Introduction

Smartphone cameras have turned everyone into a photographer. It has become very easy to document life’s moments in a photo or video because a camera is always at hand. Reliance on a smartphone camera means that image quality must be good in various usage conditions, from the easiest to the most challenging one, helping to capture the moment without any difficulty.

Introduced in 2012, the DXOMARK Camera protocol, has been built to provide the casual or professional photographer a comprehensive overview of smartphone camera performance, with the right indicators to help them choose the right product for their needs. By combining measurements reproducing real-life usages run in our labs as well as tests in natural scenes, the overall score is composed of a total of 2 sub-scores: Photo, and Video, allowing for a quick comparison among tested smartphone cameras. For both photo and video, we assess the performance at various focal lengths. Additionally, we include use case scores to reflect real-world scenarios, offering insights into the device’s capabilities in specific contexts such as portrait photography, zoom performance, and low-light shooting.

To keep up with the latest technology trends and usages, DXOMARK regularly updates its protocols and continues to offer exhaustive and meaningful evaluations.

Camera Score Structure

4000

Photos shot

and analyzed

200

Minutes of video

recorded

Learn more about our Use Cases

Photo Main (Wide) 49%

We evaluate the performance of the smartphone when taking still images in a large number of use cases such as friends & family portraits, landscape, close ups, cityscape, architecture, etc.

Our tests are performed :

    • Using the default camera app and its default mode, at 1x zoom mode
    • In an extended range of lighting conditions from 0.1  lux for lowlight to 10000 lux for bright light conditions and even higher for actual outdoor scenes
    • With a tripod or through real or simulated handheld conditions.

To evaluate photo, assessments are made on a total of six technical quality attributes :

Exposure

How well the camera properly adjusts to and captures the brightness of the subject and the background. Face exposure and contrast are also evaluated.

Color

How accurately the camera can reproduce color in a variety of lighting conditions and use cases, as well as how pleasing its color rendering is to its viewers. We particularly focus on white balance, color rendering, color shading, as well as skin tone rendering, which are tested on a large spectrum, from deep to fair to light.

Autofocus

How quickly and accurately the camera can focus on a subject in a variety of lighting conditions. Besides speed, we also evaluate the depth of field adaptation to use cases like group portraits and its capability to capture the instant.

Texture

How well the camera can preserve small and fine details such as those found on object surfaces. A large set of details type is evaluated in all lighting conditions. The level of sharpness is also measured on a moving object, evaluating if the camera freezes well the motion while capturing a high level of details.

Noise

How much noise is present in an image, which is particularly sensitive in low light captures

Artifacts

Any effect appearing in an image which is not present in the original imaged object (distortion, halo effect…)

Important note:

Our range of acceptable renderings for all attributes in various light conditions are based on the findings gathered from our multi-cultural focus groups. We believe that within this inclusive scope, the risk of bias is eliminated when evaluating a smartphone camera for a particular attribute. In keeping with this approach to testing, we do not evaluate manufacturers’ signature renderings.

Photo Bokeh 2%

This sub-score covers the popular yet non default mode often called Portrait or Bokeh in modern smartphones. We evaluate the overall image quality with a simulated depth of field effect.

We check how well the camera separates the subject from the background when taking portraits without accidental blur on the focus plane, as well as the quality of the gradation and naturalness of background blur, which makes the subject stand out. In addition, we evaluate the traditional portrait image quality attributes (such as exposure, color, texture, etc.)

Tests are performed with the bokeh dedicated mode within the camera application.

Photo Telephoto 14%

For this part of the evaluation, we focus specifically on the device’s zoom capabilities particularly its performance using the telephoto lens at up to 350mm (approximately 14x zoom). We assess all aspects of image quality across the entire zoom range, including the presence of artifacts. Each attribute plays a critical role in the overall user experience, so our evaluation is consistent and comprehensive. Some criteria are especially demanding, such as texture preservation at various distances and the device’s ability to maintain a high level of detail throughout different zoom levels. In total, we analyze image quality at 10 distinct zoom distances as part of our photo evaluation.

Photo Ultra-Wide 5%

We evaluate how well the device performs at the widest field of view, zooming out from the standard focal length (from 12mm or 0.5x)

We evaluate all image quality attributes, including artifacts. Every attribute is key in the experience, and we do a homogenous image quality evaluation for the complete ultra-wide range. Some criteria may be more challenging than others. For example: distortion (straight lines appearing curved in an image), face deformation or chromatic aberration, level of detail and level of noise in the field of view.

Video main (Wide) 27%

We evaluate the performance of the smartphone while recording videos in a large number of use cases, various lighting conditions and environments from natural low light to indoor and outdoor conditions.

Our tests are performed:

    • Using the resolution setting and frame rate that provides the best video quality. If a main camera offers 4K video mode but uses 1080p Full HD by default, we’ll select 4K if 4K provides a better image quality (sometimes 4K is not stabilized which lead to a lower image quality).
    • In an extended range of lighting conditions from 0.5 lux for lowlight to 10000 lux for bright light conditions and even higher for actual outdoor scenes
    • With a tripod and  through real or simulated handheld and walk conditions from steady shot to some very challenging walking or even running scenarios.

To evaluate video, we evaluate seven quality attributes, the same as the ones applied for photo, with the addition of stabilization:

Exposure

How well the camera properly adjusts to and captures the brightness of the subject and the background. We also evaluate its adaptation and stability over time.

Color

How accurately the camera can reproduce color in a variety of lighting conditions, as well as how pleasing its color rendering is to its viewers. White Balance adaptation is also measured and evaluated on challenging use cases.

Autofocus

How quickly and accurately the camera can focus on a subject in a variety of lighting conditions. Face tracking capabilities are evaluated in various lighting conditions.

Texture

How well the camera can preserve small details such as those found on object surfaces

Noise

How much noise is present in an image, which is particularly sensitive in low light captures

Artifacts

Any effect appearing in an image which is not present in the original imaged object (distortion, halo effect…)

Stabilization

How well the camera eliminates motions that occur while capturing video walking, running, etc…

Important note:

Our range of acceptable renderings for all attributes in various light conditions are based on the findings gathered from our multi-cultural focus groups. We believe that within this inclusive scope, the risk of bias is eliminated when evaluating a smartphone camera for a particular attribute. In keeping with this approach to testing, we do not evaluate manufacturers’ signature renderings.

Video Telephoto  2%

How well the device zooms in, looking at a telephoto zoom (to 350mm or 14x).
When evaluating zoomed-in video performance, we assess both static and temporal image quality attributes. On the static side, we focus on exposure, color, detail retention, and noise, factors that become increasingly challenging at higher zoom ratios. For temporal aspects, we examine how these qualities evolve over time, including the effectiveness of stabilization, the consistency of autofocus, and the adaptability of exposure and color. Additionally, we evaluate zoom smoothness, how fluidly the device transitions while zooming during video capture, and assess how noticeable the switches are between different camera modules. Tests are run in various lighting environments, from lowlight to bright light conditions

Video Ultra-Wide  1%

How well the device zooms in, looking at a telephoto zoom (to 350mm or 14x).
How well the device performs at the widest field of view, zooming out from the standard focal length (from 12mm or 0.5x).
We evaluate how well the device performs at its widest field of view, particularly when zooming out from the standard focal length to ultra-wide (around 12mm or 0.5x). The assessment focuses on all key image quality attributes such as exposure, color, detail, and distortion specific to ultra-wide performance. Special attention is given to texture retention and the smoothness of the transition when zooming out.

To learn more, explore our closer look article or download the full camera report.

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