Dual-cameras on smartphones are the rage today, and every manufacturer is trying to squeeze out the best picture quality by pairing two cameras. Currently we are seeing the use of the telephoto lens, RGB and monochrome sensors, artificial bokeh (portrait mode), and so on. The best part is, the tech is not limited to high-end devices and hence, you don’t need a lot of money to own a reliable smartphone with a dual-camera setup.

There are a number of mid-budget smartphones available today in India that boast of a solid camera experience, and we’ve pit four smartphones against each other for a quick camera comparison test to see which company offers the best.

Our first contender is the newly launched Nokia 7 Plus. This one has Zeiss optics on the front and rear cameras. The rear dual-camera setup features 12-megapixel sensor with an f/1.75 aperture lens, a gyro-based EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation), dual-pixel phase detection autofocus and a dual-LED flash. It is paired with another 12-megapixel camera with an f/2.6 aperture and a telephoto lens offering 2x optical zoom. At the front, Nokia is using a 16-megapixel unit with an f/2.0 aperture lens.

Next is the Oppo F7, and while this doesn’t incorporate a dual-camera setup, the company claims that the single camera setup is capable of delivering a portrait mode by using AI (Artificial Intelligence) and software. The primary camera is a 16-megapixel sensor with an f/1.8 aperture lens with phase detection autofocus and an LED flash. The real deal is the front camera, which comes with a 25-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture lens.

We added the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro in this comparison since we found the camera setup quite capable during our review. The primary camera includes a 12-megapixel sensor with an f/2.2 aperture, paired with a 5-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture. There is phase detection autofocus and an LED flash. At the front there is a 20-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture and an LED flash.

Lastly, there is the Vivo V9 which has a very similar design to the Oppo F7. In the camera department there is a 16-megapixel sensor and a 5-megapixel sensor with phase detection autofocus and a dual-LED flash. Even this one has a high-resolution 24-megapixel front facing camera with an f/2.0 aperture.

For the camera comparison, we took some shots in various light conditions to check the capability of each camera phone. We checked for colour reproduction, contrast, low-light capability, and picture details. We even tested the front camera since a lot of consumers today want front cameras that are as good as the tech at the back.

Here are some of them:

Nokia 7 Plus (Top left), Oppo F7 (Top Right), Xiaomi Redmi 5 Pro (Bottom Left), Vivo V9 (Bottom Right)

Nokia 7 Plus (Top left), Oppo F7 (Top Right), Xiaomi Redmi 5 Pro (Bottom Left), Vivo V9 (Bottom Right)

Nokia 7 Plus (Top left), Oppo F7 (Top Right), Xiaomi Redmi 5 Pro (Bottom Left), Vivo V9 (Bottom Right)

Nokia 7 Plus (Top left), Oppo F7 (Top Right), Xiaomi Redmi 5 Pro (Bottom Left), Vivo V9 (Bottom Right)

Nokia 7 Plus (Top left), Oppo F7 (Top Right), Xiaomi Redmi 5 Pro (Bottom Left), Vivo V9 (Bottom Right)

Nokia 7 Plus (Top left), Oppo F7 (Top Right), Xiaomi Redmi 5 Pro (Bottom Left), Vivo V9 (Bottom Right)

Nokia 7 Plus (Top left), Oppo F7 (Top Right), Xiaomi Redmi 5 Pro (Bottom Left), Vivo V9 (Bottom Right)



Colour reproduction

The Oppo F7 in our opinion offered natural colour reproduction in most light situations. If you look at the graffitti image, all three phones, except the F7 have a yellow cast. Basically the camera tends to produce a more cool tone. Also if you look at the photo of the keyboard, the blacks are deeper and better looking.

Contrast

Here the Redmi Note 5 Pro proved to be better than the rest. The image with the round chairs has a rich red colour, although the Oppo seems to produce very similar results. The photo with the coloured dots is where you can see the high-contrast on the Redmi Note 5 Pro.

Low-Light

This was a tough one, but considering the picture we have used for low-light it is clear that the Nokia 7 Plus is holding up pretty well. Not only did it manage to retain the colour and details, it also did a pretty decent job controlling the light coming from the windows.

Details

We felt the Redmi Note 5 Pro and the Oppo F7 offered good details in most light situations. Having said that, in low-light, details on both of these phones felt washed out. As we mentioned before, the Nokia 7 Plus offers better details in low light.

Front camera

All four phones are pretty amazing when it comes to selfies. All phones offer artificial bokeh where the Redmi Note 5 Pro proved to be the best and it seems that Xiaomi is putting an quite a bit of effort in this department.