These are the best camera smartphones you can buy

Smartphone photography has caught serious traction with budding photographers and phone manufacturers have focussed their attention towards making camera sensors that can compare to DSLR cameras in terms picture quality. However, with every manufacturer claiming their camera sensor to be the best one, it becomes difficult for the consumer to identify which one is the ideal choice. To help discerning mobile photography enthusiasts pick up the right gear for their interest, we have picked up the top five names rated by DxOMark as the best performing smartphones with regards to photography. DxOMark provides a standard reference to test camera performance of smartphones and DSLR shooters

HTC U11 (Rs 51,990) The U11 is the latest smartphone from HTC’s stable and has been known for its flagship specifications, beautiful glass body and the Edge Sense feature. However, one of the understated aspect of the U11 is its camera. DxOMark gives it a score 90, the highest ever to be awarded to a smartphone. They say that the U11’s 12MP sensor 1/2.55 inch sensor is coupled with an f/1.75 lens clicks images that “tend to have a pleasing look, with good colour rendering. Outdoor scenes are vibrant, with good detail and very low noise.” The image stabilization is effective, flash exposures are even across the frame and feature good detail preservation.

Google Pixel (Rs 44,000) The flagship phone from Google was the highest rated smartphone for camera performance last year with a DxOMark score of 89. The 12.3MP camera sensor is strong in providing high levels of details and relatively low levels of noise in various lighting conditions. It also provides accurate exposures with good contrasts and white balance along with fast auto-focus. Apart from the camera, the Pixel has a Snapdragon 821 processor and is currently Google’s latest smartphone, which means the only smartphone to run the latest version of Android.

HTC 10 ( Rs 47,990) The third phone in this list belongs to HTC again (Pixel is also made by HTC), this time it’s the last year’s HTC 10.With a DxOMark of 88, the HTC 10’s 12MP camera excels with autofocus and texture preservation. Noise reduction works well in low light conditions with good white balance levels. Low light videos display just a little luminance noise in patches of uniform color, but the camera makes up for it with fast and accurate autofocus in most situations. The U11 is also a great smartphone to use, with a last year’s flagship Snapdragon 820 chipset and an appreciable quad-HD display.

Samsung Galaxy S8 (Rs 57,900) This year’s most sought after phone in terms of design and performance secures a fourth spot in the list, with a DxOMark score of 88, similar to the HTC 10. The Galaxy S8’s camera has excellent autofocus, accurate white balance and effective noise reduction. Video stabilisation is also great on the S8. However, it loses out on details in low contrast colour conditions and visible sharpness variation in the field. Video also suffers from noise and judders. Despite that, the S8 is a great phone, if not the best, with a beautiful display, powerful hardware and great build.

Sony Xperia XZ (Rs 39,500) The Xperia XZ is a smartphone that looks as great as its camera performance. With a DxOMark of 87, the 23MP rear camera sensor on this smartphone gets accolades for good target exposures in low lighting, fast and accurate autofocus, pleasant white balance and colour, good video stabilisation and low levels of luminance noise. However, there’s a loss of sharpness in the corners of images, loss of details happen in low contrast areas and noticeable micro vibrations during video capturing. That aside, the Xperia XZ looks great, feels premium and has respectable internals to provide a decent smartphone experience.