Top Camera Smartphones to Replace Your Point & Shoot Cameras

Posted By: Abhishek Joshion: March 29, 2016In: Mobiles

Over the last couple of years, OEMs have taken up the challenge to pack in top notch camera features in the smartphones while maintaining the aesthetics of the phone. Not only have the smartphones become thin and classy, their cameras have also garnered attention from critics and like. In the fast paced life today, no one wants to carry bulky DSLRs to capture professional photos, nor does anyone want to carry additional Point and Shoot cameras. Considering everything can be packed into one smartphone frame and for convenience, it is expected that the OEMs will showcase their best technological practices in the camera features and quality.

Cameras in smartphones have gained traction in the last few years for Point and Shoot Camera like image quality and pre & post – processing abilities along with Macro shot features. Smartphone cameras are touted to replace even DSLRs in the near future, however that will have to be testified a few of years down the line.

Most OEMs these days have been launching high-end phones with cameras having resolution upwards of 10MP, adorned by dual LED flash with innovative autofocus abilities. We are listing down the best in this category that you could buy instead of spending that extra cash on a separate camera module.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5

The Note series has been a game changer for Samsung in terms of market share, having launched at the time ‘Phablet’ was a rare term. To maintain the legacy, Note 5 has been introduced with top-of-the-line specifications and goes without saying that the camera hardware is one of the best seen in any smartphone.

With laser autofocus and a wider aperture at f1.9, the 16MP shooter is snappy and day-time image quality is excellent with unmatched detail. It has Optical Image Stabilisation which is not present in many smartphones right now, bunch of in-built tools in the camera app and churns out good low-light images. Note 5 also has a fixed-focus 5MP front-facing camera which performs as expected. The camera is also capable of taking slow motion videos.

Specifications:

5.7inch quad HD super AMOLED display with pixel density of 520 ppi, Gorilla Glass 4
Android 5.1 Lollipop
1.5GHz Cortex-A53 quad core + 2.1GHz Cortex-A57 quad core processor coupled with Mali-T760MP8 GPU, 4GB RAM
16MP primary camera with laser autofocus and HDR, 5MP front facing camera
3000 mAh li-ion battery

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 can be purchased here.

iPhone 6S

iPhone is synonymous with camera. Majority of the iPhone users are selfie lovers and it goes without saying that if someone has the extra cash to shell out, iPhone 6S camera is probably the best in the market. Time and tested, the 12MP camera in the iPhone 6S takes crisp photos with rich and deep colours and great detailing. The camera is quick with an easy to use app and performs better than other higher resolution cameras out there.

The 4K HD video recording compliments the images and one can capture multiple photos while shooting videos. The dual-LED flash ensures that the photos at night are not blurry or oversaturated.

Specifications:

4.7inch capacitive display with 750 x 1334 pixels resolution (326 PPI)
iOS 9 with Force Touch
Dual-Core 1.84 GHz Twister with PowerVR GT7600 GPU
2GB RAM
12MP primary camera with dual-tone LED Flash, phase detection autofocus
5MP front-facing camera with face-detection
1715 mAh Li-ion battery

iPhone 6S can be bought here.

Sony Xperia Z5

Sony has been marketing Z5 as Sony’s best camera phone and it indeed doesn’t disappoint. Sony has thought this out very well and come out with a remarkable piece of technology. It has a huge 23MP camera sensor with a hybrid detection technology; phase detection and contrast detection autofocus resulting in very short focus times.

It also has a 5.1MP front shooter which takes full HD videos and photos in HDR mode. Although the aperture size is similar to those of cheaper smartphones, the photos come out brilliantly with good detail and colour saturation.

Specifications:

5.2inch capacitive display with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution (428 PPI)
Android 5.1 Lollipop
Snapdragon 810 coupled with 3GB of RAM and 32GB internal memory
23MP primary camera with LED flash, 5.1MP front camera
2900 mAh Li-ion battery

Sony Xperia Z5 can be purchased from here.

Moto X Style

Employing the pure flavour of Android, Moto X is a cost-effective phone with one of the best cameras. With a 21MP primary camera which can shoot 4K videos, it takes fantastic photos. It has all the whistles as the other leading camera smartphones in the market. However, the one thing that stands out in the phone is the front-facing camera.

It has a 5MP front-facing camera with flash. This means that all the selfies and close-ups are going to look professional in low light. Motorola has also packed in a wide-angle selfie mode which will enable users to get more people in the frame. Looks like this will be a popular feature for selfie lovers.

Specifications:

5.7inch capacitive display with 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution (520 PPI)
Android 5.1 Lollipop(soon to be upgraded to 6.0 Marshmallow)
Snapdragon 808 with 3GB of RAM
21MP primary camera with phase detection autofocus and dual LED flash
5MP front camera with flash and wide-angle selfie mode
3000 mAh Li-ion battery

Moto X Style can be bought here.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

The Galaxy S7 Edge is similar to Galaxy S7 in almost all the features except the fact that it packs a larger 5.5” curved display and is powered by a bigger 3600 mAh battery.

Buy Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

Specifications: Galaxy S7 Edge

Chipset: Exyos 8890
CPU: 2.3 GHz quad-core + 1.6 GHz quad-core
GPU: Mali-T880MP12
RAM: 4 GB
OS: Android Marshmallow 6.0
Display: 5.5 inch, AMOLED QHD Display, Gorilla Glass 4
Camera: Primary- 12 MP PD-AF with LED Flash, OIS; Secondary- 5 MP
Memory: Internal- 32/64 GB; External- Up to 200 GB (hybrid; uses SIM slot 2)
Battery: 3600 mAh Li-ion (non-removable)
Connectivity: GPS with A-GPS, 4G dual SIM, NFC, microUSB with USB Host, fingerprint, Bluetooth 4.2, EDGE, HSPA, WiFi with hotspot and WiFi Direct.

LG G5

LG G5 is one the hottest phones that you need to look out for. It hasn’t been launched as of now, but it is the best phone that LG has designed so far. It is also the first phone to feature a modular design. The phone runs on the latest Snapdragon 820 chip, and packs a dual-camera combo at the rear while having a great 8 MP selfie unit.

LG G5 will be available in India in the coming months with an expected price of Rs. 52,000.

Specifications: LG G5 H850

Chipset: Snapdragon 820
CPU: 2.15 GHz dual-core + 1.6 GHz dual-core
GPU: Adreno 530
RAM: 4 GB
OS: Android Marshmallow 6.0
Display: 5.1 inch, AMOLED QHD Display, Gorilla Glass 4
Camera: Primary- 16 MP + 8 MP, laser-AF, LED Flash, OIS; Secondary- 8 MP
Memory: Internal- 32 GB; External- Up to 200 GB micro SD card slot
Battery: 2800 mAh Li-ion (removable)
Connectivity: GPS with A-GPS, 4G dual SIM, NFC, IR port, FM Radio, USB Type C with USB OTG, Bluetooth 4.2, EDGE, HSPA, WiFi with hotspot and WiFi Direct.

Xiaomi Mi5

The Mi5 is the latest from Xiaomi and runs on Android Marshmallow OS. The phone packs a fingerprint in the home button which looks similar to the setup found in Samsung Galaxy S6 and above. It packs Snapdragon 820 chip along with 3 GB RAM.

The phone will be launched in India next month bearing a price tag of Rs. 25,000 approximately.

Specifications: Xiaomi Mi5

Chipset: Snapdragon 820
CPU: 2.15 GHz dual-core + 1.6 GHz dual-core
GPU: Adreno 530
RAM: 3 GB / 4 GB
OS: Android Marshmallow 6.0
Display: 5.15 inch, IPS FHD Display
Camera: Primary- 16 MP PF-AF with dual-tone dual-LED Flash, OIS; Secondary- 4 MP
Memory: Internal- 32/64/128 GB; External- None.
Battery: 3000 mAh Li-Po (non-removable)
Connectivity: GPS with A-GPS, 4G, NFC, IR Port, Typce C USB with USB Host, fingerprint, Bluetooth 4.2, EDGE, HSPA, WiFi with hotspot and WiFi Direct.

There you have it – these are not only the best camera phones, but also the best overall smartphones there are…

[Header image: Shutterstock.com]