Flashbacks: the phones that revolutionized mobile cameras, part 1

28 February 2021
We look at the phones that were the first to reach important milestones in the history of mobile phone cameras.

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Shui8, 01 Mar 2021Would like to see the comparison between Vivo 60 Pro+ again... moreI've seen some Youtube comparisons as well as some full resolution daylight/lowlight samples from X60 Pro+. I must say, the night time performance in auto really impressed me - noises and flares/glares from light sources are well controlled, exposure is spot on and there's an abundance of details packed in the image. I really like the colours too, though I can see the red is oversaturated (there's a chance that turning off AI will fix this issue). It's a seriously great camera and I'm looking forward to see someone pitting it against Mate 40 Pro, too.

    Anonymous, 01 Mar 2021A monochrome sensor grabs up to 200% more light than colour... moreAnd then there's the fact that aligning information from 5 cameras becomes increasingly harder when shooting at closer subjects as the parallax between each lens get more severe. In hindsight, that was ambitious yet at the same time incredibly flawed idea to begin with.

      Anonymous, 01 Mar 2021Nexus 5x and 6P had way better hardware than iphone. Both ... moreiPhone X still had a 1/2.9 inch sensor.

        first with image stabilization (albeit eis)- lg viewty 2007
        first with mechanical shutter (not sure)- se k800i
        first with ois- lumia 920

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          • Anonymous
          • pQr
          • 01 Mar 2021

          Anonymous, 01 Mar 2021The active sensor area is actually 61% larger and the Nexus... moreAlso see youtu.be/92fgcUNCHic at 40:20 , though note that this is about the Nexus 5, which was released in 2013, my post was about the Nexus 5x, which was released in autumn 2015.

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            • Shui8
            • KZK
            • 01 Mar 2021

            Anonymous, 01 Mar 2021"In theory , Nokia 9 should have had the strongest low... moreWould like to see the comparison between Vivo 60 Pro+ against RYYB sensor from Huawei P40/Mate 40, Auto shoot out, without the use of Night Mode. According to Anandtech, Mate 40 are currently the best in low light capabilities in terms of DR.

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              • Anonymous
              • pQr
              • 01 Mar 2021

              Anonymous, 01 Mar 2021A monochrome sensor grabs up to 200% more light than colour... more"In theory , Nokia 9 should have had the strongest low light performance of all phones."
              Currently, the Vivo X60 Pro+ main camera captures the largest amount of light per time. It captures 5.1 times as much light per time as a single RGB camera of the Nokia 9, so yes, the Nokia 9 actually captures more light per time as it has three monochrome cameras and two RGB cameras. But then you also need to count all pixels. Apparently, each camera has 12 megapixels, so the amount of light is distributed over 60 megapixels, which causes read noise. That's a reason, why the raw data will be noisier.
              Regarding noise, the technique of the Nokia 9 is actually not really better than combining five 12 megapixel photos from a single camera (if we ignore that some sensors are monochrome).
              Therefore, each camera has to combine multiple photos, otherwise this technique doesn't necessarily have a noise advantage (apart from moving objects). The different positions of the cameras is also a problem, some cameras can see things that other cameras can not see, etc

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                • Anonymous
                • pQr
                • 01 Mar 2021

                Anonymous, 01 Mar 2021Nexus 5x and 6P had way better hardware than iphone. Both ... moreThe active sensor area is actually 61% larger and the Nexus captured 95% more light per time. But this wasn't the reason really. The iPhone 6s and Nexus 5x/6p were released in the same year and the sensor of the iPhone 6s is actually quite good, when I edit dng files. The HDR+ On mode image processing of the Nexus was just far superior and in a completely different league. Much higher dynamic range, much more accurate colors, much better low light photos. The Nexus 5x HDR+ On mode usually combined 8 raw files, therefore it could choose a shorter exposure time per frame and didn't really need OIS. You get much blurrier photos with the iPhone 6s. I have access to both phones.

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                  • Hdubli
                  • v$B
                  • 01 Mar 2021

                  Well Nokia 7650 started it and it hasn't been mentioned

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                    • ME
                    • ncr
                    • 01 Mar 2021

                    What about the Sony Ericsson K750 (2004 and 2mp) that was the first phone with good pictures?

                      I hope GSM Arena revisits the failure of VR in mobile. Samsung and Google already stopped supporting it last year.

                      I'm a little sad that VR became a failure. Not that I loved it because I didn't. I had a S7 edge and got a free Gear VR headset. Used it to watch a couple things (2014's Whiplash and Season 7 finale of The Walking Dead). It was actually pretty cool to be inside a virtual theater or in a living room. But it generally hurt my eyes after 20 minutes.

                      What's weird is I'm actually looking to get a regular S7 just for it because I never threw away my Gear VR. I know Oculus Quest 2 is much better but no way I want to spend $300 for it. It's only to watch movies. Not gaming. So the entry-level way using my Gear VR with a compatible Samsung phone is the best way to experience that virtual theater experience again.

                      Goodbye, VR. I hope it still continues to live on but as a niche segment in gaming and mobile.

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                        • Anonymous
                        • LkB
                        • 01 Mar 2021

                        Anonymous, 01 Mar 2021Regarding image quality, it was the Google Nexus 5x, which ... moreNexus 5x and 6P had way better hardware than iphone. Both 1/2.3" ...
                        Iphone X was first iphone with 1/2.6".
                        Cant compare with old iphones and their 1/3" ..

                        1/2.3" = 29mm2
                        1/3" = 17mm2

                        It is 70% larger ....

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                          • Anonymous
                          • LkB
                          • 01 Mar 2021

                          Kingslayer, 28 Feb 2021Google basically copied HTC One M7's wider angle selfi... moreA monochrome sensor grabs up to 200% more light than colour sensor of same size. It is not just for black/white artistic shots.

                          No bayer filter there, so it takes all the light in without any loss.
                          Black/white photos have higher quality than colourful photos when it comes to details and noise.

                          Wide monochrome sensor is much more useful than ultra wide camera.
                          24/25/26mm can already fit a lot of the scene.

                          In theory , Nokia 9 should have had the strongest low light performance of all phones.
                          Taking info from 5 cameras was too much back then.
                          Maybe SD888 would be able to handle it properly.

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                            • Anonymous
                            • pQr
                            • 01 Mar 2021

                            Regarding the amount of detail from distant objects, the P30 Pro was revolutionary. The P40 Pro is better and the P40 Pro Plus / S21 Ultra might be slightly better than the P40 Pro, but the big change was the P30 Pro. But I am only talking about the hardware, I am against machine learning zoom.

                            Regarding low-light dynamic range, the 2015/2016 Google Nexus 5x was fantastic in its HDR+ On mode, but this was ignored by competitors. The 2018 Huawei P20 Pro was apparently even better regarding low light dynamic range. Only then other manufacturers started to improve their night dynamic range.

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                              • Anonymous
                              • pQr
                              • 01 Mar 2021

                              Regarding image quality, it was the Google Nexus 5x, which was revolutionary in its HDR+ On mode, which could and should be used for every photo. The image quality of the Pixel 5 is still based on the image quality of the Nexus 5x in its HDR+ On mode (I have a Pixel 3a and a Nexus 5x and the Nexus actually takes better daylight photos, jpg dynamic range of the Nexus is slightly better, too). Though the first phone with Google's HDR+ was the Nexus 5.
                              There's really no comparison when you compare an iPhone 6s with a Nexus 5x (in its HDR+ On mode), the Nexus is in a completely different league. The Nexus 5x usually combined eight raw files for a photo.

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                                • Anonymous
                                • 8v1
                                • 28 Feb 2021

                                None of those two phones by LG and HTC were the FIRST DUAL CAMERA...!
                                Samsung made one way way before these two, but it was Korea-only, so...
                                You're wrong as always if you meant it for FIRST EVER, but you're correct if you meant for FIRST DUAL FOR WORLD's MARKET

                                  Google basically copied HTC One M7's wider angle selfie camera for their Pixel 3 / 3 XL. The M8's depth perception wasn't useful though. Neither was the B&W cameras from the Huaweis and Essential Phone unless you enjoy shooting in B&W. Any filter can make them B&W.

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                                    • Carol
                                    • nUF
                                    • 28 Feb 2021

                                    Anonymous, 28 Feb 2021"The Nokia 808 PureView was the first phone to use pix... moreWell,you know s'''t,that's for sure.

                                      Thanks for making me nostalgic again. The fun we have had with a 6300 or P910 or K750 or K790 is unmatched. Even though when I look at the photos now taken from those phones it looks like total crap but that nostalgia is incomparable. Those were the true golden era and we are never going to get back those sweet memories ever again no matter how hard we try.

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                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 0p}
                                        • 28 Feb 2021

                                        Kingslayer, 28 Feb 2021I think back in 2016, you can make a case wide-angle was co... moreSome brands just wanna please dxomark, not costumers.
                                        Having those "zoom" (I call "zoom" because definition of zoom is variable FL) using 5, 8 or 10MP is as bad as having low MP for main camera. (Yes, I know that 8MP at 250mm is better than high MP + digital zoom from 26, 81 or 120mm). Results are still crappy, even on tablet screen.

                                        Too bad good ideas are not used in favor of design.

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