Notebookcheck's Top 10 Camera Smartphones

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.

The dual-camera from the predecessor is now a triple camera on the Samsung Galaxy S10+. The standard lens (77°, f/1.5 and f/2.4, 1.4 µm, OIS) and the tele zoom (2x, 45°, f/2.4, OIS) is now accompanied by a wide-angle solution. The new ultra wide- angle has a 16 MP sensor with a fixed focus and an aperture angle of 123 degrees with an aperture of f/2.2. At the front is now a dual setup with a 10 MP camera supported by an RGB sensor for depth information.

The picture quality is similar to the Galaxy S9+. The new ultra wide-angle is a useful addition and works well for panoramas or architecture shots. Videos can be recorded in UHD at up to 60 frames per second. There is no time limit this time, but you have to adjust the resolution to use all lenses for videos.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 is equipped with the same triple-cam, but the smaller Samsung smartphone lacks the second sensor at the front.

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 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.

The least expensive iPhone of 2019 once again uses a dual-camera solution. Contrary to previous years, however, there is no tele lens, but an additional ultra wide-angle. Both sensors use the same 12 MP resolution.

The picture quality of the iPhone 11 is identical to the Pro models, but you have to waive the zoom option.

The Sony Xperia 1 has three cameras with 12 MP sensors. Besides the main camera, you get an ultra wide-angle as well as a 2x optical zoom. Both the main camera and the optical zoom support optical image stabilization. 

Sony's high-end smartphone can take great pictures in daylight conditions, but the Xperia 1 sometimes suffers from some issues with the dynamic range and the exposure. Low-light pictures also has small deficits in terms of brightness and details. Compared to other high-end camera phones, low-light pictures in particular appear too dark and you can see the lack of details and sharpness.

The Asus ZenFone 6 has a so-called Flip camera with two lenses. The standard wide-angle is the main camera and is accompanied by a 13 MP ultra wide-angle with a digitally simulated 2x optical zoom. The trick is that the camera can be flipped to the other side for selfies.

The Asus ZenFone 6 takes good pictures in normal conditions. We once again notice the high sharpness of daylight pictures, otherwise the results convince with good illumination and high dynamic range. Only low-light pictures are a bit worse, despite pixel binning.