Smartphone cameras have taken massive strides with imaging over the past few years, with results that can actually compete with real cameras in certain aspects. Of course, the more expensive offerings innovate with cameras more than the budget offerings. This comprehensive camera comparison puts three of the best smartphones against each other to determine which is objectively the ‘best’ camera, and what the strengths and weaknesses of each are. For a person looking to get a phone primarily as a reliable camera, this comparison should help with the correct purchase decision based on preferences. Let's meet the Contenders.

Google Pixel 3XL

Google’s idea of what a flagship Android should ideally feel like has produced the best cameras in the smartphone space, all thanks to their computational photography. Hardware wise, it’s a pretty simple package, with a 1/2.55-inch 12.2-megapixel Sony IMX363 camera sensor with an f/1.8 lens and a large 1.4µm pixel size, assisted by OIS and Dual pixel PDAF.

Samsung Galaxy S10+

Samsung’s latest and largest flagship has a total of five cameras, but the primary ones are pretty similar to its predecessor, which includes a main 1/2.55-inch 12-megapixel dual-aperture f/1.5-2.4 camera with a 1.4µm pixel size, a secondary 12-megapixel telephoto lens for an effective 2x zoom and a third ultrawide angle 123˚ field-of-view camera. That is practically a zoom range of 0.5x, 1x to 2x, which can go to 10x digitally.

Huawei P30 Pro

Huawei’s P-series of flagships have pushed the boundaries of smartphone photography each year, and the P30 Pro steps up to the family name gracefully with all of its four cameras. You get a primary 1/1.7 inch 40-megapixel f/1.6 RYYB sensor, paired with an 8-megapixel periscopic 5x telephoto lens, also optically stabilised. At the other end of the spectrum, is the 20-megapixel ultrawide camera and lastly, a ToF sensor for additional depth information.

Testing Methodology

All three phones were always put on the same mode while shooting. Whenever tap to focus was used, it was used across all of them, and for the other times, the cameras were let to decide the focus point and exposure metering on their own. For instances where one of the phones did not offer a particular mode, it was omitted from the test with the apt disclaimer (Pro mode on Pixel, Night mode on the Galaxy). In each category, we will note down the observations and try to decide on a winner. The observations will help you understand the specific areas where these cameras excel. You can open every image in a new tab to zoom in and verify the inferences on your own, by checking out the full-resolution version. None of the photos were retouched or edited, only cropped, in a few cases where it wouldn't affect the testing. Front cameras have been omitted from the testing. Company logos on the top-left of each image will indicate the phone used to shoot that picture.

Test 1. Winner: Google Pixel 3XL

While shooting against the sun, the Pixel was able to maintain the dynamic range and details the best, albeit with a slightly darker image. The gradient and the exposure in the tones of the sky were very well maintained too. The S10+ gives a slightly brighter image which washes down the colours from the stalk and the grass towards the bottom. TheP30 Pro has a nice neutral image but the image was rather soft when zoomed in, and the sky was blown out too.

Test 2. Winner: Huawei P30 Pro

This macro shot of a bright orange flower shows how different the processing approaches between the cameras are. The P30 Pro takes the win thanks to the most accurate colour, excellent detail retention and beautiful creamy bokeh in the background. Samsung came close but definitely over-processed certain key parts of the image, providing an excessively sharp image with artefacts. The f/2.4 aperture also works against it, with a poorer background blur. The Pixel kept on incorrectly metering the brightest parts of the image (despite tapping to focus) leading to a significantly darker image. If it would’ve given a correctly exposed image, it could have won this round.

Test 3. Winner: Huawei P30 Pro

This test involved distinctly different-coloured bushes, along with a pretty busy background. Right off the bat, the S10+’s image is much cooler and has an incorrect magenta filter all over, and that over sharpening is evident once again. The Pixel offered a nice warm image with rich colours, but the P30 Pro had a tad bit better dynamic range in the background.

Test 4. Winner: Google Pixel 3XL

This was a simple test of an object at a distance with light in their favour, and all the three phones did a great job. The Pixel wins here thanks to the overall better colour rendition, dynamic range and preservation of details at the far end. The S10’s image was a little too bright for a sunset shot, and the processing around the foliage was not up to the mark. The Huawei P30 Pro had slightly softer details around the building windows, or it would’ve gotten the crown.

Test 5. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S10+

Samsung easily wins this round with a nice balanced colour palette without having to tone down the saturation. There is some digital noise in the background, but the flowers were so well rendered that we could let that pass. The Pixel 3XL came close in terms of the details in the petals, but the warmer white-balance spoiled the feel. The P30 Pro’s image was softer, even if the bokeh was more beautiful.

Test 6. Winner: Google Pixel 3XL

This round had all the three cameras zoomed in to 2x. I expected Samsung to win here because of the dedicated 2x telephoto lens, but the results were much closer than my expectations. The S10+ went crazy trying to process the flowers, with pinks getting sizzled. The P30 Pro’s image was really pleasing, but loses out closely because of the overexposed highlights (check the sky around the branches at the top right)

Test 7. Winner: Huawei P30 Pro

Back to macros, this time with a bright red PokeBall. All three phones have adequate detail and sharpness, but the Pixel loses out early because of the worse colour accuracy. I almost gave this round to the S10+ because of the balance of colours, but turns out, it is just a brighter image and the white part was not as bright as what Samsung showed. The P30 Pro not only had the most realistic image but was able to retain the texture in the black bag in the background.

Test 8. Winner: Huawei P30 Pro

Time to turn down the lights. This low light picture involved a yellow light from a street lamp, a fair distance away. All three phones were able to produce a pretty bright image. The noise in the S10’s picture was very evident, along with some motion blur brought in by a longer shutter speed. The Pixel’s image was really warm as usual. The P30 Pro not only had the most accurate colours, but was also the sharpest when zoomed in. I was able to make out the texture in the phone’s case as well as the metallic gate behind me.

Test 9. Winner: Huawei P30 Pro

This is one of those few images where I preferred the less accurate image for the overall feel of the image. In case you wondered, yes, the Pixel 3XL is the most accurate picture, but the image by the Huawei P30 Pro legit looks like a greeting card with an added helping of flower petals. Your preferences could vary.

Test 10. Winner: Huawei P30 Pro

The Google Pixel 3XL is one stubborn phone, not lagging behind even at a 5x zoom. The S10+ was surprisingly the worst performer here with an ugly yellow cast and no texture retention. The Pixel came very close, but was no match for Huawei’s fancy optical zoom camera, which nailed the colour temperature as well as the details.

Test 11. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S10+

This is a macro shot clicked by holding all the phones upside down and let to focus on their own. The Pixel lost a lot of information in the shadows of the sprinkler. The P30 Pro had beautiful colours and a smooth shadow roll-off, but the details were very soft (check the text on the top of the sprinkler). Samsung gave a really sharp image (thanks to the smaller f/2.4 aperture), excellent dynamic range and just the right amount of saturation.

Test 12. Winner: Huawei P30 Pro

Another low light sample, where all of them performed admirably. Huawei had the most accurate colours, reasonable noise levels, and most importantly, preserved the details around the tree branches. Samsung was close too, but had an incorrect reddish tint to the overall image. At first sight, the Pixel’s image may look more pleasing, but the building was nowhere as yellow as seen here, nor did it have any light projected towards it.

Test 13. Winner: Huawei P30 Pro

This is a very strong contrasting image, with harsh highlights and shadows. Focus and metering were set to the centre of the image by tapping. The P30 Pro once again wins in low light with excellent control over the dynamic range, while retaining the sharpness in the grass in the foreground. That could be because of over-sharpening, but actually worked in its favour this time. Samsung does have adequate details too, but tries to lift the shadows a little too much, adding tons of extra grain and noise in the darker parts of the image. The Pixel 3XL clipped the highlights a little. The P30 Pro was also the only one to correctly capture the orangish tint of the street lights at the far end.

Test 14. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S10+

Coming back to human subjects, we thought of testing this bit with two subjects instead of one to tickle the camera’s abilities a little more. The Pixel 3XL has the sharpest image, but misses many spots that had to be blurred out. It also shoots at a narrowed field-of-view (for the Pixel, I had to take two steps back to get an image similar to the other two). The S10+ had the most accurate golden hour colours and the prettiest bokeh. Huawei aces the edge detection with defocussing from even the smallest of gaps, and would have taken the win if the image was a little sharper. Samsung wins this round for achieving the middle ground.

Test 15. Winner: Huawei P30 Pro

This low-light test included focussing on the pillar in the centre. At first glance, all three have a very similar image, but the Pixel starts falling apart once you zoom in. Samsung has the highest dynamic range, but Huawei takes the win here with excellent details in the rugged texture of the pillar beam and even the foreground.

So, which is the best smartphone for photography?

The podium

Before going into this test, I didn't expect to crown a single overall winner because each camera would win in a different set of tests. Crowning a winner would mean imposing my preferences on everyone, which may not always match your requirements. Basis the winners of the individual categories, by considering the specific strengths, and more importantly, the weaknesses will help determine the correct “best smartphone camera” for you.

Notable features like Pro Mode and Night Mode were skipped due to lack of that option on all the phones. Google is notoriously famous for skipping the Pro Mode on its cameras, which is understandable; they want users to fall in love with the software processing. We tried sideloading a third-party pro mode camera but the results were not up to the mark, presumably for the lack of optimisations with every phone. Samsung has been working on a dedicated Night mode for the S10-series, but as of press time, the feature isn’t publicly available. The Pixel is also the only one to not sport an ultrawide camera.

One last thing, before we delve into the final conclusion. All three of these phones have amazing cameras which probably won't be matched by many other phones. Even the third place winners are likely to be better than a regular budget phone or one that doesn't specialize in photography. It's just a matter of who wins it by a small margin and the varying approach each phone takes with the software and hardware implementation.

Having said that, my pick would probably be the Huawei P30 Pro. I very well know that it does not produce the best colours straight out of the camera, but I usually have access to editing apps. The added zoom functionality is what matches my usage the most, and of course, a vision that can surpass mine at night. If your usage includes more people and portraits, then the Pixel could be the one for you, while the S10+ seems to provide the best of both worlds.

50x zoom shot of the moon, clicked on the Huawei P30 Pro

TL:DR: You won’t be disappointed by either phone’s photography prowess, as any flagship in 2019 should be.

Camera samples: Aakash Jhaveri / Mashable India

Images: Aakash Jhaveri and Dhawal Bhanushali / Mashable India