Best new camera phone?

broona · 4 Nov 2025 at 21:51

Looking to upgrade my Honor Magic5 Pro in the next few months, it's been brilliant, but I fancy a new toy.

Camera is top priority, the Magic5 takes excellent photos, so I'm looking for something at least as good, any recommendations please?

radderfire · 4 Nov 2025 at 22:22

iPhone 17, (or Pro Max if you can afford it), you won't be disappointed.

broona · 5 Nov 2025 at 06:13

radderfire said:
iPhone 17, (or Pro Max if you can afford it), you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for the reply, but I can't stand IOS, so it has to be Android.

radderfire · 5 Nov 2025 at 11:42

How about the new Google Pixel 10 Pro or Pro XL? The cameras are very good.

Also, possibly coming soon (not sure when, maybe next year for the UK), is a new Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, which is a very good phone. I have a low-end Xiaomi phone, a Redmi Note 14 Pro, and for the money it's excellent (although the camera isn't the best, as expected).

broona · 5 Nov 2025 at 12:36

radderfire said:
How about the new Google Pixel 10 Pro or Pro XL? The cameras are very good.

Also, possibly coming soon (not sure when, maybe next year for the UK), is a new Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, which is a very good phone. I have a low-end Xiaomi phone, a Redmi Note 14 Pro, and for the money it's excellent (although the camera isn't the best, as expected).

I've had 4 or 5 Xiaomi phones over the years, always great apart from the camera, but the 17 looks much better in that department.

I was thinking possibly :-

Honor Magic8 Pro
Google Pixel 10 XL
Vivo X300 Pro
Oppo Find X9 Pro
Xiaomi 17 Pro Max

Jiffy · 25 Nov 2025 at 19:00

I don't think there's one phone that wins in every department. Some are better at low light, dynamic range, telephoto, etc. I have a 9 Pro XL and am happy with the camera. This site helped me choose:

Smartphone Ranking | DXOMARK

The DXOMARK scores in the rankings below reflect the device’s performance and the quality of the user experience.

www.dxomark.com

kona786 · 25 Nov 2025 at 21:01

broona said:
I've had 4 or 5 Xiaomi phones over the years, always great apart from the camera, but the 17 looks much better in that department.

I was thinking possibly :-

Honor Magic8 Pro
Google Pixel 10 XL
Vivo X300 Pro
Oppo Find X9 Pro
Xiaomi 17 Pro Max

X300 pro Would be my choice. In fact I'm very much looking forward to the X300 Ultra.

Raymond Lin · 27 Nov 2025 at 09:20

kona786 said:
X300 pro Would be my choice. In fact I'm very much looking forward to the X300 Ultra.

I was taking photos using the Vivo X200 Ultra for a friend, of her....the fricking thing died in my hand. The board is burnt (took it to a repair center, she lives in HK)...She blames me for "taking photos too fast" and hasn't spoken to me in 3 days!

What kind of phone just explodes inside because I tapped the shutter for the camera a few times in a row?

Granted, the photos out of it is great, leading up to it I was paying compliments of it for days but it just shouldn't die like that.

kona786 · 27 Nov 2025 at 09:24

Raymond Lin said:
I was taking photos using the Vivo X200 Ultra for a friend, of her....the fricking thing died in my hand. The board is burnt (took it to a repair center, she lives in HK)...She blames me for "taking photos too fast" and hasn't spoken to me in 3 days!

What kind of phone just explodes inside because I tapped the shutter for the camera a few times in a row?

Granted, the photos out of it is great, leading up to it I was paying compliments of it for days but it just shouldn't die like that.

You're cursed I tell ya!

Haha. Unless you've done the same thing on a few Vivo models then I can't see it being anything more than bad luck.

It's under warranty right?

Raymond Lin · 27 Nov 2025 at 09:26

kona786 said:
You're cursed I tell ya!

Haha. Unless you've done the same thing on a few Vivo models then I can't see it being anything more than bad luck.

It's under warranty right?

It should be, it is only 6 months old.

It isn't funny....she lost the photos from it and is crying, actually distraught. I feel guilty as a result. I am on a flight tomorrow to HK and knowing my luck I won't get to see her and will just be myself in HK for a week. I even promise her I will replace it with a S25 Ultra but it won't bring the photos back.

It will be funny if the photos are safe but right now...I am cursing my luck. Why me in that moment? Why that phone...

kona786 · 27 Nov 2025 at 09:35

Ah right. Yeah that sucks. Man you really threw salt in the wounds offering her a a peasant level camera s25u in comparison.

Hopefully the photos are safe. What is she doing not having cloud backup on!

Damn she really is hung up on this even after a few days. What can I say... IMO she should really just see the positives... Something way worse could have happened.

Raymond Lin · 27 Nov 2025 at 09:54

kona786 said:
Ah right. Yeah that sucks. Man you really threw salt in the wounds offering her a a peasant level camera s25u in comparison.

Hopefully the photos are safe. What is she doing not having cloud backup on!

Damn she really is hung up on this even after a few days. What can I say... IMO she should really just see the positives... Something way worse could have happened.

She has a Samsung S21 Ultra, but it's "full", and 6 months ago she bought this Vivo because her best friend recommended it. He got it for her from over the border in China and apparntly it doesn't accept the network from HK so her sim card doesn't work in it....hence she has been using it tethered to her S21 Ultra and using the Vivo mostly as a digital camera.....so, no cloud back up.

The whole thing is a crappy storm of all the worst possible possibilities at once.

It happened in Moomin Park in Japan, she LOVES Moomin and there was an actor dressed as a character and we waited for a photo with her and it together so when it was her turn instead of using my Fuji X100VI, I thought she wanted to have her phone used to take it so she will have it, since I have been paying compliment of it all trip...all good intentions.

Then after a few tap, the screen went black...

kona786 · 27 Nov 2025 at 10:30

Raymond Lin said:
She has a Samsung S21 Ultra, but it's "full", and 6 months ago she bought this Vivo because her best friend recommended it. He got it for her from over the border in China and apparntly it doesn't accept the network from HK so her sim card doesn't work in it....hence she has been using it tethered to her S21 Ultra and using the Vivo mostly as a digital camera.....so, no cloud back up.

The whole thing is a crappy storm of all the worst possible possibilities at once.

It happened in Moomin Park in Japan, she LOVES Moomin and there was an actor dressed as a character and we waited for a photo with her and it together so when it was her turn instead of using my Fuji X100VI, I thought she wanted to have her phone used to take it so she will have it, since I have been paying compliment of it all trip...all good intentions.

Then after a few tap, the screen went black...

Yeah I can soo how that would hurt. Unlucky dude. I sure she'll come around eventually.

Raymond Lin · 27 Nov 2025 at 10:33

kona786 said:
Yeah I can soo how that would hurt. Unlucky dude. I sure she'll come around eventually.

I hope so, I really like her.....her last message she cried while saying in the lines of (translated) "I am really upset and mad, it's not your fault but it is also your fault. I can't talk to you now while I am like this"

Anyway…I wouldn’t recommend a Vivo base on my own experience!

kona786 · 27 Nov 2025 at 10:37

Raymond Lin said:
I hope so, I really like her.....her last message she cried while saying in the lines of (translated) "I am really upset and mad, it's not your fault but it is also your fault. I can't talk to you now while I am like this"

Anyway…I wouldn’t recommend a Vivo base on my own experience!

It really isn't your fault. She seems to be overly emotional.

Raymond Lin · 27 Nov 2025 at 10:44

kona786 said:
It really isn't your fault. She seems to be overly emotional.

Technically it isn't my fault as I didn't drop the phone or anything like that and she seems to tie her identity really closely with her photos. It just happens to happened in my hands.

I am only just starting to get to know her (and this isn't the thread or forum), but there is obviously something deep down that happened in the past. I mean it's only photos from last 6 months...and as for the Japan photos, I took most of it from my Fuji camera and up until that point, even the day before, I have been copying a lot of her photos from her phone into mine over an app call Easyshare (kinda like Airdrop), so not all the photos from Japan were lost.

Anyway, I am on a plane tomorrow, 9 days in HK, was going to spend every minute with her but right now it looks like it'll just be me. I messaged one of her friends to ask if I could pass on the S25 Ultra and give it to her. That would be the plan if she avoids me all week.

Then i will draw a line under it, if she can't see pass this as just an accident then I have to question whether it is worth it. Which would be a shame because how we met up to this point honestly is out of a movie, if I put it into a script, you wouldn't believe it.

kona786 · 27 Nov 2025 at 11:03

Sound unreal man and I can see how it's a delicate situation. If it were me I'd let her cool off and see how it plays. The honeymoon period always wears off at some point. Only a lucky few carry it on for years and years.

Raymond Lin · 27 Nov 2025 at 11:13

kona786 said:
Sound unreal man and I can see how it's a delicate situation. If it were me I'd let her cool off and see how it plays. The honeymoon period always wears off at some point. Only a lucky few carry it on for years and years.

I can show you sample photos, she loves it because the AI does "things" to the skintone that she loves. It has a level of HDR applied that can be just right and better than my camera when viewed on a phone, which is what most people do anyway. The bokeh in the post part, looks passable even in selfie mode. Sometimes it fails spectacularly but it's fine for a "phone".

It's full size so will put it behind a spoiler.

(you can see a moomin character there by her bag)

SonicSW20 · 27 Nov 2025 at 11:14

Smartphone Ranking | DXOMARK

The DXOMARK scores in the rankings below reflect the device’s performance and the quality of the user experience.

www.dxomark.com

kona786 · 27 Nov 2025 at 11:21

Raymond Lin said:
I can show you sample photos, she loves it because the AI does "things" to the skintone that she loves. It has a level of HDR applied that can be just right and better than my camera when viewed on a phone, which is what most people do anyway. The bokeh in the post part, looks passable even in selfie mode. Sometimes it fails spectacularly but it's fine for a "phone".

(you can see a moomin character there by her bag)

Yeah looks great. Vivo are really peaking my interest. She looks hot too. Hope it all works out man.