So while ISO 6400 is a lot more sensitive to light than ISO 100, an image taken with that high of an ISO will have a lot more noise (or grain in it). At the same time, the higher the ISO goes, the more noise is introduced to your picture. The higher the number goes, the more sensitive the sensor becomes to light.

ISO is a term that carried over from the film age to the digital age, but all you really need to know is that it’s a measurement of how sensitive the sensor is to light. These three components each have advantages and disadvantages, so your smartphone will try to adjust some of these components to compensate for different lighting environments so that you get the best image every time. The three major components, ISO, shutter speed, and aperture, work together to use the available light to capture an image. There is a lot of jargon when people talk about cameras, but it’s actually not that complicated to learn the basics of what is happening in your phone when you take an picture. Read on to find out a little bit about how cameras work, what marketing information actually matters, and what this all means when you are comparing smartphone cameras. My goal is not to give you a Photography 101 lecture, but rather, to give you some basic pointers so you can better understand what different manufacturer’s cameras are offering.

Here’s the truth: in the best lighting conditions, any modern smartphone can take decent pictures, but it does take some education to know which smartphone has the best camera in the most situations. Do I actually need optical image stabilization in my smartphone? This phone has a 20 megapixel camera compared to this one’s 8 megapixel camera, so the 20 megapixel camera is better, right? How do I cure the f-stop blues? If you are not a camera aficionado, seeing these kinds of words probably raises more questions than it does answers. Exposure.Įvery year we see new flagship phones released, followed by more buzz words explaining why each OEM has the best camera on their smartphone.

Smartphone best camera 2015