In recent times we have witnessed the great advance that mobile photography has had. And it is not for less, because there are already many users who decide to spend a little more money when buying a smartphone and thus have both a good phone and a camera that they will take everywhere.
In addition, this is one of the sections that does not seem to be going to stop being a trend. More than anything, because we are continually seeing how different phone manufacturers continue to innovate with the aim of ensuring that their smartphones are capable of achieving the highest possible quality when taking a snapshot. For this reason, we are going to explain to you in what aspects you will have to look in detail to know how to distinguish which will be the best smartphone to take images.
The size of the sensor and its megapixels
You have probably fallen into the trap that the more megapixels the main lens of the smartphone has, the better photos they will be able to take. And the truth is that it is not entirely a reality, but it is clear that it will influence the fact of taking better snapshots . However, once we look at a phone, keep in mind that what is truly relevant is not the number it has, but rather its efficiency.
Really, what matters is that it not only has an impressive number of megapixels, but that the size of the sensor is larger or smaller, because the larger its surface, the better it will do its function of allowing the capture of light. In addition, having a larger lens also implies a significant change in the increase in pixel density.
In this way, it is now allowed that the pixels can be grouped into groups of 4 by 4 by the Pixel Binning technique . And this is why, the higher the number of pixels, the better the final quality of the image that we capture with the main sensor of our mobile device will be.
And thanks to this last element, our chances of getting better shots at any time of the day will be increased, be it during the morning or even at night, when there is hardly any natural light. Therefore, we must also know that the fact that the size is larger will give us an extra possibility, and that is the limited depth of field . This capacity is what makes sure that the camera is capable or not of being able to generate photographs with real blur.
The opening of the mobile cameras
Another of those characteristics that we do not have to leave aside is the diaphragm aperture that each camera of the mobile device has. More than anything, because the larger the aperture of this, the better the capture of light that will enter the sensor. So if we are dealing with a smartphone with a good aperture , it will be the ideal one to take images at any time, whether in high or low light.
In addition, each smartphone camera has its own aperture, in the specifications of each manufacturer it will appear as “f /” and a number that can vary in 1.5, 2.2, 2.4 … Among many other cases. Well, this will be the percentage that tells us what its opening is in terms of light capture . The smaller the “f /” number, the larger its aperture. This means that when the number is smaller, the image will have more luminosity than when the number is higher.
Therefore, always be clear about the types of photographs you want to take with your mobile, so that once you decide, you start looking for the smartphone that has the best camera in that aspect, either because of its wide angle, its telephoto lens, etc.
What types of lenses do you have?
One of the great drawbacks that we can come across when choosing a smartphone is the variety of its lenses . And it is that, in comparison with a photographic camera of all the life, we will not be able to interchange them according to the type of image that we are looking to take. So we will have to pay close attention to the different types that exist today in mobile devices.
Despite this, just a few years ago we barely had a main lens on the back of the terminals. And today, we can find mobiles with up to 4 or 5 sensors of different types that offer us different functionalities when it comes to getting the best image. Therefore, these are the types of mobile lenses that can be found today:
- Wide angle and Ultra Wide angle : the main objective of this type is that our smartphone is able to achieve a greater depth of field. That is, we will achieve with this type of camera to have more element in focus. In addition, its angle of view will be important to take into account, since, in the case of the Wide Angle it varies between 60 and 120 degrees, while in the Ultra it is more than 120 degrees.
- Macro : manages to focus the photographs as if we were before a microscope. In addition, it will be ideal for taking the best photos of natural landscapes, small animals and plants with great clarity.
- Telephoto : with this it is possible to get closer or more zoom. In addition, periscope technology is being extended with which it is possible to improve the zoom, so that the mobile does not cut the image so much and has better final quality. In general, the telephoto lenses that we find in the terminals usually offer us 2X or 3X optical zoom capabilities, although we are beginning to see 5X optical zoom
Extra functions to take pictures with the mobile
Finally, it will be time to know or not the functionalities or characteristics that will also be important to get a mobile with a better camera. One of these aspects will be the fact that the mobile device can take images in RAW format . Basically because this is the one that offers the highest quality and the greatest margin of error when we move on to editing the photographs.
It will also be important to have a good processing system , since the final result will be better or worse depending on the artificial intelligence of the smartphone when applying the different photography algorithms. Therefore, we can find that some brands obtain better or worse results in terms of the famous Night mode or another such as the case of some brands that have specific functions to photograph the stars.
Also, a final key factor will be the optical stabilization of your cameras . That is, the technology that ensures that the sensor is stable when it comes to making a capture. And it will not only be important when we decide to record a video, since the better its stabilization technology, the greater the final sharpness of said image that we capture. You will even be able to take higher quality photos, even with minimal movement. Therefore, this aspect will also be very key.
Let’s not forget the video
And not everything in the mobile camera is only its photographic section, but we will also have to be aware of the functionalities that it can offer us when we start recording a video. For this reason, we must first be clear, not only the recording quality , but also the quality that it will offer us in terms of sound capture. Therefore, we will have to know what the sampling frequency is that counts, although the ideal would be about 48 kHz, approximately.
In addition, we will also have to look at the bit rate with which the audio is recorded, since it will be quite relevant when it comes to achieving good results, so if they exceed 150 Kbps better. In terms of quality, the fact that a mobile can capture videos in 4K may be striking, but the problem is that the size of the recordings will take up much more space than if we recorded a video in HD.
We will even have to be aware of the fps , since with one or the other we will have better results. For example, recording at 60 fps will allow us to capture moving objects much better. However, due to this speed and if we have little light, it will be necessary to raise the ISO sensitivity.
And we cannot forget the different tools that have been added over time that are specialized in allowing us to record videos as if we were direct from the movies. Therefore, it will be necessary to be aware of all these aspects, since everything adds up when choosing between one terminal or another.
