Photography has become one of the main attractions of mobile phones. Although the majority of users are not image professionals, users who spend a lot of time a day with their terminals creating content look for very complete mobiles in this section. The mobile has made us leave even our reflex camera at home, and it is the device that accompanies us everywhere in our pocket. Until recently, manufacturers boasted about their optical zooms or ultra-wide-angle cameras, but recently, the ball has fallen in the court of macro photography. These are the best phones we can buy today that take good photos in macro mode.
What is a macro camera on a mobile?
Before we start talking about the mobile phones with the best macro cameras , we must define a bit what macro photography really is. In general, we include with this term all the photographs that are taken of living beings or very small objects . In general, the lenses of any camera or mobile phone have a minimum focus distance that will prevent us from focusing on a subject that is very close to the lens. For the same reason there are macro lenses and lenses, designed precisely to overcome that limitation.
If we were to be picky, we should only consider macro photography as one that represents a 1:1 magnification of the subject with respect to its projection of light on the sensor or film. However, when we talk about mobile terminals, marketing leaves behind the academic definition and we will consider macro to any camera capable of focusing a few centimeters from a subject. The bad thing about manufacturers not sticking to this type of academic definition is that we cannot compare them in terms of magnification level, since brands do not usually give us this information. Therefore, it is all a matter of looking for examples of each model to decide on a terminal and another if what interests you most about a mobile phone is that it has a camera of this type.
Without further ado, we leave you with the list of the best smartphones with macro cameras that you can find today:
iPhone 13: the first macro of the apple
The first of all that we are going to talk about is the iPhone 13 family that Apple launched at the end of 2021. If we focus on the photographic section of these phones, the differences of the 4 models that exist are in the telephoto lens. Therefore, from the Pro Max to the mini model they have:
- 12 MP main sensor , with f/1.6 aperture and 26mm focal length.
- 12 MP ultra wide -angle sensor, with f/2.4 aperture, 120º viewing angle and 12 mm focal length.
And then the Pro and Pro Max models also include:
- 12 MP telephoto sensor , with f/2.8 aperture, 3x optical zoom and 77mm focal length.
Given the configuration of all the members of the family, you may be wondering, and where is the macro sensor then? Well, in the case of these iPhones, we can take these types of photos thanks to the construction of the ultra wide angle sensor. Therefore, we can use this mode with any of the 4 available models of iPhone 13.
As soon as we have the camera app open and we get very close to any object (up to 2 cm), the phone will automatically switch to macro mode. This mode, if we have the right light conditions and we have a little patience to “get the hang of it” will allow us to capture images with good quality like the ones that Apple itself showed us in its presentation.
Huawei P50 Pro: the most beastly macro
The Huawei P5o Pro takes the outstanding in all cameras. However, its veto by the United States prevents it from using native Google apps, making it sadly a very difficult mobile to recommend. However, not including this terminal in this top would be tremendously unfair. The cameras with which this terminal is equipped are the following:
- 50 MP Main Camera : f/1.8 aperture lens. 23mm equivalent focal length and optical stabilization. The actual output of this sensor is 12.5 megapixels.
- Monochrome sensor: 40 MP sensor, with 26 mm equivalent focal length and an aperture of f/1.6
- Ultra Wide Angle : 13 MP sensor, f/2.2 aperture lens, and a field of view equivalent to a true 13mm focal length.
- Telephoto : 64 MP sensor (with 16 MP output), f/3.5 aperture lens. Its equivalent focal length is 90 mm and it incorporates OIS.
Huawei’s commitment to this terminal has been very interesting, recovering the monochrome sensor to support the main sensor, as was already the case in the Huawei P20 Pro. Despite not having a dedicated macro sensor, this type of photography is one of its strengths.
Xiaomi Mi 11T Pro
The Mi 11T Pro does its homework too well in terms of macro photography – and in terms of photography in general, by the way. Its camera configuration is very generous, and is as follows:
- 108 MP angular sensor , with focal f / 1.75 with Super Pixel 9 sensor in 1.
- 8 MP ultra wide angle sensor , with focal f / 2.2, with 120º field of view
- 5 MP telemacr0 sensor , capable of focusing at a distance between 3 and 7 centimeters from the subject with an f/2.4 focal length.
In this case, the Xiaomi Mi 11T Pro makes up for the lack of a telephoto lens with a huge 108-megapixel wide-angle sensor, which allows digital zoom to simulate a longer-range lens. In general, it is one of the most complete terminals in terms of cameras and that does not shoot at crazy prices.
POCO F3 5G: the most affordable macro
If you have just read the characteristics of the Xiaomi Mi 11T Pro but you are looking for a more affordable terminal, Xiaomi itself has a solution for you. The Poco F3 has a very attractive price and also inherits some of the cameras of the device that we have talked about in the previous block. Specifically, it has the following sensors:
- Main sensor : 48 megapixel wide angle with f / 1.4. A fairly bright camera very off-road.
- Ultra Wide Angle Sensor : 119 degree field of view and f/2.2.
- 5 MP telemacro sensor : in this case, we are facing the same module as the Mi 11T Pro capable of focusing at 3-7 centimeters.
As we said, a fairly affordable alternative not only to take photos, but to have a terminal with good features.
Oppo Find X5
OPPO usually innovates a lot with its terminals, and the X5 did so in terms of design, although it did not neglect its photographic section either. As it happened with OnePlus, OPPO debuts its collaboration with Hasselblad in this model. In this case we have three sensors. Only one of them is capable of macro photography: the ultra wide angle. This feature was already present in the OPPO Find X3 Pro and in terminals such as the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro, which also equipped Hasselblad cameras. The distribution of cameras in this phone is as follows:
- 50 MP main sensor , 25mm focal length, f/1.8 focal length with OIS in a 6-element camera.
- 50 MP wide-angle sensor , 15 mm focal length, 110º field of view and f/2.2 focal length
- 13 MP telephoto sensor , 52 mm focal length, f2.4 focal length with option to focus macro at a distance of 4 centimeters from the subject.
- 13MP telephoto camera with 81-degree field of view and 50-degree equivalent focal length.
Without a doubt, a very complete mobile in terms of photography that also bets on the macro in a forceful way. However, the main drawback of this model is its price, which is quite high.
Realme GT Explorer Edition
Last but not least, another more current option of a phone with good macro photography is the Realme GT Explorer Edition . Speaking of the set of cameras on the back, we find:
- 50 MP main sensor , with focal f / 1.9 and 24 mm focal length.
- 16 MP ultra wide angle sensor , with focal f/2.2, 14 mm focal length and 123º field of view.
- 2 MP macro sensor , with focal f / 2.4.
On this occasion, the manufacturer Realme opted for a dedicated sensor for this type of photography. With this, if the light conditions are right, we can take screenshots of all kinds of objects with more than correct results.
