Android Phone as Camera

sleepyastronaut

Hey good evening,

Looking for a recommendation for a current Android phone based on camera, including macro photos. I had a OnePlus 7T, excellent camera, excellent macro photos, buggy software. Got rid of it for a Pixel 5a 5g, going to return it, unusable for macro photos, general photos are bad. Not sure if it's the OIS or just bad hardware but I'm moving on.

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

ghce

Xiaomi 11T Pro with its 108 MP main camera with seperat macro and whatever the third one is and it OK, not better than the 950 XL but more than workable especially for wrist shots but having said that I will be looking to probably move on to a Xiaomi 12 Pro or if the 12 Ultra makes an appearance as these focus even more on the camera side of things.

TheGreekPhysique

My old pixel 3 took the best pictures out of all the phones I ever had. I never tried macro shots on it though. I moved onto iphone because my pixel didnt have 4k 60fps video but the pictures aren't nearly as good. Maybe try the newest pixel in store before purchasing?

Mouse_at_Large

Just out of curiosity I just snapped this using (for the first time) the "Ultra Macro" option on my two year old Realme X2 Pro. Not up to professional standards, but more than good enough for me

sleepyastronaut

Is that at 2x optical zoom?

sleepyastronaut

Mi is understandably proud of their DXOMark ratings

https://www.dxomark.com/smartphones/#sort-camera

Mi 11t Pro has a 5 MP, 50mm telephoto macro lens. Nice.

Any dial shots you can share?

sleepyastronaut

Edit: Pixel 6 Pro has a 48 MP, 104mm telephoto with 4x optical zoom

I'm about to pull the trigger on an OP 9Pro; one of the four rear facing cams is an 8 MP, 77mm telephoto with 3.3x optical zoom. Maybe not a "true" macro sensor, but the telephoto lens should do the trick.

I looked at the Mi but I'm less confident in the brand. The devil you know and whatnot.

Walrus

I can’t offer too much I’m an iPhone dude only because I’m used to it but my coworker (who is a tech guy) won’t shut up about how good the camera on his new pixel is. What he had shown me does like fine but I’m not much of a photography buff.

ghce

The Xiaomi are a bit unknown in the west and are a very recently formed company thats true but they have a dedication to their products that you often times dont find in Chinese products.

I have a good understanding of the way Chinese companies work spending a lot of time in China and have been dealing with Chinese companies since the early 1990's, Xiaomi is a premier brand with designs to become more well known especially for their quality and pricing.

Bought a Mi 365 pro scooter which started my research on them.
With the phones they promise multiple updates OS wise unlike many other phone hand set makers.

All that said I still prefer my 950XL images, I have a lot of top end photographic gear across brands, DSLR and mirrorless all with great glass but truth be told in many situations with the right lighting etc the images are pretty close to indistinguishable in the Lumia, I cant say that about the 11T pro ( I am a pixel peeper at heart).

Would really like to see the 12 Pro or more especially the 12 Ultra as it will have a 50MP or better macro sensor.

Here are a couple of macro shots from the 11T Pro just randomly from past wruw photos.

Taddyangle

I have the latest pixel pro. Great pics. Zoom is really good.

I zoomed in on the max on this eagle nest in the neighborhood.

Tourtise in the yard.

pdxleaf

Samsung S21 Ultra is decent.

Besides the lens, nice editing features. Makes me look like a photographer.

Samples