For most people looking to capture their memories on camera, the smartphone is arguably the best way to do it – especially if you pick one of the excellent choices reviewed by our experts below. You don’t even need to splash out on an expensive flagship like the Galaxy S22 Ultra or iPhone 14 Pro Max to get a great camera phone. In the same way, buying a high-end handset won’t guarantee you a great camera – the Nothing Phone (1) and the OnePlus 10T are good examples of phones that offer admirable performance but fail to match the camera performance of their rivals. When we review a smartphone, we look at the design, screen, specs, battery and, of course, the camera. This involves using the device as their main phone for a week and putting it through a range of lab and real-world tests, including snapping photos in low light, portrait mode and testing the video quality. Coming to the end of 2022, we’re already starting to look forward to what’s in store for 2023 and, once again, cameras will likely be one of the key selling points for many of the upcoming flagships. Phones we’re expecting to see at the start of the year include the Xiaomi 13 and Samsung Galaxy S23 series. Keep reading to find all the best camera phones available right or head to our other mobile best guides to discover the best phones, best Androids phones and best iPhones available right now.
Best camera phones at a glance
Best for video: iPhone 14 Pro Max – check priceBest zoom: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra – check priceBest for stills: Pixel 7 Pro – check priceBest ultrawide: Oppo Find X5 Pro – check priceBest value – Google Pixel 6a – check priceBest cheap option – Realme 9 Pro Plus – check price
However, it’s not actually the best camera phone across every specific area. We much prefer the zoom skills on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, for one thing, as it captures a much clearer overall image when you zoom in to a subject. But that said, when taken as a whole, the iPhone 14 Pro comes out top. In terms of the overall spec of the camera hardware, the iPhone 14 Pro makes some drastic changes to the formula we’ve been familiar with for a number of years. It’s the first iPhone to move on from the 12-megapixel sensor, switch to a 48MP version for its main wide camera. This works in a similar way to the S22 Ultra and others, binning down images to 12MP but utilising the larger amount pixels. You can shoot 48MP shots if you want, but this is a separate mode. When compared to the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Oppo Find X5 Pro, the shots from the iPhone are a little more realistic and skins tones feel more natural. There is some minor oversharpening on the iPhone, though for the most part the image processing churns out reliable images. There’s a dedicated Night Mode for shooting in darker surroundings, and the effects are great, with plenty of detail retained and dark spots kept mostly free of noise. That said, it would still be nice to be able to turn the Night Mode on and off as you please, since with this phone it just bursts into life automatically when the camera can’t pick up enough light. Night Mode is much quicker this year and the 14 Pro is capable of some of the best night shots around. The excellent results continue when we look at video capture. While it still doesn’t shoot video in the same 8K resolution as the S22 Ultra, the 4K capture we recorded was well stabilised without looking fake, and packed the same great colour reproduction as the photos. The Cinematic Mode now supports 4K, and there’s a new Action Mode that ups the stabilisation. On top of the camera itself, you’ll also be treated to good battery life, so you won’t run out of juice on a busy shooting day, and a gorgeous display to view the images back on. Reviewer: Max Parker Full review: iPhone 14 Pro review The other cameras capture pleasing images too, whether you’re shooting with the 108-megapixel main camera with its f/1.8 lens or the 12-megapixel ultrawide. We found that colours are more vibrant and saturated than the iPhone 13 Pro or the Pixel 6 Pro, giving everything an amped-up look, and it’s particularly noticeable when you’re shooting plants or bright skies. While it might be a bonus for some who like the look, we generally preferred our images to be a little more true-to-life. The camera app is packed with modes to choose from and low-light performance is a big upgrade over the S21 Ultra we reviewed last year; dark scenes are clearer, and noise has been noticeably reduced. 8K video remains a niche feature we doubt many will really want to use, but it’s there just in case you have an 8K TV and want to show it off. Reviewer: Max Parker Full review: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review While it disappoints a bit with video capture and lacks some of the versatility of the iPhone 14 Pro or the S22 Ultra, the beautiful images it captures are rich in detail and vibrancy and are the most pleasing of all the phones on this list. The way it utilises HDR to level out contrast and exposure is fantastic, ensuring photos taken on sunny days really “pop”. We’ve taken hundreds of snaps on the Pixel 7 Pro and very rarely get a dud. Google’s Night Mode remains strong – though not the quickest to capture – and does a great job at producing bright and detailed images in low light. The zoom skills of this phone are better than the Oppo Find X5 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro, but can’t compare to the S22 Ultra. Google’s software can only get you so far, and the better zoom hardware on the Samsung just produces clearer images. It’s a similar story too for the ultrawide, which produces adequate images that sit somewhere in the middle in terms of quality. The Pixel 7 Pro also impressed our reviewer with its numerous camera tricks. Magic Eraser is even better with the Tensor G2 chip, easily removing photobombers from photos. Reviewer: Max Parker Full review: Pixel 7 Pro review While other phones on this list use inferior sensors for their ultrawides, the Find X5 Pro uses the same hardware for both the wide and ultrawide camera, giving you far superior results. Not only are pictures more detailed with better colours, but they lack the distorted edges and strong fish-eye effect we found on the S22 Ultra’s ultrawide camera. This is the first Oppo phone to use the brand’s own MariSilicon X NPU and it helps the phone have greater control over the image quality. When compared to the outgoing Find X3 Pro – which has very much the same camera hardware – the images here are more detailed, with nicer colour reproduction. Low-light performance has greatly improved too. Reviewer: Max Parker Full review: Oppo Find X5 Pro review The Pixel 6a continues this legacy, but brings the brand’s camera quality to an atypically low price point. The phone features the same rear camera setup as the regular Pixel 6. It’s also powered by the same Google-made Tensor chip, which lets it offer a few Pixel-specific features you can’t get elsewhere. The most useful we’ve found is Magic Eraser, which lets you use the 6a’s AI smarts to remove unwanted photobombers and elements from your photo in the main camera app. This plus the 6a’s small hand friendly design and fantastic image processing powers let it deliver unparalleled image quality that blew every other phone we’ve tested out of the water when it came to camera performance when we reviewed it. Low light photos hold better contrast and remain noise free. Regular photos look realistic, featuring neutral, accurate colours and remain blissfully free of the rookie mistakes we experience on other phones at this price, like oversharpening. This earns it a place in this list as our recommended camera phone for buyers looking for the best value option. Reviewer: Max Parker Full review: Pixel 6a review This model is a significant upgrade over the Realme 8 Pro as it includes the same excellent 50-megapixel main sensor that you’ll find on the Oppo Find X5 Pro. Shots are remarkably clear and crisp in daylight, and while night shots can seem over-brightened they do still retain an impressive level of clarity that separates it from all other handsets at this price point. Admittedly the remaining sensors on the handset, namely an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 2-megapixel macro sensor, are just bog standard and not anything special. But just getting your hands on a flagship-level sensor at this price is the bargain that makes this phone worth your consideration. We reckon that you simply won’t get a better main camera performance for this price. Reviewer: Jon Mundy Full review: Realme 9 Pro Plus 4,435 Mobile
