The best camera phones of 2023: top 10 models

 If you do not want to read hundreds of smartphone reviews and do not want to understand the technical aspects of mobile photography, but just want to get the best camera phone in 2022, then this article is for you.

Nowadays, a good camera phone can not only easily replace a full-fledged digital camera, but also give a hundred points ahead of many of them. But when choosing such a gadget, you need to re-read a lot of reviews and understand the features of mobile sensors and other technical aspects. Of course, only a few are ready for this, but many people want to get a good camera phone. Especially for this occasion, we have prepared our list of the best camera phones in 2022, which can save you the pain of choosing.

Huawei P50 Pro

• Screen: 6.6 inches, OLED, 2700x1228, 120Hz
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 4G
• Memory: 8 GB RAM / 256 GB permanent
• Cameras: 50 MP + 40 MP + 13 MP + 64 MP, front - 13 MP
• Battery: 4360 mAh

Well, it opens our rating of camera phones in 2022Huawei P50 Pro. One of the best camera phones on the market, according to many reputable experts, including the guys from DXOMark, it is equipped with a main 50-megapixel camera, which, in combination with a 40-megapixel monochrome sensor, allows you to achieve extraordinary photo quality in almost any, even the most difficult shooting conditions. Well, fans of creativity will surely like the telephoto and wide-angle cameras that go with them.

In addition, the smartphone is built on the powerful Snapdragon 888 4G chipset with 8 GB of RAM and offers a high-quality OLED display with a high resolution of 2700x1228 pixels and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The only drawback of the gadget lies in the lack of Google services, but in our time this is no longer so relevant.

iPhone 13 Pro Max

• Screen: 6.7" OLED, 2778x1284, 120Hz
• Processor: Apple A15 Bionic
• Memory: 6 GB RAM / 128 GB permanent
• Cameras: 12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP, front - 12 MP
• Battery: 4352 mAh

One of the main competitors of Huawei P50 Pro for the title of the best camera phone on the market was the iPhone 13 Pro Max. True, they can only be called competitors conditionally. Yes, both smartphones offer similar image quality, and one can argue endlessly about which one is better. Real tests do not show a clear leader, and the difference between them fits into a banal error. Well, the lack of full-fledged competition between them is more explained by completely different ecosystems - users who prefer the iPhone will very rarely opt for Android and HarmonyOS, however, as well as vice versa.

As for the characteristics of the smartphone, there are three 12-megapixel cameras - the main, wide-angle, and telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. And these cameras showed themselves especially well when shooting at night - here they really have almost no competitors.

iPhone 13 Pro

• Screen: 6.1 inches, OLED, 2532x1170, 120Hz
• Processor: Apple A15 Bionic
• Memory: 6 GB RAM / 128 GB permanent
• Cameras: 12 MP + 12 MP + 12 MP, front - 12 MP
• Battery: 3095 mAh

Speaking of the iPhone 13 Pro Max, we can't help but remember the iPhone 13 Pro smartphone. It offers exactly the same set of cameras as the first model but differs from it with a much more affordable price tag and a more compact 6.1-inch display versus the 6.7-inch screen of the Pro Max. And, if you like small gadgets, then the iPhone 13 Pro looks much more preferable than its older brother. Moreover, the quality of their shooting is almost identical.

Like the iPhone 13 Pro Max, this device is built on the powerful Apple A15 Bionic chipset, but its battery has a smaller capacity of 3095 mAh. Significantly lower and its autonomy.

• Screen: 6.7 inches, OLED, 3120x1440, 120 Hz
• Processor: Google Tensor
• Memory: 12 GB RAM / 128 GB permanent
• Cameras: 50 MP + 12 MP + 48 MP, front - 11.1 MP
• Battery: 4905 mAh

The Google Pixel 6 Pro's 50MP main camera captures well-detailed photos with natural colors and performs well in the dark. And for lovers of creativity, there is a 12-megapixel wide and a 48-megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom, which also proved to be excellent in field tests. A really serious advantage to a smartphone is provided by software with well-thought-out algorithms and interesting functions.

The problem with the Google Pixel 6 Pro is that the smartphone itself, although it offers a top-end feature set, has many significant drawbacks. This is a serious overheating under load, problems with the fingerprint scanner, and other shortcomings that one wants to call childish. But it’s impossible not to include it on our top - the photos are really good for the smartphone.

Google Pixel 6a

• Screen: 6.1 inches, OLED, 2400x1080
• Processor: Google Tensor
• Memory: 6 GB RAM / 128 GB permanent
• Cameras: 12.2 MP + 12 MP, front - 8 MP
• Battery: 4410 mAh

Spending a lot of money on a rather crude Google Pixel 6 Pro is really not the best idea, and here you can come to the aid of twice the affordable Pixel 6a smartphone, all from the same Google. Of course, the capabilities of the gadget are far from the Pixel 6 Pro, but it also uses the Google Tensor chipset with a set of Google's proprietary AI photo processing technologies. We did not look for the best camera phones under 30,000 rubles, but in the category under 40,000 rubles, this gadget simply has no equal.

However, despite all the advantages that Google Tensor gives when taking photos, one thing has remained unchanged - it is still a very hot chipset with all the problems that follow from this. Yes, and 18W fast charging technology in our time looks very modest.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra

• Screen: 6.81 inches, AMOLED, 3200x1440, 120Hz
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
• Memory: 12 GB RAM / 256 GB permanent
• Cameras: 50 MP + 48 MP + 48 MP, front - 20 MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh

The freshest is not always the best. So Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, in our opinion, remains the best Xiaomi camera phone, confidently entering the top camera phones of 2022, despite the release of a new generation of the company's flagships. A similar opinion, by the way, is shared by DXOMark specialists, who also highly appreciated the photo capabilities of the Ultra. Moreover, the price of a smartphone looks very tasty.

Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra deservedly took its place in the top thanks to a huge 50-megapixel main sensor and adequate software algorithms. And in the company with him, two 48-megapixel cameras are working - a wide-angle and a telephoto lens with 5x optical and 120x digital zoom. The smartphone also has its own "chip" - an additional screen on the back, which is very convenient to use as a viewfinder when taking selfies from the rear camera.

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

• Screen: 6.8 inches, Dynamic AMOLED, 3088x1440, 120Hz
• Processor: Samsung Exynos 2200
• Memory: 12 GB RAM / 512 GB permanent
• Cameras: 108 MP + 12 MP + 10 MP + 10 MP, front - 40 MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is not so different from the Galaxy S21 Ultra, but the cost of smartphones in Russian retail is almost equal, and now buying the previous model of the line is no longer so profitable.

A smartphone has a lot of advantages. It is equipped with a large 108-megapixel main sensor, with excellent shooting quality in any conditions. But the most interesting, in our opinion, are the two telephoto lenses of the gadget, one of which supports a quite standard 3x zoom, and the other can shoot with a 10x optical zoom. And it can come in handy in the most unexpected situations. For example, when shooting birds that do not let them get close to you from a distance of 3-4 meters from you.

One Plus 10 Pro

• Screen: 6.7 inches, AMOLED, 3216x1440, 120Hz
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen1
• Memory: 8 GB RAM / 256 GB permanent
• Cameras: 48 MP + 50 MP + 8 MP, front - 32 MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh

The OnePlus 10 Pro's 48MP main camera is great for daytime photography and performs quite well.at night, and the smartphone's 3.3x optical zoom telephoto lens is superior to anything you can find at this price point. Nor will you be disappointed by the device's 50-megapixel width, which can shoot at a 100-degree field of view with minimal distortion, or switch to 150 degrees if you're willing to put up with the pains of most wide-angle sensors.

True, it should be understood that the OnePlus 10 Pro in any case falls short of the leading iPhone 13 Pro Max, Huawei P50 Pro, and Google Pixel 6 Pro. But the price of this smartphone is much lower.

OPPO Find X5 Pro

• Screen: 6.7 inches, AMOLED, 3216x1440, 120Hz
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen1
• Memory: 12 GB RAM / 256 GB permanent
• Cameras: 50 MP + 50 MP + 13 MP, front - 32 MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh

Launched in early 2022, OPPO Find X5 Pro combines a nice design, top chipset Snapdragon 8 Gen1, a superb 3216x1440 pixel high-resolution AMOLED display with an adaptive refresh rate that can change from 1 to 120 Hz, and of course a great set of cameras to please any amateur photographer.

Two 50-megapixel cameras are installed here at onceSony IMX766 sensor with wide-angle optics in one of them, each of which is capable of capturing excellent shots. Not least thanks to the dedicated MariSilicon X neuro processor. The weak side of the smartphone was a 13-megapixel telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom, which cannot compete with competitors in either quality or performance.

vivo X50

• Screen: 6.56 inches, AMOLED, 2376x1080, 90 Hz
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 730
• Memory: 8 GB RAM / 128 GB permanent
• Cameras: 48 MP + 13 MP + 8 MP + 5 MP, front - 32 MP
• Battery: 4200 mAh

And the Vivo X50 model completes our top camera phones. This is far from the most recent smartphone in our selection, but over the years the gadget's capabilities have not faded at all, and it is still considered an excellent camera phone with a very good set of cameras. There is a 48MP primary sensor, a 13MP wide sensor, and an 8MP telephoto lens. Well, they were accompanied by a 5-megapixel macro module. In general, the device offers a whole set of cameras for creativity and shoots well both day and night. And all this for quite reasonable money.

As for other features of the smartphone, it uses a mid-range Snapdragon 730 chipset with 8 GB of RAM, a 6.56-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2376x1080 pixels, and a 4200 mAh battery, which, despite its low capacity by modern standards, is quiet enough for 1.5-2 days of work.