How to get the best from your Android camera
One of the great features of a smartphone is that you always have a camera with you, plus the ability to send photos and videos directly from it. Only a few years ago it would be normal to carry a digital camera with you when travelling, but the ever-improving quality of phone cameras and their convenience now makes them adequate for all but the most dedicated photographers.
But the best phone cameras tend to be in higher priced devices. To avoid spending big bucks, we investigated what you can do to get the best from your smartphone camera at any price level.
Our test phone price points ranged from $130 to $1,000+ with a Umidigi A3 Pro, a Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro, and a Samsung Galaxy Note8. The Samsung is three years old but still takes excellent photos day or night. How close could our newer and cheaper models get?
There are many variables, including quality of sensor and lens optics, usability of the camera app, and effectiveness of the device’s image processing. We can’t change the lens, but you can maximise the quality of everything that happens after light has passed through it.
Max resolution
The pixel count of a digital camera’s image sensor determines the maximum resolution of photos, and sensor size and shape also has an impact. We can’t change these, but we can adjust settings to get the best from them.
Image sensors have a native aspect ratio, often 3:4, and the native ratio typically uses all of the available pixels. When other aspect ratios are selected they only use a portion of the sensor and its available pixels. If you check the aspect ratio options in your camera app it will often tell you the number of pixels used. Another option is to compare the size of the image files resulting from various aspect ratios – the largest files will be the ones using the most pixels.
Quality vs quantity – are more pixels always better?
As digital photography has developed, the quest for higher resolution images has led to sensors with higher pixel counts, and it’s generally been a case of the more the better. Recent smartphones have started to include sensors with very large numbers of pixels – the test Xiaomi’s main camera features a 64MP sensor – and pixel count alone no longer equates to quality images. In fact, the full count is rarely used, and like many phones Xiaomi’s 64MP uses “pixel binning” to combine them into a 16MP image in standard photos. This in theory produces higher quality images than a 16MP sensor, and more manageable image file sizes.
We compared photos taken using the full 64MP vs pixel-binned 16MP and confirmed that, while the images looked equally sharp in normal viewing, the full resolution pics revealed more detail when enlarged. The option of higher resolution could be particularly useful if you are shooting a scene that you wish to enlarge to poster size. Interestingly, low light night photos sometimes went the other way – there was less clarity when using the full 64MP.
Camera apps and image processing
Each device comes with its own app to manage camera use and settings. These are usually well matched to the hardware, but not necessarily well matched to the user. There are two things you can do here that can make a big difference to your photography results: optimise settings in the original app, or install an alternative app that better suits your needs. We experimented with each of our test smartphones to see how much difference we could make.
Native Android. The Umidigi A3 Pro comes with Android 9.0 and no manufacturer’s “skin” over it. This, and the fact that it has a fairly basic camera with plenty of room for improvement, was a good starting point to compare default Android camera management with third party apps. We found that no one app provides everything that you may want, but having a selection of
apps on the phone does give greater flexibility, and in many cases improved results.
Redmi Reckoning. The Redmi Note 8 Pro runs Xiaomi’s own interface and camera app. In addition to the 64MP main camera it has a 20MP selfie camera plus lower resolution extra wide and macro cameras. We stuck with the main camera for our testing of features and apps. Third-party apps were able to add additional features and better low light photos.
Samsung’s Galaxy. Samsung runs its own version of Android, with its UI interface and camera app. Samsung’s Galaxy series is well known for the quality of their cameras, so it’s no surprise that the default app is very good. Combine that with excellent optics and there was no way that the others could match the Samsung’s dual 12MP main camera, particularly for low light photography, although the Xiaomi comes close in daylight shots.
Third-party apps on the Samsung added additional features but could not improve on the Samsung app’s photography results. So if camera performance is an important criteria to you a relatively upmarket phone may be the only way to go.
Camera apps from the Google Play Store
There is a huge range of camera apps available from the Play Store, with the majority providing additional features and manual adjustments that standard camera apps don’t have. If you are looking for a more manual camera experience we suggest that you test drive a few of these apps, starting with the excellent free Open Camera.
For this article we were more interested in apps that improved automation and quality – the lazy approach! We tested and trialled over a dozen apps, and ended up with a couple of clear favourites.
A Better Camera? A Better Camera is a popular and effective app that adds a range of features and a useful Night Mode while remaining intuitive and easy to use. As expected, it could not add much to daylight photos, but it significantly improved low light performance.
A Better Camera also features an HR panorama mode, a “Best Shot” option that automatically picks the best shot out of a multi-shot sequence, and excellent video functions. The free version is comprehensive, and for the full capabilities the Pro version only costs US$0.99.
Camera MX As good as A Better Camera is, a personal favourite was the relatively simple Camera MX, despite the occasional annoying advertising. Navigating this app is exceptionally easy, and it provides direct access to all the key settings you are likely to use. It includes a wide range of effects and filters, plus the ability to create GIFs, that can add some fun to everyday snaps.
But Camera MX’s real party trick is the “Shoot the Past” function, that takes a series of photos commencing a second or two before you tap the shutter, then suggests the best image from the series. Great for those “just missed it” photography moments.
Cymera If you are looking for fun effects for your social media shots Cymera may be what you need. It even provides editing tools to give your selfies a virtual makeover. While this may not be high on everyone’s list, and some of the “beautified” images are verging on scary, but Cymera is a very popular app.
Bacon Camera An app with an unlikely name, Bacon Camera is a solid performer that is easy to use yet provides a few more manual controls and professional formats than the others that we liked. The pro version is inexpensive too.