800. There is HDR and a 2512-pixel panorama in height. 4K video at 30 fps with a stream of only 41 megabits (from experience I can say for sure that this is not enough; you need at least 51 megabits!). The downside is that there are no optical and digital stabilization when recording video (in a standard application). Unfortunately, the LeEco company has burst and the smartphone is not updated. Many other smartphones were released with the same "ancient" sensor: Sony Xperia Z3+, Huawei Honor 7, Sony Xperia XA Ultra, Sony Xperia M5, Meizu Pro 6, Meizu Pro 5, Lenovo Vibe X3, Lenovo Moto Z Force, BlackBerry Priv, BlackBerry DTEK60, Blackview P6000, Motorola Droid Turbo 2, Motorola Moto X Play, Motorola Moto X Force, Motorola Moto X Style, LeEco (LeTV) Le 2 Pro, LeEco (LeTV) Le Max X900, LeEco (LeTV) Le Max Pro X910, LeEco (LeTV) Le S3, as well as a lot of "Chinese" little-known on the Russian market.

Unfortunately the sensor Sony IMX300(5984 x 4144 pixels, ~25 MP, diagonal 7.87 mm - 1/2.3″, pixel size - 1.08 μm), which was released in September 2015, is only available on smartphones of the same company - peculiar and expensive Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, Sony Xperia Z5, Sony Xperia Z5 Compact, Sony Xperia X Performance, Sony Xperia X, Sony Xperia X Compact, Sony Xperia XZ, Sony Xperia XA1, Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra, Sony Xperia XA1 Plus. The sensor is interesting in that it is multidimensional, similar to the sensors in the cameras of the Lumia 1520 and 950/950XL smartphones. Neither when shooting in 4:3 format, nor in 16:9 format, the dimensions of the sides of the frames in pixels are repeated (they are not obtained by cropping). For example, on the Sony Xperia XA1, the frame sizes are as follows: 5520 x 4144 pixels (22.9 MP) in 4:3 format, 5984 x 3376 pixels (20.2 MP) in wide format. The glass is quite dark - f / 2.0, while there is also no optical stabilization. Lots of fluff. The screen is only 5″ (1280 x 720): Sony probably thinks that it’s convenient to look at high-res on this. Color: not enough warm shades. Detailing is on top due to the resolution of the sensor. With poor lighting, as always with Sony - watercolor and soap. Processor - MediaTek. Battery - 2300. This is a masterpiece of February 2017, and not some junk! The price tag is infuriating. Compared to it, the “old man” Sony Xperia Z5 with the same sensor still looks better, however, it also lacks optical stabilization and a “darkish” f / 2.0 hole. The price tag infuriates even more ... Sony Xperia XZ shows the same parameters as the XA1; no optical stabilization and only f / 2.0.

Sony IMX 350. 20 MP sensor. Diagonal - 6.475 mm (1 / 2.78 "). Pixel size - 1.0 μm, 4: 3 format, active pixels - 5184 x 3880. Smart OnePlus 5 is equipped with a dual main camera, consisting of a wide-angle module with a 16-megapixel Sony IMX 398 matrix and a telephoto module with Sony IMX 350. the camera is 16 megapixels with a Sony IMX 371 sensor. According to rumors, Xiaomi Mi 7 could get a dual camera with 19 megapixel sensors (f / 1.7), it was further reported that a 12-megapixel Sony IMX 380 sensor will be installed in the main camera and a 20-megapixel Sony IMX350. One module with a Sony IMX 350 sensor (f/1.8, no OIS) was planned for the ZTE Axon M. OPPO R11 and R11 Plus smartphones have a dual main camera module - 16 MP (Sony IMX398, wide-angle lens, f / 1.7, PDAF) and 20 MP (Sony IMX350, telephoto lens, f / 2.6, 1 / 2.8 " , 1 µm). Introduced in March 2018, the smart Meizu E3 is equipped with a dual main camera - 12 MP (Sony IMX362 sensor, Dual Pixel, f/1.9, no OIS) + 20 MP module (Sony IMX350, f/2.6), implemented zoom 1.8x (optical) and 2.5x (lossless).

Sony IMX 376- a rare sensor with a resolution of 20 megapixels (4: 3 format, 5120 x 3840 pixels). It is installed mainly in the selfie modules of such Chinese smartphones as Vivo V5, Vivo V5 Plus and Vivo V5S (f 2.0), Vivo X9 and Vivo X9 Plus (there are dual front cameras, one of which is with Sony IMX 376, f / 2, 0). The sensor is included OnePlus 5T- here is a dual main camera: 16 MP (Sony IMX398, 1.12 microns, f / 1.7) + 20 MP ( Sony IMX376K, 1 µm, f/1.7, low-light monochrome module). Without OIS!

Relatively new sensor Sony IMX400 also received a high resolution in pixels. It is multi-aspect and also applies only to Sony Xperia XZs, Sony Xperia XZ Premium, Sony Xperia XZ1 and Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact. In particular, the best of the worst in this series - the Sony Xperia XZ Premium - has a “glass” with optical stabilization and an f / 2.0 hole. Frames taken under standard conditions seem good at first glance, but due to insufficient resolution optics and / or unfinished software, the image quality is very poor - watercolor with sharpening. The dynamic range is narrow. In low light - strong noise. The maximum resolution in 4:3 mode is 5056 x 3792 (19.2 MP), and in 16:9 mode it is 5504 x 3096 (about 17 MP), while the IMX 400 itself contains 5504 x 3792 pixels (20.9 MP). The Sony Xperia XZ1 and Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact also lack optical stabilization. In general, as follows from the statements of Sony's offices, doing wrong is their credo, which they are proud of and promise to follow further: do not install OIS, make terrible remnant plastic cases and on-screen control buttons with just a huge beard on the bottom of the case.

Omnivision

The not-so-famous company Omnivision also produces high-resolution sensors. They do not have a significant distribution.

A year ago, the company introduced new 20-megapixel and 16-megapixel sensors - OV20880 and OV20880-4C (5184 x 3888 pixels) and OV16885 and OV16885-4C (4672 x 3504 pixels) with second-generation PureCel Plus-S technology for less noise, low-light performance and HDR support. So far, there is no information about the use of these sensors in smartphones. previous version OV16880 was used in LeEco (LeTV) Le S3, Xiaomi Mi Mix, LeEco (LeTV) Le 2 X620, LeEco (LeTV) Le 2 X520, Xiaomi Mi Max, Oukitel K6000 Plus and the new Vivo V7+ (f/2.0, no OIS). Judging by the available pictures taken with Xiaomi Mi Mix and Xiaomi Mi Max, the “masterpieces” are very average in all respects.

Previously, the company offered an Omnivision sensor OV23850. It was announced at the end of 2014. Its resolution is about 23.8 MP (when shooting video - 5632 x 4224, and the working resolution when shooting photos is 5648 x 4232 pixels or cropped 5648 x 3184 pixels, i.e. 17.9 MP ). Captures images in 4:3 aspect ratio, 1/2.3″ size. The only smartphone with it on board is the unknown “Chinese” Gionee Elife E8 (released in May 2015), which has OIS and an aperture of f / 2.0.

Another 21.4 megapixel sensor OV21840, was intended for smartphones of the top segment. The release states that "the sensor implements its own PureCel-S technology, which allows you to register photos and videos with quality comparable to DSLR cameras." However, to date there is no evidence that it has been installed on at least one smartphone. The sensor uses its own technology, thanks to which the sensitive and processing elements are located separately one after the other. The sensor supports phase detection autofocus, photo and video recording in HDR mode. Sensor size 1/2.4″. The number of active pixels is 5344 x 4016. The sensor is capable of recording video with a resolution not higher than QHD at 30 frames per second in HDR mode.

OmniVision announced in early 2017 two sensor models - OV12A10(color) and OV12A1B(monochrome). True, "class 12 megapixels." These 1/2.8-inch sensors with a resolution of 4096 x 3072 pixels and a pixel size of 1.25 µm are designed for use in dual cameras. Omnivision sensor OV12A10 found application in the newfangled Xiaomi Mi A1, released in September 2017, and in its "twin" - Xiaomi Mi5x. They have a dual camera - the main one with f / 2.2 aperture and a focal length of 26 mm, the second with f / 2.6 and 50 mm. Thus, a 2x optical zoom is realized. There is HDR. No optical stabilization. Daytime photos are of surprisingly acceptable quality, considering what was shot on OmniVision. Good dynamic range. You can take. The Omnivision OV12A10 sensor is also on the Xiaomi Redmi 5 and Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus smartphones introduced in December 2017 (both with f/2.2 and without OIS), and possibly on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 (announced February 2018). ). Examples of photos from them are also quite good in daylight conditions, in poor lighting - porridge and shake (because there is no stub and a dark hole).

From the line of high-resolution sensors of this company, which would be installed on "non-Samsung" smartphones and would be worthy of attention, I know only one type - S5K2T8. He stands (it seems to be he) only on ZTE Axon 7. Officially, this is not advertised. Resolution - 20 MP, size - 1/2.6″. The aperture on the ZTE Axon 7 is f / 1.8, there is OIS. The frames have a resolution of 19.9 megapixels (5952 x 3348 pixels), although the resolution of the sensor itself is 5976 x 3368 pixels. For some reason, the smartphone was positioned as a musical flagship. For me, he is more like a photo flagship among other "androids"! Good detail, color and white balance. In normal lighting conditions, the frames are of quite acceptable quality - without nasty soap, noise or shabby watercolors. In poor lighting - no longer a masterpiece. There is blurring at the edges of frames due to the presence of a wide-angle lens and a bright hole (= shallow depth of field). In my opinion, the standard aspect ratio for this sensor is 16:9. This ratio is more suitable for landscape photography. The installed sensor is not multi-aspect and 4:3 shots will be cropped from 16:9: photo examples show that they have a size of 4352 x 3264 pixels, about 14.2 megapixels (it’s strange why it was necessary to “crop” both on the narrow and on the wide sides ?!)…

The S5K2T8 sensor does not appear anywhere in the "Samsung" lists and is possibly a version of the S5K2T7 sensor, which, however, has an aspect ratio of 4: 3 and a resolution of 5184 x 3880 - 20 megapixels.

A weak non-removable battery can greatly limit the duration of the "field" use of a smartphone for filming - you definitely need a power bank.

It is a pity that the smartphone was quite expensive "in its lifetime" (released in May 2016); now it’s somewhat outdated, although it’s still on sale - as of December 2017, it cost from 23 rubles for the 4 / 64GB version. I can recommend to purchase for lack of something radically better on androids! The purchase and use of this smart showed that the phenomenon of significant soap / blur on the left side of the pictures, which was repeatedly complained about in the ZTE Axon 7 branch on w3bsit3-dns.com, is apparently endemic; was present in the purchased copy. Perhaps this is due to incorrect factory installation of the camera module - the same thing happened earlier on other smartphones, including some MS Lumia 950XL (single SIM version).

More banal than this axiom is only the explanation "the iPhone, it turns out, does not have a slot for a memory card." But beginners continue to make mistakes when they "peck" on the number of megapixels in the camera, which means they will have to repeat themselves.

Imagine a window - an ordinary window in a residential building or apartment. The number of megapixels is, roughly speaking, the number of glasses inside the window frame. If we continue to draw parallels with smartphones, in ancient times, glass for windows was the same size and were considered a scarce commodity. Therefore, when the conditional "Tolyan" said that he had 5 glasses (megapixels) in his window unit, everyone understood that Anatoly was a serious and wealthy person. And the characteristics of the window were also immediately clear - a good view to the outside of the house, a large glazing area.

A few years later, windows (megapixels) were no longer in short supply, so their number only needed to be brought to the required level, and then calm down. Just bring it into line with the area (window for ventilation and a loggia, for the sake of strength, require a different number of windows) so that the camera gives out a slightly denser picture than 4K monitors and TVs give out. And finally, to deal with other characteristics - for example, to deal with clouding of glasses and image distortion. Teach cameras how to properly focus and paint the available megapixels with high quality, if you want specifics.

There are more “megapixels” on the right, but they give nothing but “obstacles” with the same “sensor” area

But people are already used to measuring the quality of cameras in megapixels, and sellers gladly indulged this. Therefore, the circus with a huge number of glasses (megapixels) in the same size frame (the size of the camera matrix) continued. As a result, today the pixels in smartphone cameras, although not “filled” with the density of a mosquito net, but the “devitrification” has become too dense, and more than 15 megapixels in smartphones almost always spoil rather than improve photos. This has never happened before, and here again it turned out that it is not the size that matters, but the skill.

At the same time, as you understand, the "evil" is not the megapixels themselves - if tons of megapixels were spread out on a sufficiently large camera, they would benefit the smartphone. When the camera is able to unleash the potential of all the megapixels on board, and not “smear” them in bulk when shooting, the photo can be enlarged, cropped, and it will remain high-quality. That is, no one will understand that this is just a fragment of a larger picture. But now such miracles are found only in the “correct” SLR and mirrorless cameras, in which the matrix alone (a microcircuit with photo sensors, on which a picture arrives through the “glasses” of the camera) is much larger than the smartphone camera assembly.

"Evil" is a tradition of sticking a clip of megapixels into tiny cell phone cameras. This tradition has brought nothing but blurred pictures and an excess of digital noise (“peas” in the frame).

Sony piled on 23 megapixels where competitors put 12-15 megapixels, and paid for this with a decrease in picture clarity. (photo - manilashaker.com)

For reference: in the best camera phones of 2017, the main rear cameras (not to be confused with the b/w additional ones) all operate with “pathetic” 12-13 megapixels as one. In photo resolution, this is approximately 4032x3024 pixels - enough for a Full HD (1920x1080) monitor, and for 4K (3840x2160) too, albeit back to back. Roughly speaking, if the smartphone camera has more than 10 megapixels, their number is no longer important. Other things are important.

How to determine that the camera is of high quality, before looking at the photos and videos from it

Aperture - how wide the smartphone "opened its eyes"

The squirrel feeds on nuts, the deputies feed on the money of the people, and the cameras feed on light. The more light, the better the photo quality and more details. Only sunny weather and studio-style bright lighting lamps for any occasion of life can not be enough. Therefore, for good photos indoors, or outdoors in cloudy weather / at night, cameras are designed in such a way that they produce a lot of light even in adverse conditions.

The easiest way to get more light to hit the camera sensor is to make the hole in the lens larger. The indicator of how wide the “eyes” of the camera are opened is called aperture, aperture, or aperture ratio - this is the same parameter. And the words are different so that the reviewers in the articles can show off incomprehensible terms for as long as possible. Because, if you don’t show off, the aperture can simply be called, excuse me, a “hole”, as is customary among photographers.

Aperture is indicated by a fraction with the letter f, a slash and a number (or with a capital F and no fraction: for example, F2.2). Why

so - a long story, and that's not the point, as Rotaru sings. The bottom line is this: the smaller the number after the letter F and the slash, the better camera in a smartphone. For example, f / 2.2 in smartphones is good, but f / 1.9 is better! The wider the aperture, the more light enters the matrix and the better the smartphone “sees” (takes better photos and videos) at night. As a bonus, the wide aperture comes with beautiful background blur when you're photographing flowers up close, even if your phone doesn't have a dual camera.

Melania Trump explains what different apertures look like in smartphone cameras

Before buying a smartphone, do not be too lazy to clarify how “seeing” the rear camera is in it. We looked after the Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 - drive in the search "Galaxy J3 2017 aperture", "Galaxy J3 2017 aperture" or "Galaxy J3 2017 aperture" to find out the exact figure. If nothing is known about the aperture in the smartphone that you have looked at for yourself, two options are possible:

• The camera is so bad that the manufacturer decided to keep silent about its characteristics. Approximately the same rudeness marketers are engaged in when, in response to “what processor is in the smartphone?” they answer “quad-core” and evade in every possible way so as not to disclose a specific model.
• The smartphone has just appeared on sale and no characteristics, except for those in the advertising announcement, have yet been “delivered” on it. Wait a couple of weeks - usually during this time the details come out.

What should be the aperture in the camera of a new smartphone?

In 2017-2018 even in a budget model, the rear camera should produce at least f / 2.2. If the number in the denominator of this fraction is greater, get ready for the fact that the camera will see the picture as if in darkened glasses. And in the evening and at night, she will be “blind-sighted” and will be able to see almost nothing even at a distance of several meters from the smartphone. And do not rely on the "twists" of brightness - in a smartphone with f / 2.4 or f / 2.6, an evening photo with a "stretched" programmatically the exposure will turn out to be “rough slur”, while a camera with f / 2.2 or f / 2.0 will take a better photo without tricks.

The wider the aperture, the higher the quality of shooting on a smartphone camera

The coolest smartphones today have cameras with f/1.8, f/1.7 or even f/1.6 apertures. The aperture itself does not guarantee the maximum quality of pictures (no one has canceled the quality of the sensor and “glasses”) - this, I will quote the photographers, is just a “hole” through which the camera looks at the world. But other things being equal, it is better to choose smartphones in which the camera does not “squint”, but receives an image with wide-open “eyes”.

Diagonal of the matrix (sensor): the more - the better

The matrix in a smartphone is not the matrix where people with complex faces in black raincoats dodge bullets. In mobile phones, this word means a photocell ... in other words, a plate onto which a picture flies through the “glasses” of optics. In old cameras, the picture arrived on film and was stored there, and the matrix instead accumulates information about the photograph and sends it to the smartphone's processor. The processor arranges all this into the final photo and stores the files in internal memory, or on microSD.

The only thing you need to know about the matrix is ​​that it should be as large as possible. If the optics is a water hose, and the diaphragm is the neck of the container, then the matrix is ​​​​the very reservoir for water, which is never enough.

It is customary to measure the dimensions of the matrix in inhuman, from the bell tower of ordinary buyers, vidicon inches. One such inch is equal to 17 mm, but the cameras in smartphones have not yet reached such dimensions, so the matrix diagonal is denoted by a fraction, as in the case of the aperture. The smaller the second digit in the fraction (divisor), the larger the matrix -> the cooler the camera.

Is it clear that nothing is clear? Then just remember these numbers:

A budget smartphone will take good pictures if the matrix size in it is at least 1/3 "with a camera resolution of no higher than 12 megapixels. More megapixels - lower quality in practice. And if there are less than ten megapixels, on good large monitors and TVs, the photo will look loose, simply because they have fewer dots than the height-width of your monitor screen.

In mid-range smartphones, a good matrix size is 1/2.9” or 1/2.8”. Find a larger one (1/2.6” or 1/2.5”, for example) - consider yourself very lucky. In flagship smartphones, a good tone is a matrix of at least 1/2.8”, and preferably 1/2.5”.

Smartphones with large sensors shoot better than models with small photocells

Is it even tougher? It happens - look at 1/2.3” in the Sony Xperia XZ Premium and XZ1. Why, then, these smartphones do not set records for photo quality? Because the "automatic" of the camera is constantly mistaken with the selection of settings for shooting, and the stock of "clarity and vigilance" of the camera is spoiled by the number of megapixels - they piled 19 in these models instead of the standard 12-13 MP for new flagships, and a fly in the ointment crossed out the advantages of a huge matrix.

Are there smartphones in nature with a good camera and less harsh characteristics? Yes - take a look at the Apple iPhone 7 with its 1/3" at 12 megapixels. On the Honor 8, which is enough 1/2.9" with the same number of megapixels. Magic? No - just good optics and perfectly "licked" automation, which takes into account the potential of the camera as well as tailored trousers take into account the amount of cellulite on the thighs.

But there is a problem - manufacturers almost never indicate the size of the sensor in the specifications, because these are not megapixels, and you can be embarrassed if the sensor is cheap. And in reviews or descriptions of smartphones in online stores, such camera characteristics are even less common. Even if you have chosen a smartphone with an adequate number of megapixels and a promising aperture value, there is a chance that you will never know the size of the rear sensor. In this case, pay attention to the last characteristic of smartphone cameras, which directly affects the quality.

Few large pixels are better than many small ones.

Imagine a sandwich with red caviar, or take a look at it if you don’t remember well what such delicacies look like. Just as eggs in a sandwich are distributed over a piece of loaf, the area of ​​​​the camera sensor (camera matrix) in a smartphone is occupied by light-sensitive elements - pixels. These pixels in smartphones, to put it mildly, are not a dozen, or even a dozen. One megapixel is 1 million pixels, in typical cameras of smartphones produced in 2015-2017, there are 12-20 such megapixels.

As we have already figured out, containing an excessive number of "blanks" on the smartphone's matrix is ​​detrimental to pictures. The effectiveness of such a pandemonium comes out like that of specialized detachments of people to replace a light bulb. Therefore, it is better to observe a smaller number of smart pixels in a camera than a large number of stupid ones. The larger each of the pixels in the camera, the less “dirty” the photos turn out, and the video becomes less “jumpy”.

Large pixels in the camera (photo below) make evening and night shots better

An ideal smartphone camera consists of a large "foundation" (matrix / sensor) with large pixels on it. Only now no one is going to make smartphones thicker or allocate half of the case at the back for the camera. Therefore, the "building" will be such that the camera does not stick out of the body and does not take up much space, the megapixels are large, even if there are only 12-13 of them, and the matrix is ​​as large as possible to accommodate them all.

The pixel size in a camera is measured in micrometers and is denoted as micron in Russian or mm in Latin. Before you buy a smartphone, make sure that the pixels in it are large enough - this is an indirect sign that the camera is shooting well. Type in the search, for example, "Xiaomi Mi 5S µm" or "Xiaomi Mi 5S µm" - and enjoy the camera characteristics of the smartphone that you have noticed. Or upset - depends on the numbers that you see as a result.

How big should a pixel be in a good camera phone?

In the “newest” time, it was especially famous for its pixel sizes ... Google Pixel is a smartphone that was released in 2016 and “showed Kuzkin’s mother” to competitors due to the combination of a huge (1 / 2.3”) matrix and very large pixels of the order of 1.55 microns. With such a set, he almost always produced the most detailed photographs even in cloudy weather or at night.

Why don't manufacturers "cut" the megapixels in the camera to a minimum and place a minimum of pixels on the matrix? There has already been such an experiment - HTC in the flagship One M8 (2014) made the pixels so huge that they fit in the rear camera ... four on a 1/3 ”matrix! Thus, One M8 received pixels as large as 2 microns! As a result, in terms of the quality of images in the dark, the smartphone “broke” almost all competitors. Yes, and photos in a resolution of 2688 × 1520 pixels were enough for Full HD monitors of that time. But the HTC camera did not become an all-round champion, because the Taiwanese were let down by HTC's color accuracy and "stupid" shooting algorithms that did not know how to "correctly prepare" settings for a sensor with unusual potential.

Today, all manufacturers have gone berserk in the race for the largest possible pixels, therefore:

• In good budget camera phones, the pixel size should be 1.22 microns or more.
• In flagships, pixels ranging in size from 1.25 microns to 1.4 or 1.5 microns are considered good form. More is better.

There are few smartphones with a good camera and relatively small pixels, but they exist in nature. This, of course, is the Apple iPhone 7 with its 1.22 microns and OnePlus 5 with 1.12 microns - they “leave” due to very high-quality sensors, very good optics and “smart” automation.

Without these terms, small pixels ruin photo quality in flagship smartphones. For example, in the LG G6, the algorithms create lewdness when shooting at night, and the sensor, although ennobled with good “glasses”, is itself cheap. AT

as a result, 1.12 microns always spoil night shots, except when you enter the battle with “manual mode” instead of stupid automation and correct its flaws yourself. The same picture prevails when shooting with the Sony Xperia XZ Premium or XZ1. And in the masterpiece, “on paper”, the Xiaomi Mi 5S camera, the lack of optical stabilization and the same “crooked hands” of the algorithm developers prevent it from competing with the flagships of the iPhone and Samsung, which is why the smartphone copes well with shooting only during the day, and at night it is no longer very impressive.

In order to make it clear how much to weigh in grams, take a look at the characteristics of the cameras in some of the best camera phones of our time.

Smartphone	The number of megapixels of the "main" rear camera	Matrix Diagonal	Pixel size
Google Pixel 2XL	12.2 MP	1/2.6"	1.4 µm
Sony Xperia XZ Premium	19 MP	1/2.3"	1.22 µm
One Plus 5	16 MP	1/2.8"	1.12 µm
Apple iPhone 7	12 MP	1/3"	1.22 µm
Samsung Galaxy S8	12 MP	1/2.5"	1.4 µm
LG G6	13 MP	1/3"	1.12 µm
Samsung Galaxy Note 8	12 MP	1/2.55"	1.4 µm
Huawei P10 Lite/Honor 8 Lite	12 MP	1/2.8"	1.25 µm
Apple iPhone SE	12 MP	1/3"	1.22 µm
Xiaomi Mi 5S	12 MP	1/2.3"	1.55 µm
Honor 8	12 MP	1/2.9"	1.25 µm
Apple iPhone 6	8 MP	1/3"	1.5 µm
Huawei nova	12 MP	1/2.9"	1.25 µm

What type of autofocus is the best

Autofocus is when a mobile phone “focuses” on its own while taking photos and videos. It is needed in order not to twist the settings “for every sneeze”, like a gunner in a tank.

In older smartphones and in modern Chinese "state employees", manufacturers use contrast autofocus. This is the most primitive way of focusing, which focuses on how light or dark it is “straight ahead” in front of the camera, like a half-blind person. That is why it takes about a couple of seconds for cheap smartphones to focus, during which it is easy to “miss” a moving object, or not want to shoot what they were going to, because “the train has left”.

Phase autofocus “catches light” over the entire area of ​​the camera sensor, calculates at what angle the rays enter the camera and draws conclusions about what is in front of the smartphone’s nose or a little further. Due to its "intelligence" and calculations, it works very quickly during the day and does not annoy anything at all. It is common in all modern smartphones, except for the very budget ones. The only drawback is the work at night, when the light enters the narrow hole in the aperture of the mobile phone in such small portions that the smartphone “tears the roof” and it constantly fidgets with focus due to a sharp change in information.

Laser autofocus - the most chic! Laser rangefinders have always been used to "throw" a beam over a long distance and calculate the distance for an object. LG in the smartphone G3 (2014) taught such a "scan" to help the camera quickly focus.

Laser autofocus is amazingly fast even indoors or in semi-darkness

Take a look at your wristwatch... well, what am I talking about... okay, turn on the stopwatch on your smartphone and appreciate how fast one second goes by. And now mentally divide it by 3.5 - in 0.276 seconds, the smartphone receives information about the distance to the subject and reports this to the camera. And it does not lose speed either at night or in bad weather. If you plan to shoot photos and videos up close or at a short distance in low light, a smartphone with laser autofocus will help you out a lot.

But keep in mind that mobile phones are not Star Wars guns, so the range of the laser in the camera barely exceeds a couple of meters. Everything that is further, the mobile phone considers with the help of the same phase detection autofocus. In other words, to shoot objects from afar, it is not necessary to look for a smartphone with “laser guidance” in the camera - you will not get any use from such a function in general terms for photos and videos.

Optical stabilization. Why is it needed and how does it work

Have you ever driven a car with a leaf spring suspension? On army UAZ vehicles, for example, or an ambulance with the same design? In addition to the fact that in such cars you can “beat off the fifth point”, they are incredibly shaking - the suspension is as rigid as possible so as not to fall apart on the roads, and therefore it tells passengers everything that it thinks about the road surface, frankly and not a “spring” (because that there is nothing to spring).

Now you know how a smartphone camera without optical stabilization feels when you are trying to take a photo.

The problem with shooting on a smartphone is this:

• The camera needs a lot of light to take good pictures. Not the direct rays of the sun in the "face", but diffused, ubiquitous light around.
• The longer the camera "views" the image during the photo, the more light it snatches = the higher the quality of the picture.
• At the time of shooting and these “peepers” of the camera, the smartphone must be motionless so that the picture is not “smeared”. Leave at least a fraction of a millimeter - the frame will be spoiled.

And human hands are shaking. This is very noticeable if you raise your arms outstretched and try to hold the bar, and less noticeable when you hold a mobile phone in front of you to take a photo or video. The difference is that the bar can “float” in your hands within wide limits - just not to put it against the wall, a neighbor, or drop it on your feet. And the smartphone needs to have time to "grab" the light in order for the photo to come out well, and do it before it deviates by a fraction of a millimeter in your hands.

Therefore, the algorithms try to please the camera and not put forward increased requirements for your hands. That is, they tell the camera, for example, “so, 1/250 of a second you can shoot, this is enough for the photo to be more or less successful, and taking a picture before the camera moves to the side is also enough.” This thing is called endurance.

How optical stabilization works

What's with the optostab? So after all, he is that “shock absorption” with which the camera does not shake, like the body of army trucks, but “floats” within small boundaries. In the case of smartphones, it does not float in water, but is held by magnets and “fidgets” at a short distance from them.

That is, if the smartphone “leaves” a little or trembles during shooting, the camera will shake much weaker. With such insurance, the smartphone will be able to:

• Increase shutter speed (guaranteed time "to see the picture before the photo is ready") for the camera. The camera receives more light, sees more image details = the quality of the photo during the day is even higher.
• Take clear pictures on the move. Not while sprinting off-road, but while walking or out of the window of a shaking bus, for example.
• Compensate for shaky video. Even if you stomp your feet very sharply or sway a little under the weight of the bag in your second hand, this will not be as noticeable on the video as in smartphones without optical stabilizer.

Therefore, the optostab (OIS, as it is called in English) is an extremely useful thing in a smartphone camera. It’s also possible without it, but it’s sad - the camera must be of high quality “with a margin”, and the automation will have to shorten (degrade) the shutter speed, because there is no insurance against shaking in the smartphone. When shooting a video, you have to “move” the picture on the fly so that the jitter is not visible. This is akin to how in old movies they imitated the speed of a moving car, when it actually stood still. With the difference that in films these scenes were shot in one take, and smartphones have to calculate the shaking and deal with it on the fly.

Smartphones with a good camera, which without stabilization shoots no worse than competitors with stabilization, are vanishingly few - for example, the Apple iPhone 6s, the first generation of Google Pixel, OnePlus 5, Xiaomi Mi 5s and, with some stretch, Honor 8 / Honor 9.

What not to pay attention to

• Flash. Useful only when shooting in pitch darkness, when you need to take a photo at any cost. As a result, you observe the pale faces of people in the frame (and all of them, because the flash is low-power), eyes closed from bright light, or a very strange color of buildings / trees - photographs with a smartphone flash definitely do not carry artistic value. In the role of a flashlight, the LED near the camera is much more useful.
• Number of lenses in the camera. “Before, when I had 5 Mbps Internet, I wrote an essay in a day, and now, when I have 100 Mbps, I write it in 4 seconds.” No, guys, that's not how it works. It doesn’t matter how many lenses a smartphone has, it doesn’t matter who made them (Carl Zeiss, judging by the quality of Nokia’s new cameras, too). Lenses are either high-quality or not, and you can only check this with real photos.

The quality of the "glasses" (lenses) affects the quality of the camera. Quantity is not

• Shooting in RAW. If you do not know what RAW is, I explain:

JPEG is the standard format in which smartphones record photos, this is a "ready-to-use" picture. Like Olivier salad on a festive table - it is possible to disassemble it “into components” in order to remake it into another salad, but it will not work out very well.

RAW is a hefty file on a "flash drive" in which all options for brightness, clarity and color for a photograph are sewn in its pure form, in separate "lines". That is, the photo will not be “covered with small dots” (digital noise) if you decide to make it not as dark as it turned out in JPEG, but a little brighter, as if you had correctly set the brightness at the time of shooting.

In short, RAW allows you to "photoshop" a frame much more conveniently than JPEG. But the catch is that flagship smartphones almost always select the settings correctly, therefore, apart from the memory of the smartphone polluted by “heavy” photos in RAW, there will be little use from “photoshop” files. And in cheap smartphones, the camera quality is so bad that you will see poor quality in JPEG, and just as bad source in RAW. Don't bother.

• Camera sensor name. Once upon a time, they were super important because they were the “quality mark” of a camera. The sensor model (module) of the camera determines the size of the matrix, the number of megapixels and the pixel size, minor "family signs" of shooting algorithms.

Of the “big three” manufacturers of camera modules for smartphones, Sony produces the highest quality modules (we do not take into account individual examples, we are talking about the average temperature in a hospital), followed by Samsung (Samsung sensors in Samsung smartphones Galaxy is even better than the coolest Sony sensors, but the Koreans sell something absurd on the side), and, finally, OmniVision closes the list, which releases “consumer goods, but tolerable”. Intolerant consumer goods are produced by all the other basement Chinese offices, whose names in the characteristics of smartphones are ashamed to mention even the manufacturers themselves.

8 - execution option. Do you know how it happens in cars? The minimum equipment with a "cloth" on the seats and a "wooden" interior, the maximum - with artificial suede seats and a leather dashboard. For buyers, the difference in this figure means little.

Why, after all this, should we not pay attention to the sensor model? Because things are the same with them as with megapixels - Chinese "alternatively gifted" manufacturers are actively buying expensive Sony sensors, trumpeting at every corner "our smartphone has a super-quality camera!" ... and the camera is disgusting.

Because the “glasses” (lenses) in such mobile phones are of terrible quality and transmit light a little better than a plastic soda bottle. The camera aperture due to the same bastard "glasses" is far from ideal (f / 2.2 or even higher), and no one is engaged in setting up the sensor so that the camera correctly selects colors, works well with the processor and does not disfigure the pictures. Here is a clear example of the fact that the sensor model has little effect on anything:

As you can see, smartphones with the same camera sensor can shoot in completely different ways. So don't think that a cheap Moto G5 Plus with an IMX362 module will shoot as well as the HTC U11 does with its amazingly cool camera.

Even more annoying is the “noodles on the ears” that Xiaomi hangs on the ears of buyers when it says that “the camera in the Mi Max 2 is very similar to the camera in the flagship Mi 6 - they have the same IMX386 sensors! They are the same, only smartphones shoot very differently, the aperture (and therefore the ability to shoot in poor lighting) is different in them, and Mi Max 2 cannot compete with the flagship Mi6.

1. An additional camera "helps" to take photos at night of the main one and can shoot b/w photos. The most famous smartphones with such camera implementations are Huawei P9, Honor 8, Honor 9, Huawei P10.
2. The secondary camera allows you to "shove the unpushed", that is, it takes pictures with an almost panoramic viewing angle. The only supporter of this type of camera was and remains LG - starting with the LG G5, continuing with the V20, G6, X Cam and now the V30.
3. Two cameras are needed for optical zoom (zoom without loss of quality). Most often, this effect is achieved by simultaneous operation of two cameras at once (Apple iPhone 7 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8), although there are models that, when zoomed in, simply switch to a separate “long-range” camera - ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom, for example.

How to choose a high-quality selfie camera in a smartphone?

Best of all - based on examples of real photos. And, both during the day and at night. During the day, almost all selfie cameras produce good photos, but only high-quality front cameras are able to shoot something legible in the dark.

It is not necessary to study the vocabulary of photographers and go deep into what this or that characteristic is responsible for - you can simply memorize the numbers “so much is good, but if the number is larger, it’s bad” and pick up a smartphone much faster. For clarification of terms, welcome to the beginning of the article, and here we will try to derive a formula for a high-quality camera in smartphones.

Megapixels	Not less than 10, not more than 15. Optimal - 12-13 MP
Diaphragm(she is aperture, aperture)	for budget smartphones- f/2.2 or f/2.0 for flagships: minimum f/2.0 (in the rarest exceptions - f/2.2) optimal - f/1.9, f/1.8 ideal - f/1.7, f/1.6
Pixel size (µm, µm)	the higher the number, the better for budget smartphones- 1.2 µm and above for flagships: minimum - 1.22 µm (with rare exceptions - 1.1 µm) optimal - 1.4 µm ideal - 1.5 µm and above
Sensor size (matrix)	the smaller the number in the divisor of a fraction, the better for budget smartphones - 1/3” for flagships: minimum - 1/3” optimal - 1/2.8” ideal - 1/2.5”, 1/2.3”
autofocus	contrast - so-so phase - good phase and laser - excellent
Optical stabilization	very useful for shooting on the go and night shooting
Dual camera	one good camera is better than two bad ones two average cameras are better than one average camera (brilliant wording!)
Sensor (module) manufacturer	not specified = most likely some kind of junk inside OmniVision - so-so Samsung in non-Samsung smartphones - ok Samsung in Samsung smartphones - excellent Sony - good or excellent (depends on the honesty of the manufacturer)
Sensor model	a cool module does not guarantee high quality shooting, but in the case of Sony, pay attention to IMX250 and higher sensors, or IMX362 and higher

I do not want to understand the characteristics! Which smartphone to buy with good cameras?

Manufacturers produce countless smartphones, but among them there are very few models that can take good pictures and shoot videos.

More and more people prefer smartphones to compact cameras. Yes, of course, in terms of image quality, they still fall short of professional DSLRs, but they can easily shoot at the level of digital cameras. Considering that in addition you get an advanced multifunctional device, sometimes implemented even in a smaller body than compacts, the choice is quite obvious. With a high degree of probability, independent devices of an amateur class are already living out their lives, and the future is still with smartphones.

Recently, the situation in the production of mobile cameras has changed significantly for the better. Dual modules began to appear, manufacturers seriously thought about implementing full-fledged optical stabilization, and almost all top products learned to support 4K and HDR. So who has managed to break out into the favorites of the market this season?

Samsung Galaxy S7

Shooting has always been a strong point for Koreans, and the Galaxy S7 is no exception. After the unsuccessful launch of Note 7, Samsung has focused its attention on the spring flagship, which, by the way, is quite good. Not bad so much that it successfully outperformed even the very promising iPhone 7 Plus in comparison.

The main module of the smartphone is built on a 12-megapixel Sony IMX260 sensor with a pixel size of 1.4 microns and a glass lens with aperture F / 1.7. The sensor is made by special order and is not found in other models. There is a proprietary Dual Pixel focusing technology that uses dual photodiodes on each of the pixels of the matrix. This made it possible to achieve high pointing accuracy even when shooting in dimly lit places and the best speed among competitors.

The smartphone is capable of shooting 4K video, making animated panoramas, as well as slow motion, time-lapse and hyperlapse videos. Saving photos in RAW format is available. Britecell technology helps to ensure natural color reproduction and good picture quality at dusk, and the presence of optical stabilization improves sharpness and prevents image shaking when recording video.

In general, the Galaxy S7 camera is rightfully considered the best in the world. It remains only not to regret 45-50,000 rubles in order to get the desired gadget.

iPhone 7 Plus

Some people love apple products, some just hate them, but in the latest iPhone 7 Plus, the developers managed to make one of the highest quality cameras on the market, which also became the first smartphone-format module to receive 2x optical zoom.

It is implemented through a combination of two 12-megapixel sensors and two six-lens lenses, one of which is normal and the other is telephoto. In addition to the optical zoom, a 10x digital zoom is provided, equipped with algorithms smoothing pixelation. The picture is completed by the use of a powerful dedicated processor and an advanced optical stabilization system.

Those who wish to take advantage of advanced photo post-processing capabilities will appreciate the support for RAW format. Lovers of portrait and product photography, as well as fans of various experiments, will like a special algorithm for shifting the focus point in a frame with blurring of background objects, which works with ready-made frames.

Thanks to a high-quality fast lens with a maximum aperture of F / 1.8, the camera shows the best results among smartphones when photographing in sunny weather, ahead of even the Galaxy S7 in detail, but loses to it at dusk and when shooting portraits. If the light is still not enough, then you can use a bright four-LED flash. The cost of a smartphone, depending on the configuration, ranges from 63 to 120,000 rubles.

Google Pixel

The youngest brand in our review, which appeared just over two weeks ago, has a very eminent parent, which is Google. The device uses a 12.3-megapixel Sony IMX378 sensor with a pixel size increased to 1.55 microns and a lens with a maximum aperture of F / 2.0. There is optical stabilization, laser and phase focusing, as well as HDR + high dynamic range mode, indispensable for shooting under difficult lighting conditions.

In confirmation of the very good technical characteristics, Google cites the results of testing carried out by DxO Labs, which publishes the results on the authoritative DxOMark resource, in which the smartphone camera took first place among all competitors. The device has not yet gone on sale, but you can already pre-order for $650.

HTC 10

The top three is good for everyone, except for the cost that is too unbearable for many. A good alternative at a price of 37,000 rubles can be HTC 10. The smartphone received a 12-megapixel matrix, but not the usual one, but BSI, with support for UltraPixel 2 technology, which allows you to achieve a large pixel with a size of 1.55 microns. There are optical stabilization, laser autofocus and two-tone flash. It is possible to save photos in RAW. The F/2.0 aperture lens does a good job of shooting in dark rooms.

LG G5

A good option in the mid-price segment may be the February flagship of LG, which has a dual camera. Soon it should be replaced on the market by a more advanced V20 equipped with the same set of photomodules. Since the model has already been announced, but has not yet gone on sale, we will limit ourselves to the equally high-quality G5. Initially, the smartphone was conceived as modular, but the idea did not find a proper response among buyers.

Meanwhile, his camera will give odds to many competitors. The design uses a main module with a 16-megapixel Sony IMX234 sensor, an F / 2.0 aperture lens, laser autofocus and optical stabilization. The auxiliary module uses an 8-megapixel sensor and a lens with a 136-degree field of view. In the final picture, the two captured frames are combined into one widescreen, on which a higher-quality image captured by a 16-megapixel sensor is superimposed in the center. The cost of the device in Russia starts from 30,000 rubles.

Huawei P9

The P9 was the first smartphone in the world to feature lenses certified by Leica. The model received a dual main module carrying a pair of 12-megapixel Sony IMX286 sensors, one of which is color and the other is black and white. A monochrome sensor can capture more light, which when combined with an image captured by a full color sensor, improves sharpness, expands dynamic range, and enhances detail when shooting in low light conditions. There are laser autofocus, LED flash and the ability to save photos in RAW format. The price of a smartphone, depending on the amount of installed memory, varies from 30 to 45,000 rubles.

Meizu MX6

Despite not the highest cost, the device boasts one of the best cameras in the Meizu range, surpassing even more expensive flagships. The model is somewhat inferior to LG and Huawei, but for its price range it has a very impressive quality that can compete with many competitors. The module is based on a 12-megapixel Sony IMX386 matrix, where the size of each pixel is 1.25 microns. The sensor is paired with a six-lens lens. optical system, which has an aperture of F / 2.0, and phase autofocus will help to quickly capture the desired object in the frame.

The camera handles daylight shooting well and supports 4K video resolution, but noise starts to show up in low light conditions. A double flash will help in part, which, unfortunately, is not relevant for all plots. You can buy MX6 for 18 or more thousand rubles.

ZTE Nubia Z11

The cute bezel-less Nubia not only looks great, but it takes pretty good photos too. The rear camera is equipped with a high-quality 16-megapixel Sony IMX298 sensor and a lens with a 6-element optical system covered with sapphire crystal, which protects the lens from scratches and acts as an IR filter.

The design is complemented by a modern optical stabilization system, phase detection autofocus and a two-tone LED flash. Additionally, there is an algorithm designed to reduce the noise level when shooting at dusk. The smartphone was introduced in Europe at the end of August and is just starting to go on sale. The cost of new items, depending on the configuration, will be 500-600 euros.

Conclusion

If we compare all models with each other, then Samsung Galaxy S7, iPhone 7 Plus and Google Pixel can conditionally be attributed to the top class. HTC 10, LG G5 and Huawei P9 will be a little simpler, while Meizu MX6, ZTE Nubia Z11 and a number of other models from this group, with their fairly high image quality, are somewhat inferior to the smartphones of the first two groups.