In the year 2022, when travel and travel wish lists rebounded, it’s a good thing our smartphone cameras kept up with improvements in lowlight photography and new computational photography tricks. More smartphones upped their zoom photography game even as smartphone photography got better and aimed to reduce the gap with pro cams. Here, we give up a round-up of the best mobile shooters we tested this year, just in case you need a tip or two to pick the right smartphone for your year-end holiday.
Google Pixel 7 Pro
It’s been a while since Google launched a flagship smartphone in India. The rear camera on the 2022 flagship shows us what we’ve missed. While high-quality lowlight images are a given with Google’s Night sight, the Pixel 7 Pro also nails zoom photography (you can shoot up to 5x optical zoom and 30x digital zoom) with its 48MP telephoto lens. And, then, there are the Google smart features like Photo Unblur that allows you to fix images (even those shot on other devices) and Magic Eraser to eliminate annoying photo bombers.
Price: Rs 84,999
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Our favourite Android shooter of the year along with the Pixel 7 Pro. The Ultra leans on computational photography for better results in lowlight and portrait images than it’s capable predecessors. It’s also the best zoom lens on any smartphone in India (up to 10x on optical zoom mode and up to 100x on digital zoom), just what you need for those wildlife expeditions. The 40MP selfie shooter aces selfie portraits while the S-Pen, Samsung’s versatile stylus makes editing videos a breeze.
Price: Rs 109,999 onwards
iPhone 14 Pro (and Pro Max)
Does any smartphone do video better? The 2022 iPhone flagship has added more skills to its video repertoire which includes a cool action mode (also available on the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus) for blur-free captures of your action moments and outdoor pursuits. The 2022 Pro Models become the first iPhones to include a 48MP main camera that gets a leg-up from a quad-pixel sensor. It adapts to the image being captured, and features second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilisation. Lowlight images and videos are visibly better.
Price: Rs 1,29,900 onwards
OnePlus 10 Pro
It’s the ultra-wide lens that is the killer feature in the 2022 OnePlus flagship. This cam comes with a 150-degree view on its ultra-lens that also offers a fish-eye lens for a unique perspective just like its 2021 predecessor, the 10 Pro cam has been developed with iconic Swedish photography brand Hasselblad. It blends a 48MP primary lens, an 8MP telephoto lens and a 50MP ultra-wide lens.
Price: Rs 61,999 onwards
Xiaomi 12 Pro
Xiaomi’s mobile cams have made steady progress, the 12 Pro is a case in point. The 12 Pro delivers a versatile camera experience for its asking price. The primary lens features a Sony IMX 707 sensor. The highlight of this device is that all three 50MP lenses (including the ultra-wide lens and telephoto lens) come with night mode. Xiaomi’s Ultra Night Photo mode is the device’s headline feature and produces great lowlight images thanks to upgraded HDR and highlight control.
Price: Rs 58,999 onwards
Vivo X80 Pro
The rear cam for Vivo’s 2022 India flagship has been co-designed with Zeiss. Vivo plays up the company’s T* lens coating that reduces glare and reflections. It results in stellar results across lowlight scenarios; it uses HDR to even out bright lights in dim lighting scenarios. You also get a bunch of Zeiss add-ons including our favourite Cinematic video mode with a wide aspect ratio at 24fps and a bokeh effect. The portrait lens benefits from the in-built gimbal stabilisation.
Price: Rs 79,999
Realme GT2 Pro
Packed with a whole bag of camera tricks. The rear shooter combines two 50MP sensors including an ultra-wide lens that allows you to capture images with a 150-degree field of view. We dig the third lens — a 3MP microscope sensor that allows you to get up close with a 40X magnification and take macro photography to the extreme. There’s also Realme’s Street mode with a number of curated filters.
Price: Rs 49,999 onwards
OPPO Reno 8 Pro
The 32MP selfie shooter is one of the talking points of OPPO’s 2022 flagship. We enjoyed the bokeh effect while snapping selfies. The rear combines a 50MP primary lens together with an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 2MP Macro lens. OPPO is playing up the portrait capabilities of this device. It benefits from OPPO’s Turbo RAW algorithm that automatically recognises and removes noise when you shoot in lowlight. The 4K ultra night feature is another win.
Price: Rs 45,999
