Which cameraphone is king of natural bokeh?

23 June 2022


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  • S
  • Samsaak
  • PSB
  • 24 Jun 2022

Indeed Xperia 1 mark IV ....king of natural bokeh with true optical zoom lens + background compression

    Camera phone and natural bokeh is an oxymoron. Lol

      Not to forget, it's also important to know, that periscope cameras got quite interesting bokeh "balls", so the amount of blurr is not everything.

        Anonymous, 24 Jun 2022No. Depth Perspective is not same when you cut photos of hi... moreSo is it the same or not, binned at 5x or not binned at digital 10x...? Used sensor area is different, but so is also bokeh, it's different focal length after all.

          • R
          • Russ
          • r2B
          • 24 Jun 2022

          So the article starts with a nod back to the iPhone 7 Plus yet your comparison doesn’t even include an iPhone?? Very bizarre article, almost like you’re bored.

            • M
            • Maxx
            • Kg%
            • 24 Jun 2022

            GSMarena I hope you can also do a "which cameraphone is king of creamy bokeh?" Not the gaussian blurred kind of bokeh but simulated, pleasant, creamy bokeh. Thank you!

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • d%$
              • 24 Jun 2022

              Huawei bokeh king

                AnonD-1046991, 24 Jun 2022I stick to 808PV it has a real natrual bokeh, Say NO to cam... moreI suggest you to read the article first.

                  Anonymous, 23 Jun 2022They cant. When there are brands that apply some processin... moreAll brands apart from Samsung support an *unprocessed* RAW output from the main as well as all the auxiliary cameras at the API level. All BBK brands, Xiaomi and Xperia can output RAW using the stock camera app, whereas Google and Apple allow you to do the same using a third-party one.

                    I'm keeping my Lumia 1020 around for this exact reason. It was one of the first smartphones to even DO Bokeh correctly.

                      AnonD-1046991, 24 Jun 2022I stick to 808PV it has a real natrual bokeh, Say NO to cam... moreI'm keeping my Lumia 1020 around for the exact same reason - haven't gotten rid of it yet & I don't plan to.

                        • D
                        • AnonD-1046991
                        • wv8
                        • 24 Jun 2022

                        I stick to 808PV it has a real natrual bokeh, Say NO to camera phones contain fake-produced natrual bokeh

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • gBV
                          • 24 Jun 2022

                          allenella, 24 Jun 2022I know these phones are not the list but NOKIA 808, Lumia 1... moreThe Nokia 808 has an effective diameter of 3.34mm. Nowadays that's not special for smartphones anymore (see my list). I can't say how beautiful the bokeh looks, but the amount of background blur (distant backgrounds, constant subject size) can't compete with periscope cameras due to only 3.34mm.

                            I know these phones are not the list but NOKIA 808, Lumia 1020 and 950 XL had bokeh that was more natural than all of these expensive generic phones.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • gBV
                              • 24 Jun 2022

                              Anonymous, 24 Jun 2022From the article: "That's particularly disturbing... moreI want to add that my list is for distant backgrounds (if the background isn't distant, then the blur doesn't depend solely on the effective diameter). And my list includes the periscope camera of the Pixel 6 Pro and of the Huawei Mate 40 Pro Plus (not the main camera).

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • gBV
                                • 24 Jun 2022

                                Anonymous, 23 Jun 2022One needs to stress that background blur and depth of field... moreFrom the article: "That's particularly disturbing on the S22 Ultra, which should be the second best in terms of background blur, but it's not quite delivering - we said there might be outliers."
                                No... Gsmarena, you simply haven't calculated it correctly, the main camera of the S22 Ultra doesn't have a very large effective diameter. Depth of field and background blur are different things. Here's the correct list (for a given subject size) because the background blur depends on the effective aperture diameter (I have also added some other phones):

                                Diameter Phone
                                1. 6.53mm Huawei Mate 40 Pro Plus
                                2. 6.24mm Samsung S21 Ultra 10x
                                5.55mm Samsung S22 Ultra 10x
                                5.43mm Google Pixel 6 Pro
                                5.37mm Xiaomi 11 Ultra 5.2x
                                5.18mm Sony Xperia 1 IV 5.2x
                                4.81mm Honor Magic 4 Pro 3.5x
                                4.44mm Sony Xperia 1 IV 3.5x
                                3.89mm Xiaomi 11 Ultra 1x
                                3.56mm Samsung S22 Ultra 1x
                                3.07mm Honor Magic 4 Pro 1x
                                3.0mm Samsung S22 1x
                                3.0mm Sony Xperia 1 IV 1x
                                2.92mm Samsung Galaxy S22 3x

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • Lkg
                                  • 24 Jun 2022

                                  vrvly, 23 Jun 2022I want to mention that you can get nice bokeh even with sup... moreNo. Depth Perspective is not same when you cut photos of high resolution.
                                  It has nothing to do with resolution.

                                  Background blur does not involve anything to do with megapixel count.
                                  Does not matter if it is 8, 12, 16, 50 or 200MP.

                                    • O
                                    • Otto
                                    • gDe
                                    • 24 Jun 2022

                                    Great article - this is the kind of exceptional stuff I have been loving gsmarena for.
                                    Maybe one thing to consider for the reviewers: some phones seem to apply some sort of "sharpening" of image areas that a slightly out of focus in order to keep a higher DoF. Maybe if you look at the more recent dxomark reviews you will find something along these lines.
                                    Beside that, the Axon 40 ultra really nailed their focal length and is certainly one of the most photographically attractive cameraphones out there. While 35mm is certainly no classic portrait focal length, it is miles better than 23 mm that some modern flagship phones offer nowadays. If they only managed to cram a slightly larger sensor and brighter lens for their Tele module, it would have been great.

                                      I want to mention that you can get nice bokeh even with super wide, depending on what you shoot.
                                      Important is also camera SW, for example on my phone can autofocus get closer, but sometimes what you shoot is impossible to focus on without manual mode.
                                      3rd point I want to make is about hi res mode, getting about the same amount of detail after cropping hi res still, it's like shooting at longer focal length. And guess that bokeh.
                                      Could be the same with digital zoom on hi res sensor, well, as always, it depends on how good is camera processing to make quad Bayer look better.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • Lkg
                                        • 23 Jun 2022

                                        sforhad, 23 Jun 2022Nice experiment, AI blur is far away from natural blur. I j... moreIt will never happen.

                                        GN1 = 72mm2
                                        1" (4:3 format) = 122,9 mm2
                                        Micro 4/3 = 225 mm2
                                        Apsc = 368mm2

                                        Phones have eaten huge part of the market of other electronics by being pretty convenient. They are inferior but do many stuff.

                                        You can have different products to do tasks or just one to do all, but at inferior level.



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