8 megapixel mega shootout: Picture this

Introduction

In a time honored tradition, we have the latest and greatest cameraphones lined up and ready to shoot for the top. It's been a while, we know. The last time we had a taste of 8MP sharpshooting action was in the distant 2008. 8MP then and 8MP now, but things cannot be more different.

The six contenders in our 8MP shootout

Today we're looking at smartphones only. They excel at everything they do, but we focus on their imaging skills, in both stills and high-definition video.

We're looking for the best cameraphone among some of the industry's finest smartphones. This is not a battle of platforms and ideologies. This time around we're not interested in all-round skill and user experience. All the participants in this challenge are under strict instructions to shoot. And they will be shooting to kill.

Let's meet our contenders. The brand new iPhone 4S seems to be the one to look out for, but the Samsung Galaxy S II has had a consistently excellent record so far. Then there's the Sony Ericsson Xperia arc S and the latest HTC Sensation XE. The outstanding Nokia N9 and the Windows Phone heavyweight HTC Titan are also in the ring.

Over time, we've developed various tests to assess the performance of each camera and we'll be using those to suss out the best 8MP sharpshooter.

One more look at the six 8MP shooters before we begin

Video quality will also play a huge role in our judgment, but we have a sneaking suspicion that the still and video camera quality are linked.

Starting with the basics, we'll look at the features each phone offers. Then we move on to our series of image quality tests.