Notebookcheck's Top 10 Camera Smartphones

The Huawei P40 Pro features a quad-camera with a brand-new 50 MP sensor, which just so happened to be the largest camera sensor in any smartphone at the time of writing. Unlike Huawei’s main Korean competitor, the Chinese manufacturer prefers larger pixels to jamming as many of those tiny pixels as possible into a photo, mainly in order to improve low-light photo quality. The secondary ultra wide angle lens features a 40 MP sensor, the same that was already included in the Mate and is not just the smartphone’s main sensor for video recordings but also allows for great panoramas. Further sensors include a 5 MP periscope zoom with 10x hybrid and 50x digital zoom, and final sensor for depth of field information. All three photo sensors feature optical image stabilization.

The Huawei Mate 30 Pro's highlight is without a doubt its rear-facing quad camera. In addition to the 40 MP main sensor, which we have already seen in the P30 Pro, the Mate 30 Pro features a second 40 MP sensor included specifically for shooting videos as well as ultra-wide angle photography. The sensor is larger yet limited to the traditional RGGB color scheme instead of the more modern RYYB. Its aspect ratio is 3:2, which is better suited for videos, and it features a 3x optical zoom as well as a TOF camera.

The Leica quad-camera of the Huawei P30 Pro consists of four lenses: one ultra wide-angle (16 mm, f/2.2, 20 MP), the main camera (27 mm, f/1.6, 40 MP, 1/1.7" sensor, RYYG filter, OIS), one tele lens (125 mm, f/3.4, 8 MP, OIS), and the TOF camera. The main camera also offers a 10x hybrid zoom (270 mm) as well as a seamless 50x digital zoom (up to 1,343 mm). The Huawei P30 Pro offers an unbelievable range of focal length and is currently the most flexible camera in a smartphone.

The picture quality is really good and can beat the competition clearly, especially in low-light situations. The P30 also captures a lot of light in video recordings, but this affects the picture quality noticeably.

The previous models Huawei P20 Pro and the smaller P20 smartphone or its successor P30, respectively, are also strong alternatives.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ is equipped with a quad-camera, which is very similar to the S10 5G. Samsung uses a 12 MP sensor with large pixels, dual-pixel autofocus, a variable aperture (f/1.5 and f/2.4) as well as an optical image stabilizer. You also get a 16 MP ultra wide-angle, a 2x optical zoom with 12 MP as well as an additional lens to collect depth information.

The image quality is very good in our review and daylight pictures look great. Only the HDR mode is sometimes too aggressive. Pictures look very dynamic on the display, but this often affects the details, which is particularly noticeable when you print images. We also like the low-light pictures.

Contrary to some other Galaxy S or Galaxy Note model, the most expensive Samsung smartphone is not equipped with a quad, but only a triple-camera. The specs are very similar to the Galaxy S10+ and both offer an additional ultra wide-angle as well as a telephoto.

The picture quality is on par with the Galaxy S10+, and the naked eye can only notice slight color differences. The rating is a bit lower for the Samsung Galaxy Fold because the sample pictures show slightly more unnatural colors.

The LG G8s ThinQ offers a triple-camera, which consists of a standard lens, an ultra wide-angle as well as a tele lens. The main camera uses a 12 MP sensor with larger individual pixels (1.4 µm) instead of pixel binning.

Similar to previous models, the G8s tends to be a bit too aggressive with the sharpness. The daylight pictures still show a very high contrast and look good. The low-light quality drops noticeably as usual, but the LG smartphone still delivers good results. The shutter time is definitely improved compared to the previous model, even though it is still lagging behind the rivals, especially with the activated AI function.

The Samsung Galaxy S20+ features a quad camera with a rather spartan 12 MP main sensor. However, right next to it is the zoom lens with a whopping 64 MP and a 30x zoom. Further lenses include an ultra wide angle and a depth of field sensor.

The Huawei P40’s triple camera features the exact same main sensors as the P40 Pro but differs in all other lenses and sensors. In the P40’s case they are a 16 MP ultra wide angle as well as an 8 MP zoom lens, which offers a 3x optical, a 5x hybrid, and a 30x digital zoom and happens to be the only lens supported by optical image stabilization. 

The Huawei P30 uses a Leica triple-camera, which consists of the main sensor, an additional ultra wide-angle as well as a telephoto. The latter supports a 3x zoom including optical image stabilization. The main camera has a 40 MP sensor and uses pixel binning in low-light situations to enable better results. 

The Huawei smartphone convinces with good pictures across the board during our review as well as numerous settings.

The Apple iPhone 11 Pro is the first smartphone from the Californian company with a triple-camera. Compared to previous models, the 2x optical zoom is now supported by an ultra wide-angle. All sensors have the same 12 MP resolution.

The picture quality is very good, especially in daylight conditions. Objects appear very evenly illuminated and we like the warm picture presentation. The iPhone also manages to avoid burnt picture areas very well. Pictures with a lot of HDR sometimes loose details, which are basically removed. The iPhone 11 Pro quickly uses the night mode in low-light situations and usually prefers an exposure duration of 2-3 seconds. This can be annoying if you want to take a quick snapshot.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max uses the identical camera, but has a bigger display and a more powerful battery.