Most of us use our phones for snapping pics as much as we do for making phone calls or texting. Let’s explain how you can find the phone with the best camera for your needs in 2022 and beyond.
What Smartphone Camera Features Should You Look for?
- Aperture
- Megapixel quality
- Multiple lenses
- Manual lighting controls
- Video capabilities
To determine the best camera phone for what you like, you should prioritize certain smartphone camera features.
Aperture
The aperture is essentially the hole through which a camera takes photos. It determines how much light can pass through to the camera sensor.
Generally, wider apertures are better if you want to reduce the blurring inherent in action shots or if you aren’t the best at keeping your camera stable.
Megapixel Quality
The more megapixels a camera can produce, the more quality the resulting image will have. A megapixel stands for 1 million pixels. Higher megapixel cameras can produce richer, larger images.
Multiple Lenses
Some of the best smartphone cameras have several different lenses. Certain lenses are designed, for example, for wide shots, while others are better for zoomed-in shots.
Manual Lighting Controls
You may also wish to look for a smartphone with cameras that feature manual lighting controls. These allow you to fine-tune the resulting shot and take excellent pictures even if ambient light levels are low or high.
Many Apple iPhones have settings to let you take low-light pictures, plus work with photo editing apps to get the most out of your pics.
Video Capabilities
Lastly, consider whether a given camera phone also allows you to take video footage alongside taking still photos. The more flexibility your camera phone has, the more adventures you can take it on!
Our Top 3 Cameraphones for 2022
- Apple 13 Pro Max
- Google Pixel 6 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
While practically every smartphone comes with a camera, three smart devices stand head and shoulders above the rest. Let's break down these top three camera phones one by one.
Apple 13 Pro Max
First is the Apple 13 Pro Max: a powerful, streamlined device and arguably the best camera phone you can buy today. It’s a little heavy but comes with top-tier battery life and multiple storage options so that you can plan for tons of video and picture capturing.
Google Pixel 6 Pro
Then there's the Google Pixel 6 Pro. This stellar camera comes with a whopping 12 GB of RAM, an excellent display, and a good set of cameras on the front and back.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Samsung also has an excellent contender for the top camera phone in 2022: the Galaxy S22 Ultra. This upgrade from the last year’s S21 Ultra comes at a high price but boasts excellent performance and a great display.
Naturally, it comes with Android 12 and will be easy to upgrade in the future; it’s the best Android phone according to many perspectives.
Camera Specs for the iPhone 13 Pro Max
As noted above, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is widely considered to be the best camera phone on the market today. There are lots of reasons for that designation.
iPhone 13 Pro Advantages
For starters, the iPhone 13 Pro features an excellent camera suite. These include a 12-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens camera. The front camera is also 12 megapixels, ensuring you'll always benefit from top-tier picture quality.
You can take wide-angle photos, plus use the camera app/camera system to enhance the image quality of your phone cameras. Portrait mode photos, a selfie camera setup, and even a cinematic mode are all baked into this phone from the get-go.
The iPhone 13 Pro Max features a high-quality 6.7-inch OLED display with 2778 x 1284 P resolution. You can select from between 128 GB and 1 TB of storage. Don’t forget that the iPhone 13 Pro Max also comes with a host of picture editing software and controls, allowing you to tweak and tailor your photos to your liking.
iPhone 13 Pro Disadvantages
Unfortunately, the iPhone 13 Pro Max does have a few downsides. For example, it only has 6 GB of RAM (whereas many comparable phones have more processing power). It also weighs 8.5 ounces, so it’s a bit heavier than you might expect. Lastly, you can’t upgrade the phone’s storage capabilities.
Camera Specs for the Google Pixel 6 Pro
The Google Pixel 6 Pro is another top-tier choice if you want a stellar camera phone.
Google Pixel 6 Pro Advantages
It boasts a 50-megapixel main rear camera, a 48-megapixel telephoto camera (with 4x optical zoom capabilities), and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. The front camera is 11.1 megapixels, so it's not quite as good as the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Nevertheless, the Pixel 6 Pro ways just 7.4 ounces and has 12 MB of RAM. Processing, sending, and editing photos are a breeze with their processing power. The display is also quite nice, at 6.7 inches and 3120 x 1440 P resolution with a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz.
Note that the Pixel 6 Pro is a bit more affordable than competing top-tier camera phones.
Google Pixel 6 Pro Disadvantages
That all said, the Pixel 6 Pro does suffer from abnormally low battery life. It’s usually less than eight hours from start to finish. That means you’ll need to ensure this phone is charged if you want to take it out and about to capture your daily adventures, especially while on vacation.
Camera Specs for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Last but not least is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, an upgrade to the prior Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. It has its own high-quality features to make it worth your time and money.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Advantages
For example, the Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 108-megapixel wide rear camera, a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 10x optical zoom, and another 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera.
That makes it arguably the best for snapping close-up photos of high detailed subjects. The front camera is also quite nice, clocking in at 40 megapixels.
Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, this Android phone is available with either 8 GB or 12 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of storage. Also nice is the 6.8-inch AMOLED display, which can go up to 120 Hz for its refresh rate and which has a resolution of 3088 x 1440 P.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Disadvantages
Unfortunately, the Galaxy S22 Ultra does not feature expandable storage. Furthermore, the battery life is just average rather than above and beyond. This phone should last for a little over 10 hours, from a full battery to an empty one.
What To Do Next
Overall, these phones could be the right choice for your unique picture-snapping needs. Consider your budget, the photos you like to take, and how much battery life matters for your phone's enjoyment. Deciding on those answers will help you pick the perfect phone the first time!
Even better, you can rely on Navi to help you find the perfect phone for your needs in no time. Our phone navigator service easily allows you to pick from the top deals and order the right phone to your doorstep in minutes. Try it today, or contact us if you have other questions!
Sources:
Smartphone Photography: Megapixels Defined and Explained | Time
