The Photo Times: Not all smartphone cameras are created equal

So, what are these different approaches and which one is right? It is difficult to answer the second part of the question because it is too early to say which one is the best approach. But at the moment we can tell you a bit more about the cameras that different phones makers are putting in their phones.

More megapixels approach
Over the years, most of the camera manufacturers have increased the amount of pixels that their devices can capture and have called that a progress. Most smartphone makers are also using the same approach. For example, Galaxy S, a flagship Samsung phone, came with a 5MP camera in 2010. In June this year, Galaxy S4 debuted with a 13MP camera.

This is not necessarily a bad approach. More pixels means a smartphone can capture more details and theoretically sharper images. But to get the best results, the camera has to be paired with the software that can properly utilize the pixels it is capturing and process the image in a better way. Companies like Sony are also pairing the high mega-pixel image sensor with better lenses. For example, the 20.7MP camera in Xperia Z1 comes with a G Lens, which is better than the typical lenses you will find on a smartphone.

Samsung is the prime example of what this traditional approach can do if the implementation is good. The company doesn’t hype cameras in its flagship phones. But in terms of performance, they are some of the best shooters you can buy. Both Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4 are capable of shooting detailed and sharp images and videos. The same is true for the cameras in Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 2.

The bigpixel approach
One big weakness of traditional approach is low-light photography. More pixels on a small image sensor – there is not enough space to put big image sensors in a phone – means the pixel size is small. And as companies increase the number of pixels, it is getting smaller. This means in low light, there is likely to be lots of noise in images. There are two smartphone companies that are trying to tackle this problem by opting for bigger pixels – HTC and Apple.

With HTC One, the Taiwanese company introduced an image sensor that would take photos only in 4 mega pixels size. HTC argued that this size is big enough for photos that would be shared digitally or posted on social media websites. At the same time, low number of pixels allowed HTC to use bigger pixels – 2m – which could capture more light to aid a user in low-light photography. In comparison, the pixel size used by Galaxy 4 camera is 1.1 m.

Article source: http://www.thephoblographer.com/2013/06/03/review-leica-d-lux-6/