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The best camera in any situation is the one you have with you and, most of the time, it is your smartphone’s camera. That is why, in recent years, mobile photography has become a crucial part of mainstream smartphones, and the results are often incredible. But who has the best smartphone camera on Android? In “Shot for Shot,” we will let your eyes judge …
What are the best Android cameras?
Before we dive into the samples, who are the competitors? In this comparison, we want to take a look at smartphones that are widely considered to offer the best general (rear) cameras when it comes to versatility, consistency, experience and quality. This list currently includes:
- Google Pixel 5
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
- Oppo Find X3
- OnePlus 9 Pro
These phones offer totally different hardware to achieve their final results and, starting from the bottom, is Pixel 5. Google’s formula for a good camera hasn’t changed much over five generations. Like the original Pixel, the latest generation has a 12 MP camera at its core – albeit with a newer sensor – now supported by an ultra-wide 16 MP sensor. The Pixel is generally considered for its simple and consistent photography experience, with the results supported by excellent software processing.
Moving on to Samsung’s offerings, the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Note 20 Ultra offer a very similar package. The headliner is a 108MP primary camera with laser auto focus. In addition, the two differ slightly. The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the superior hardware-level option, offering a 12MP ultra-wide camera and two 10MP telephoto triggers. One is a shooter with 3x optical zoom, while the other achieves 10x optical zoom. With the software, the phone manages up to 100x “Spatial Zoom”. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is limited to 50x zoom because it has only one telephoto camera, a 12MP camera with 5x optical zoom. There is also an ultra-wide 12 MP.
As for the Oppo Find X3 Pro, the focus is not so much on the zoom, but on the macro and microscope shots. The main camera is a 50MP sensor supported by a 13MP telephoto camera that manages 5x optical zoom. The third sensor, however, is another 50MP sniper with an ultra-wide lens that can also be used for high resolution macro shots. It even offers a special LED ring that can take pictures of subjects just a few millimeters from the lens in focus and with a high level of detail.
Update 25/3: Next on our versus: the OnePlus 9 Pro. Launched on March 23, the company’s most expensive phone also offers much great emphasis on the camera. The 9 Pro tries to be a “stick to the job” camera with a 48MP, 50MP ultra-wide, 8MP 3.3x telephoto primary camera and a 2MP monochrome sensor.
How do the best Android cameras compare?
We could go on talking about the camera’s features, resolution, colors and more, but honestly, the best judge of a smartphone camera is your own eyes. Below, you will find test samples from each of our competitors in some scenarios. After viewing them, vote in the poll below to tell us which one you think is the best Android camera.
For each gallery below, you can click to expand each photo or click “view full size” below to see the unzipped photos in Google Drive.
Primary camera, natural light
View full size | From left to right – OnePlus 9 Pro, Pixel 5, Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Oppo Find X3 Pro
When it comes to natural light, it is honestly very difficult to trip over a modern day flagship smartphone. Here, everyone is basically on the same playing field and the comparisons boil down to colors, sharpness, bokeh and, in fact, just personal preferences. Still, HDR is an important tool for balancing bright sunlight with your subject to get as much detail as possible.
Main camera, indoors
View full size | From left to right – OnePlus 9 Pro, Pixel 5, Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Oppo Find X3 Pro
Even in the middle of the day and with all the lights in a room on, any smartphone can fall apart when brought into the house. In our tests, we are in a room with a good amount of natural light supported by several ceiling lights.
Ultra-wide camera, natural light
View full size | From left to right – OnePlus 9 Pro, Pixel 5, Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Oppo Find X3 Pro
Ultra-wide cameras will not improve or detract from your photographic experience, but too often, the quality can degrade quickly compared to the main sensor. Often, too, distortion can ruin even the best ultra-wide camera on an Android phone. In this comparison, we can also see the difference in the field of view between each device.
2x and 10x (or maximum) zoom camera
View full size (10x) | From left to right – OnePlus 9 Pro, Pixel 5, Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Oppo Find X3 Pro
After countless years of digital zoom giving the illusion of cutting your subject, the best Android cameras are adding additional focal lengths to improve distance results, in some cases even being able to literally capture the moon. The results here generally vary widely. We chose 2x zoom and 10x zoom to show what happens with casual use and what you can expect when you push these systems to the limit.
Primary camera, low internal light
View full size | From left to right – OnePlus 9 Pro, Pixel 5, Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Oppo Find X3 Pro
Perhaps one of the most difficult scenarios for a smartphone camera is indoors in low light, which means that there is no natural light and medium overhead or localized lighting. What matters is the HDR and the size of the sensor to win here.
Night mode
View full size | From left to right – OnePlus 9 Pro, Pixel 5, Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, Oppo Find X3 Pro
Smartphones can now capture stars if you use them correctly, but photography in night mode is generally best used only to capture a scene without the need for a flash, and it is also a part of smartphone photography that can vary greatly in quality from device to device.
What do you think is the best camera on Android?
After looking at the examples above, which do you think is the best option?
On a personal note, I’m very happy to see how far OnePlus has come with the 9 Pro, as it currently holds up extremely well with the rest of the “kings of Android”. However, I still like the phenomenal results of the Galaxy S21 Ultra in all aspects and the excellent consistency of the Pixel 5. After the Pixel 5 won overwhelmingly in our previous poll, however, I am curious to see if the OnePlus 9 Pro it can shake things up.
The current champion chosen by you, our readers: Google Pixel 5
See the results of our previous poll on here.
This article is updated regularly as new competitors enter the market. Occasionally, older devices are removed as successors are launched or become irrelevant for comparison.
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