Best Cell Phone Camera?

BajanSaint69

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The reason I bought first the Lumia 1020 and then the 950xl was after looking at the cameras. (I'm a professional photographer) My phone is my walk around camera. I'm contemplating my future phone (right now long live my 950xl) I want a camera that gives me the level of control of exposure the Lumia's cameras have and it must shoot DNG files. I don't want a "push here and the phone will do the rest" camera as in the IPhone.

What handset has the best camera out there?
 

BajanSaint69

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Thing is this is kind of my problem, these surveys are all about snapshots. Jpegs, straight out of camera. What I'm looking for is performance in shooting DNG's with dynamic range that can be edited. My 950xl is a walk around camera that's an alternate to my Nikon D800.

I'm interested in what does the phone capture in it's raw file that allows me to produce something after post production. So we are talking about dynamic range, image noise, colour range, what the Jpeg looks like SOOC is nice but not the final determining factor.
 

Scienceguy Labs

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I'm starting to hear rumblings about the Mate 10 Pro's camera abilities. Flossy was definitely impressed. His point and shoot pics of his cat were quite impressive.
 

Scienceguy Labs

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c0e2685ac8a11e0a7c156358431748d5.jpg

A screenshot, but not bad.
 

tgp

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There's one thing we can glean from all the different outcomes of camera tests: they're all very good. Probably the biggest variation is caused by personal preference.
 

RumoredNow

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The reason I bought first the Lumia 1020 and then the 950xl was after looking at the cameras. (I'm a professional photographer) My phone is my walk around camera. I'm contemplating my future phone (right now long live my 950xl) I want a camera that gives me the level of control of exposure the Lumia's cameras have and it must shoot DNG files. I don't want a "push here and the phone will do the rest" camera as in the IPhone.

What handset has the best camera out there?

So... Reading the OP: You already have/had the Lumia 1020 and 950XL and you chose those 2 previous phones based on the sheer potential of the camera when it comes to manual control of settings/sensor power/ability to capture DNG and other factors. Those suggesting 950(XL) and point and shoot results are missing the thrust of the inquiry.

BTW, great pic you shared that was post processed from your Lumia 1020, I assume from the DNG file:

wp_20140802_17_37_57_raw__highres.jpg


Let's approach this question from the opposite side not of what to move to, but rather what you have currently that contributes to a great camera potential.
  1. Carl Zeiss Optics (quality imaging glass)
  2. Pureview (dedicated image processing for scaling/oversampling/digital zoom/noise reduction/etc)
  3. OIS (Optical Image Stabilization)
  4. Large sensor size (# of mega pixels)
  5. Small pixel size (increased pixel density)
  6. Ability to capture DNG/RAW
  7. Quality flash (Xenon for 1020 and RGB triple LED for 950XL)
That gives a more defined shopping list of features to look for in a potential next purchase.
  1. Zeiss is back in town on the new Nokia Androids (Nokia 8) and Lieca has lensed a few smartphones including the Panasonic Lumix and Huawei Mate 10 Pro. Rumor is that Leica wants to build their own branded super-camera smart phone. I can't find what maker did the lens, but Kodak Ektra is worth a mention as well. The Lumix is getting a bit older and is stuck on Android 5 (Lolipop). I can't find if it shoots RAW or not. Kodak Ektra is a bit newer and has Android 6 (Marshmallow). It might be worth your looking at as it seems to tick all the boxes including an update to refine the camera and add RAW capture. Ektra also features SLR style controls in the camera and a dedicated two-step capture button. https://www.kodak.com/consumer/products/ektra/default.htm
  2. As @Laura Knotek observed, the Pixel 2 XL will likely be a fit, though you would sacrifice a bit on sensor size and pixel density... One thing about Pixel 2 XL is the flexibilty of the Google HDR+ software that yields manual control and RAW capture as well as a few other tricks.
  3. Another point to consider is that HDR+ apk has been floating around as a hack that can be added to phones with Snapdragon 820, 821 or 835 chips. YMMV and I'd research which phones have successfully added the APK and to what effect.
  4. More research into "what phones capture RAW" might also help you narrow the field.
One thing that I love to do when shopping phones is compare them side by side on GSM Arena. You can compare up to 3 phones side by side.

https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8522&idPhone2=8720&idPhone3=7262

If you scroll down near the bottom you can open a page to compare the cameras as well.

https://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=1&idPhone1=8522&idPhone2=8720&idPhone3=7262

Not every phone has its spec listed there or was used to capture samples, but most popular phones are recorded. For instance Kodak Ektra is not listed for spec and while the Lumix does have a spec sheet, it wasn't used to capture a sample for comparison.

I have a feeling you might like the Ektra and at $400 msrp I keep looking at it. But hopefully you've got some better info in the GSM Arena links to help you sort through choices. Barring a camera first phone, consider the HDR+ capable models to squeeze the most potential out of the camera.
 

RumoredNow

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B&H had the Kodak Ektra on sale for $229.99 a few months ago.
I almost ordered it...bought a Fuji mirrorless instead for 30 bucks more.

The price for the Ektra is back to 300 smacks at B&H.
They might have a used one for sale though.

Love me some B&H.

Thanks, my friend. I was looking at B&H today and would go with them even though Amazon is about $2 cheaper. I don't see a used option there. Swappa hasn't seen any of them yet, though they do have a slot reserved.
 

Guytronic

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Love me some B&H.

Thanks, my friend. I was looking at B&H today and would go with them even though Amazon is about $2 cheaper. I don't see a used option there. Swappa hasn't seen any of them yet, though they do have a slot reserved.
I forgot to look when checking B&H.
Most of the time their product links have a downloadable PDF manual.
Just a thought though.
Could be a good way to dig out info prior to buying.
 

RumoredNow

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@Guytronic that was a great thought. Just looked at what they have and it is a quick start. No real spec or anything. I think I have enough spec on the camera from other sources I looked at today.
 

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