Best Android camera: shot by shot, who’s the king? [Gallery]

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

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 photography experience and consistent 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 option at the hardware level, offering an ultra-wide 12MP 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 “Zoom in Space”. 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.

Shot for Shot: Putting the best Android cameras to the test [Gallery]

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 a few millimeters from the lens in focus and with a high level of detail.

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 reviewer on 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.