Ranking: Best camera smartphones tested by Notebookcheck

The X300 Ultra is one of the newest Vivo products to have benefitted from collaboration with Zeiss. In addition to arguably the best software algorithms in the smartphone world, the flagship phone enjoys very large camera sensors, including the front camera, too. The ultra-wide-angle and the 200-MP telephoto lens actually compete with the primary camera sensor, quality-wise.

Unlike the competition, Vivo uses a significantly higher focal length of 35 mm for its primary camera sensor here, which gives the photos a very unique look with a great depth of field.

Vivo's X300 Ultra has one of the best, probably even the best camera smartphone of the year to offer to photo and video enthusiasts.

Thanks to its extra bright and sharp OLED screen and a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the X300 Ultra doesn't disappoint in other departments, either. However, this comes at a price.

In Germany, the RRP of the Vivo X300 Ultra is 1,999 euros. If buying from overseas, prices start at less than 1,000 euros (Trading Shenzhen link).

Vivo's X300 Pro is a flagship camera phone with many premium features. With its extra-bright LTPO AMOLED display and an ultra-fast ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, as well as modern communication features including a walkie-talkie, the model has a lot to offer.

The X300 Pro proved to be an uncompromising camera flagship and a great buy for photo enthusiasts in our testing.

The flagship phone has a Zeiss triple main camera setup with a Sony main sensor. The photos it takes look very good, and low-light results are also strong thanks to a dedicated image processing chip.

The ultra-wide-angle and telephoto lenses also deliver high picture quality. With the optional teleconverter, the X300 Pro can be even better with more new possibilities than most rival phones.

In Germany, the X300 Pro is purchasable directly from Vivo and Amazon.de among other options.

The cameras developed in collaboration with Hasselblad and Oppo performed convincingly in our tests in almost every respect. When it comes to focal length coverage, the X9 Ultra is currently the best option on the market. In addition to its 200-MP main camera sensor, the flagship phone has three other lenses, namely an ultra-wide-angle one, and two telephoto ones with lossless magnification of up to 10x.

The Find offers very nice sharpness and strong dynamics, and the large aperture of the main camera also ensures excellent low-light performance. And Oppo's LUMO image processing with variable pixel binning enables a detail boost.

With the Find X9 Ultra, Oppo shows what a flagship smartphone in 2026 should be like. The optional camera kit also transforms the Android phone into a kind of proper camera.

If you are looking for a high-quality, high-end smartphone with a brilliant LTPO OLED display, the best feature set, powerful speakers and top performance, you should read our review of the Find X9 Ultra in any case.

The model is available for a recommended retail price of €1,699 in Germany. If ordering from overseas, the Oppo flagship starts at 1,030 euros at Trading Shenzhen.

The 17 Ultra is a high-end smartphone in a class of its own. In addition to super-thin display bezels, strong performance and an extra-bright OLED display, the flagship phone also boasts some of the best speakers.

Xiaomi's 17 Ultra is an excellent product with one of the best camera setups on the market.

The heart of the rear Summilux camera array is still a 1-inch sensor, but now, it comes with LOFIC technology for a better dynamic range. The sensor, marketed as Light Hunter 1050L - or Light Fusion internationally - offers plenty of detail in high-contrast scenes, with appealing highlights and shadows. Even in poor lighting, the Xiaomi phone offers a high level of detail and sharpness.

Its two other Leica-branded camera sensors are also among the best in the smartphone world. These include a 200-MP telephoto lens with a Leica APO optical design, and a high-resolution ultra-wide-angle lens also suitable for macro shots.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra has an RRP of around 1,500 euros in the EU and is available directly from the manufacturer or from Amazon.de to list some options.

Oppo's Find X9 Pro sets the bar high. The successor to the mighty Find X8 Pro does many things even better; the new LUMO image processing in particular has great potential.

The Find X9 Pro delivers strong photo quality and smart camera software.

Thanks in part to the new 50-MP primary sensor, the Hasselblad-branded camera hardware found on the Find's back (pun intended) is interesting to talk about. A large stacked sensor from Sony is designed to cover a particularly wide dynamic range thanks to Hybrid Frame HDR, and its shots seem very good in daylight with dynamic range nothing short of first-class. For zoom photos, a new 200-MP lens is present, which allows triple optical magnification and captures many details in daylight.

Cooperation with Hasselblad provides the Find X9 Pro with some familiar features, such as the XPan mode or the Hasselblad Master mode (16-bit RAW capture).

The X9 Pro is available in th EU at an RRP of 1,299 euros. If you want it cheaper, you can also buy the Chinese version starting from around 750 euros here (Trading Shenzhen; a language pack is pre-installed).

While the S26 Ultra does make use of the same 200-MP primary sensor as its progenitors, it offers improved light sensitivity with an aperture of f/1.4. Photo quality is really good here, and one of the best on the market, in no small part due to Samsung's software which adds versatility and possibilities.

Major changes have been made to the zoom lens, now significantly upgraded. The 5x optical zoom camera uses ALoP zoom tech, while the 3x one has been given a new sensor.

Samsung's 2026 flagship offers a lot of flexibility in the camera system, and good imaging performance.

Regarding other specs, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is a very sophisticated high-end smartphone which now sports new privacy-first powers, reliably reducing viewing angles when need. It also has the strengths of the last Ultra generations, namely multiple years of updates, an integrated S Pen, and great speakers.

In Germany, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is available in all color and memory/storage variants directly from the Samsung Store. Alternatively, many configurations are also available from Amazon or MediaMarkt, among other options.

Motorola equips its Signature with four 50-MP cameras, further bigging it up with the Sony LYTIA moniker. The quartet of rear cameras takes very good pictures in daylight with plenty of detail and excellent dynamic range. Colors are captured in a very realistic fashion as well.

The Motorola Signature scores with long updates and multiple plus points such as the excellent camera setup.

The Signature is a powerful flagship smartphone that impresses with its slim yet very robust body, a very bright AMOLED screen and a 7-year update guarantee.

It has an RRP of just under 1,000 euros in Germany and is available directly from Lenovo Germany or Amazon.de among other options.

The iPhone 17 Pro relies on three 48-MP sensors, which means that zoom shots in particular benefit quite a bit compared to what the previous-gen model offered. The telephoto lens now sports 4x optical zoom and optical image stabilization with 3D sensor shift.

The primary sensor produced good and balanced photos in our testing, too, with plenty of detail. Little has changed for the ultra-wide-angle lens as compared to the iPhone 16 Pro, though.

Photo fans will get their money's worth with the iPhone 17 Pro.

Cameras aside, the 17 Pro is a strong high-end phone albeit one without any real innovation baked in. It does have an improved OLED display, and its A19 Pro chip ensures outstanding performance for years to come.

The iPhone 17 Pro can be purchased in all color and memory variants directly from Apple USA. Naturally, one can also purchase the model from all major retailers and e-commerce platforms; for Germany, that's Notebooksbilliger, MediaMarkt and Amazon.de, to give you some options.

Xiaomi's 17 Pro Max has all the features that most customers interested in a flagship phone could possibly desire. Its huge battery ensures extremely good runtimes and thanks to a second display on the back, the Xiaomi phone is the perfect companion for selfie fans and vloggers.

Ingeniously enough, thanks to the second OLED display, the rear cameras of the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max can also be used for selfies.

Its rear camera system was developed in cooperation with Leica, with the Light Hunter 950L sensor serving as the primary camera. The photos look very detailed, with excellent dynamic range and a lot of detail even in complex conditions. All cameras on the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max have a resolution of 50 megapixels, including the ultra-wide-angle and telephoto lens, and deliver solid results.

The Xiaomi 17 Pro Max is not officially sold in the EU as of this writing but can be had from Asia-based e-commerce platforms such as TradingShenzhen, the company that provided the review unit, starting from approximately 890 euros.

The Magic8 Pro is an almost true flagship phone that impresses with its elegant finish, IP69K certification and bright LTPO OLED display. Thanks to an Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the Magic8 Pro also delivers excellent performance and extensive security features with an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor and 3D face recognition.

The Honor Magic8 Pro bills itself as a do-it-all model, with multiple years of updates included.

Cameras of the Honor Magic8 Pro impress with detailed photos and good stabilization. The powerful periscope zoom in particular has nothing to be ashamed of, as far as elite camera smartphones go.

In Germany, the Magic can be ordered directly from Honor.