In today’s market, the megapixel detail of smartphone cameras is often highlighted for most of the phones that are released. While there was a trend of 64-megapixel cameras once, we now see cameras going up to 200 megapixels. So, is the megapixel count really that crucial for smartphones? What factors affect the quality of photos taken with your smartphone?
The quality of a photo taken with a smartphone depends on what factors?
At the top of our list for the best camera phones you can buy is the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, featuring a 200MP sensor and 10X optical zoom among its 4 cameras. But does this 200-megapixel feature make the Galaxy the king of smartphone photography? Certainly not. Megapixels don’t hold the key. There are more important things to know when choosing and using your next camera phone.
Megapixels are actually a measurement, representing one million pixels. We are referring to the pixels that capture light and color on the camera sensor. A phone’s sensor might have 200 megapixels, but that doesn’t mean the final image will be that size. Moreover, shooting with a 200-megapixel camera can have more downsides than benefits.
Resulting from such a shot, the size of the photo you get can be quite large. A 200 MP photo taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra could range from 15 to 25 MB depending on color and detail. A full-resolution 48 MP photo taken with an iPhone 14 Pro is around 5 MB. Additionally, due to a process called pixel binning, a photo taken with the Galaxy S23 Ultra is reduced to 12 MP (3 MB).
Comparing the devices by testing them under certain standards, DxOMark has updated the list of smartphones with the best camera.
If megapixels aren’t the crucial factor, then what matters most? Of course, the size of the sensor holds significant importance. Camera sensor measurements are often given as fractions of an inch, requiring some math to understand what you’re getting. The OnePlus Nord N30, for instance, has a 108 MP sensor with a size of 1/1.67 inches, while the Galaxy S22 Ultra has a sensor size of 1/1.33 inches.
Here, with a simple math, you can understand that the sensor on the Galaxy S22 Ultra is larger. The 1/1.67-inch sensor on the OnePlus phone is 0.59 inches smaller than Samsung’s 1/1.33-inch sensor, which is actually 0.75 inches. Therefore, when purchasing a phone, you should pay attention to the sensor size rather than just megapixels. Larger sensors will generally yield better results.
