Fancy yourself the next mobile Ansel Adams? Take a gander at our Top 5 Camera Phone countdown!
If your primary uses for a phone consist of making calls, taking pictures, and text messaging those pictures to everyone you know, then you're going to want to take heed to our Top 5 Camera Phone countdown. As part of our Expert Guides, we give you the no B.S. low down on which phones in the industry offer the best image quality. You won't find big names like the HTC EVO 4G or Motorola Droid X in this list because their test images did not make the cut compared to the fearsome 5 that we've rounded up. After all, one of our specialties centers on reviewing all genres of digital cameras, so we're approaching this Top 5 countdown with the most discerning eye. The results might be shocking.
#5: T-Mobile myTouch 4G
Two factors led to the T-Mobile myTouch 4G's #5 slot on our countdown, and those two factors were low light sensitivity and camera interface. For some reason, the mighty myTouch 4G (Full Review) managed to outshine its competitors when the lights dimmed, even while shooting 720p HD video. The phone's 5-megapixel camera also gave us a solid performance in bright light, and its camera interface was stocked to the brim with useful shooting features and filters. Although we had glitch issues with our myTouch 4 test unit, the phone should be a viable option for those looking to snap away.
#4: HTC EVO Shift 4G
The 5-megapixel sensor with 720p has become the standard amongst phones, but the HTC EVO Shift 4G actually lived up to its video quality, amidst a sea of lackluster HD wannabes. Although the EVO Shift 4G (Full Review) could have used some help in the audio recording department—as many HTC phones do—the bright light 720p quality was all the rage. Still images were great in bright light as well, and the phone's LED flash came to the rescue in low light. The HTC EVO Shift 4G is testament that cameras are gradually improving within the smartphone market, and the phone ranks among the better snappers we've seen.
#3: BlackBerry Style
For some peculiar reason, the newer BlackBerrys we tested this year gave us the best image performances next to our #1 phone on this list. Still image quality was stellar for a phone, and low light sensitivity was greater than countless competitors. With a 5-megapixel camera and LED flash, the BlackBerry Style could handle multiple shooting environments with dedicated scene modes and it received the updated BlackBerry 6 gallery. Even though the BlackBerry Style (Full Review) could only capture videos at a maximum 640x480 (VGA) resolution, we still preferred the video quality to peers that flaunted subpar 720p HD video.
#2: BlackBerry Bold 9780
Okay, we'll admit it. We honestly could not find any phones that exhibited a better still image performance than a BlackBerry, save our top dog in this competition. Natural colors, crisp resolution, and promising low light sensitivity led us to praise BlackBerry for integrating a quality 5-megapixel camera with LED flash into the BlackBerry Bold 9780 (Full Review). We liked shooting with the Bold a tad more than the Style because of its more ergonomic candybar design. After spending a full day analyzing all of the phones we've ever reviewed and comparing them, the new batch of BlackBerrys can only be beat by one device.
#1: iPhone 4
And that device is the iPhone 4! Yes folks, it's true. No other phone has been able to match the superior resolution, color palette, or crisp detail brought on by Steve Jobs' current pride and joy. We compared the 5-megapixel iPhone 4 to all of the Galaxy S phones and it won, hands down. The iPhone also managed to trounce the rest of the phones we tested after it, and set the bar quite high for the competition. Its 720p HD video actually looks like HD, and was the only phone to pull that off. With a simplistic touch focus/exposure/white balance system, the iPhone 4 (Full Review) is also the most intuitive camera phone on the market. Let's not forget about the countless third party camera applications that enhance shooting with filters and additional manual controls. The iPhone is definitely the phone to beat when it comes to shooting.
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