Best camera phone 2021?

Carabosse

Carabosse

Carabosse

Associate
Joined
14 Dec 2021
Posts
8
Location
UK
Hi guys. Newbie here and a keen photographer... although these days I tend to spend more time talking about the subject than actually taking photos.

I have two cameras and two smartphones. I want to get into the position of having one camera and one phone. Too much hardware!

I have read endless reviews on the web and have ended up getting more confused than when I started. So I've come to the experts.... OcUK is highly recommended .

My phones are a Samsung S10e and an Honor Play. I don't regard either of them as suitable camera replacements as neither has an optical telephoto lens.

Can you help me out here. Preferably with your personal experience of phones which may fit the bill as a camera replacement.Thanks. :)
 
Best is subjective, but any of the "flagship" devices (Pixel 6/pro, iPhone, S21 etc) take very good photos. They all have their own style too, which might sway your decision.

Also lol at experts. :cry:
 
The phone won't replace my interchangeable lens system, just my Sony compact.

As a supplementary, would any of you guys buy a used or refurbished phone? Or are issues such as a clapped out battery too much of a risk?
 
I don't like the size of any of the aforementioned phones! Compared with my S10e they are all monsters.

But I realise there's a price to be paid (in every sense) if I want a phone which has good photographic ability/flexibility which for me has to include optical telephoto.
 
Carabosse said:
I don't like the size of any of the aforementioned phones! Compared with my S10e they are all monsters.

But I realise there's a price to be paid (in every sense) if I want a phone which has good photographic ability/flexibility which for me has to include optical telephoto.
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Honestly the iPhone 13 pro while very expensive is also quite compact.
 
I carry my S20 FE with me always and have A3 prints on the wall produced by it, I'm not convinced that a S21 or an Iphone13 would be worth the extra money.

(I'd rather just take my R5 with me ;) )
 
Carabosse said:
What about the Samsung S21 Ultra ?
Click to expand...

I find it very inconsistent to be honest, the main camera is pretty good, the wide OK, the zoom is a bit "meh". The computational stuff with multi-shot HDR is pretty impressive at times I have to say.

Video doesn't look amazing once light levels drop.
 
Carabosse said:
As a supplementary, would any of you guys buy a used or refurbished phone? Or are issues such as a clapped out battery too much of a risk?
Click to expand...
If you buy a refurbished iPhone direct from Apple, you're getting a phone which is as good as a brand spanking new one, complete with a new battery. If you buy one from eBay or Amazon that's 'refurbished', all they've probably done is clean the outside and erase it.
 
Thanks for the comments guys. Very helpful. I have always had Android phones and the idea of switching to iOS makes me just a tad uneasy..... dunno why!

But I am kinda hearing that as an overall photo/video package the iPhone 13 Pro Max is hard to beat?
 
The new snapdragon 8 gen 1 is supposed to have much better image processing the reviews were so compelling I might get a new phone next year... Though I suspect it will only be better on paper but I can hope
 
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