What Phone Has Best Camera

Here at Proficient Reviews, nosotros test hundreds of smartphones every year. From the most expensive flagships to the budget handsets y'all buy out of sheer necessity, we run a series of pretty rigorous benchmarks to make sure we're as informed as possible. Every bit a result, we've snapped test pictures with every single phone that comes through our doors, so we know exactly which phones have the best cameras for your Instagram nutrient/pet/holiday pics.

If you're keen on taking pictures or video with your phone, or you lot only want to know that you lot've got a smartphone that's great for taking holiday snaps, then you're in the correct place. Below, yous'll find our regularly updated list of the best telephone cameras on the marketplace, and a helpful camera ownership guide – so you know exactly what to await for when you're browsing the Carphone Warehouse website.

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Best phone camera: At a glance

The best phone camera: Google Pixel 6 (£600)
Best camera for video: iPhone thirteen Pro (£949)
All-time telephoto photographic camera: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (£1,149)
Best mid-range camera: OnePlus 8T (£450)
Best budget photographic camera: Xiaomi Redmi Annotation 10 Pro (£300)

How to purchase the all-time phone camera for you

Megapixels aren't everything

The get-go matter you demand to exist wary of is that megapixels aren't everything. Pop into Carphone Warehouse and yous'll see the megapixel count listed next to the phone, but that isn't the de facto indication of whether a smartphone's camera is any good or not. College megapixels might wait like a bonus, only it largely boils down to the tech inside.

Aperture is key

The matter you need to look out for? Discontinuity. A number listed with an f/ in front of it might look a little confusing at start glance, only information technology says a lot about the camera y'all're holding. An f/1.4 aperture is wider than an aperture of f/2.0 for instance, which means that the photographic camera will let in a lot more light and thus, greater potential for detail.

Don't forget pixel and sensor size

Pixel and sensor size is just every bit important as that f-number. In brusk, the size of each individual pixel (measured in um) determines the quality of the image. Unlike aperture, bigger is better when information technology comes to pixel and sensor size. Got a big photographic camera sensor? More information tin can be gathered, accruing better dynamic range and reduced visual noise, while a bigger pixel size lets more low-cal in, performing ameliorate in low-light.

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Best telephone photographic camera 2022

1. Google Pixel vi: The best phone camera yet

Price: £600 50Buy at present from Argos

Jumping to the top of the podium, the Pixel half-dozen's cameras are but remarkable. Featuring a brand-new 50MP sensor (too every bit a 12MP ultrawide), the Pixel half-dozen'south top-notch photographic capabilities yet once again jump to the top of the list. And when information technology costs this picayune, there'due south really non much betoken in choosing anything else.

The Pixel half dozen'south broad f/1.9 discontinuity is well suited for low-lite photography and in skillful low-cal, the Pixel 6 produced pictures with superb dynamic range and colour saturation, while the white rest was overnice and authentic. And with Google improving the functioning of its HDR+ processing algorithms, information technology'southward quicker to capture images every bit well. New features such as Magic Eraser let yous remove unwanted objects and people from your movie with a simple tap, and "Face Unblur" does a swell chore at reducing blur on a moving subject also.

Something else that makes this telephone stand out is its portrait way capabilities. Whether you use the forepart- or rear-facing camera, every portrait shot is captured beautifully, with nicely blurred backgrounds and crisp, definable edges effectually the discipline. The Pixel 6 offers the best photographic camera for your Instagram vanity shots and while it might lack the tertiary 4x optical zoom sensor of the more expensive Pixel 6 Pro, the regular model really does ready a brand-new smartphone photography benchmark. Particularly considering how little it costs compared to other phones on this list.

Read our full Google Pixel 6 review for more details

Key specs - Rear camera: 50MP, 12MP wide;Aperture: f/ane.9;Stabilisation: optical;Video resolution: 4K at 60fps; Front end camera: 8MP

Buy now from Argos

ii. Apple iPhone thirteen Pro: All-time for video

Price:£949 l Purchase at present from Amazon

Apple's iPhone thirteen Pro is i of the about expensive phones on the listing but it does a mighty fine task of taking reliable photos and crisp, steady 4K video at 60fps.

The xiii Pro Max (and the price 13 Pro Max) has 3 cameras on the rear. The main photographic camera all the same again delivers sensor-shift stabilisation on a smartphone – keeping your videos every bit steady every bit can be – and consists of a 12MP camera unit with a wide f/one.five aperture. The other two cameras are similar to terminal twelvemonth: there'southward a 12MP (f/ii.8) 3x telephoto zoom camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS) and a field of view equivalent to a 77mm lens on a photographic camera with a total-frame sensor and an ultra-broad camera, also with a resolution of 12MP, only with an aperture of f/i.viii and a field of view equivalent to a 13mm lens on a camera with a total-frame sensor.

While still image quality is excellent – with the 13 Pro building on Apple's first-class portrait mode – the best matter is the iPhone 13 Pro's video capabilities. Yet again capturing footage at 4K resolution at a maximum framerate of 60fps with back up for Dolby Vision, no other smartphone's video efforts come up shut when it comes to this level of quality. It's an expensive choice, no doubt, but that's the sky-loftier price you pay for fantabulous-quality video on the go.

Read our full iPhone 13 Pro review for more than details

Key specs - Rear camera: 12MP, 12MP (broad), 12MP (3x telephoto zoom); Discontinuity: f/1.5, f/two.8, f/one.8; Stabilisation: sensor and optical; Video resolution: 4K at 60fps with Dolby Vision; Front end camera: 12MP

3. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: The all-time telephoto camera

Price: From £1,149 50Buy now from Amazon

Like its predecessor, the Galaxy S22 Ultra continues to raise the bar of what to await in terms of smartphone photography.

Non only does it proceed to exist the only smartphone to support 8K resolution video recording (with remarkable results), merely the Galaxy S22 Ultra'south zoom capabilities are second to none. Offering a hybrid zoom range of upwards to 100x, the Galaxy S22 Ultra excels when it comes to telescopic photography, and the 108MP main camera is no slouch either. In our tests, nosotros found that the Milky way S22 Ultra was capable of capturing detail-rich images in well-lit environments, with superb dynamic range and rich, assuming colours that look equally if they're going to jump directly off the screen. The phone'southward night mode as well did an exceptional job at boosting the brightness of the image without adding pesky visual racket and blowing out street lights.

Useful photography features such every bit the ability to grab an epitome directly from whatever frame of an 8K video recording are also a huge bonus, every bit is the power to capturein both JPEG and DNG formats simultaneously in the Practiced RAW app on the Galaxy Store. And so, if yous need a flagship smartphone that can pretty much do it all in the photographic camera department, as well every bit something that knocks it out of the park with telephoto images, so the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the ideal candidate.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review for more than details

Fundamental specs - Rear camera:108MP, 10MP (10x telephoto), 10MP (3x telephoto), 12MP (wide);Aperture: f/1.eight;Stabilisation: optical;Video resolution: 8K at 24fps;Front camera: 40MP

4. Apple iPhone SE (2020): The best-value iPhone (with a great camera)

Price: £389 l Buy now from Amazon

Apple iPhone SE (2020) with grass and flowers

Apple tree might adopt its customers to spend more on the iPhone 12, merely the lower asking cost of the new iPhone SE (2020) is well worth a await when information technology comes to the camera section. Powered by the same top-cease chipset as Apple'southward flagships – the A13 Bionic – the iPhone SE may simply be fitted with a single 12MP rear camera, but image quality is much improved over the original model, which released in 2016.

Information technology lacks the Deep Fusion low-light fashion and night mode of the iPhone 11, but the photos nosotros've managed to capture with the iPhone SE have been very good beyond the lath. Over again, Apple tree'south portrait mode brings out the very best of the 12MP sensor, with crisp details and a rich palette of colours. In depression-light, in fact, the iPhone SE surprisingly holds its own confronting the iPhone 12 Pro Max, too. The A13 Bionic too allows for more fifty-fifty exposure levels, with the use of Smart HDR, and you can too record crisp video at 60fps.

In curt, picayune comes close to the iPhone SE at this price. Despite the lack of ultra-broad-angle and zoom options, the new iPhone SE's camera is astonishingly capable.

Read our full iPhone SE review for more than details

Key specs - Rear camera: 12MP;Aperture: f/one.8;Stabilisation: optical;Video resolution: 4K at 60fps; Front end camera: 7MP

5. Xiaomi Redmi Annotation 10 Pro: The best budget camera

Price: £300 |Purchase at present from Amazon

Xiaomi continues its reign of technical wizardry with the release of the Redmi Notation 10 Pro. Somehow, Xiaomi has managed to launch a budget telephone with a massive 108MP camera, which is something that's bluntly astounding for a phone this cheap, and it really impressed in testing.

For a mere fraction of what the nearly recent iPhone and Samsungs price, this is a phone that manages to hold its own under scrutiny, taking Instagram-worthy pictures in a wide variety of lighting conditions and environments. Video recording is limited to only 1080p at 30fps, but for only £249 the Redmi Note 9T barely manages to identify a foot wrong elsewhere.

Read our full Xiaomi Redmi Notation 10 Pro review for more details

Cardinal specs - Rear camera: 108MP, 8MP (wide), 5MP (macro), 2MP (depth); Aperture: f/ane.9;Stabilisation: Electronic;Video resolution: 1080p at 30fps;Forepart camera: 16MP

6. OnePlus 8T: The best mid-range camera

Price: £450 fifty Buy now from Amazon

OnePlus may not accept the same high level of brand recognition every bit the likes of Samsung and Apple in the U.k., but its well-priced flagship beaters frequently gain a lot of praise every bit an option for wallets that aren't overflowing with banknotes. For less than half the cost of an iPhone 13 Pro Max, you can pick up the OnePlus 8T instead, and you'll have a much ameliorate experience than you lot were maybe expecting.

Why so? Well, to starting time with the OnePlus 8T has a large 48MP principal camera that manages to take lavish, detail-rich images. This is accompanied by anultrawide module with a 123-degree field of view, which shoots at sixteen megapixels, every bit well every bit a 5MP macro camera. The 4th "monochrome" camera is a fleck of a niche improver and it simply allows you to capture a black and white image. regardless, if you're craving detail-rich shots that look merely as good as some of the pricier rivals on this list, then look no further.

Read our full OnePlus 8T review for more details

Key specs - Rear camera: 48MP, 16MP (ultrawide), 5MP (macro), 2MP (monochrome); Aperture: f/i.7; Stabilisation: optical; Video resolution: 4K at 60fps; Front end camera: 16MP

7. Sony Xperia 1 Three: Another sublime Sony flagship

Price: £1,000 l Buy now from Amazon

If there's ane thing Sony has nailed in recent years, it's smartphone camera tech. After all, the company's cameras are so adept that many Android manufacturers utilise Sony sensors in their own handsets, and there's no sign that this will finish anytime presently, either. But, of grade, the very all-time Sony has to offering comes in the course of its own Xperia 1 III, a high-priced flagship with one of the nigh comprehensive and well-thought-out camera offerings to date.

Its trio of 12MP lenses might not seem out of the ordinary, only the telephoto lens is capable of switching between 70mm and 105mm focal lengths at the push of a button, offering an equivalent optical zoom range of 2.9x and iv.4x. What this means is that y'all're able to get crystal articulate images at a diversity of different zoom ranges, without whatsoever need for digital trickery. Not to mention that capturing lovely-looking images is pretty much effortless: you only point and shoot and let the phone do the rest of the work for y'all.

Read our full Sony Xperia 1 III review for more details

Fundamental specs - Rear photographic camera: 12MP, 12MP (telephoto), 12MP (ultrawide); Aperture: f/1.vii;Stabilisation: optical;Video resolution: 4K at 60fps;Forepart camera: 8MP