Which cameraphone is king of natural bokeh?

23 June 2022


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Excellent article. Personally I find the artificial bokeh done through portrait mode and AI extremely ugly, so this was an interesting read.

    Nice experiment, AI blur is far away from natural blur. I just hope one day there will be no need to buy an entry level DSLR/MIRRLEES.

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      • Anonymous
      • Lkg
      • 23 Jun 2022

      Michalis, 23 Jun 2022I kept wondering why manufacturers kept going wider and wid... moreYes. The wider you go, the more corner softness and distortion you have. Obviously a well designed lens can minimize this, but impossible to bring down to zero level.

      Let's suppose 1/1.5" is placed behind 25mm f1.8 lens. The module has X mm thickness.
      Then if you place same sensor behind a 35mm f1.8 lens, the thickness is going to be more than X mm.

      This is why the 3rd cameras (50, 54, 60, 70, 80, 125, 135, 240mm) on phones have smaller sensors compared to main camera. With exception on 1iv that has periscope with 1/1.5" cropped to 1/3.5" to achieve 85mm (it is easier and cheaper to get sensor that exists already than making new one 1/3.5" and going through all process of R&D , tests, manufacturing etc)

      Phone makers try the best to keep the 3 modules very similar thickness as possible.

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        • Anonymous
        • gBV
        • 23 Jun 2022

        One needs to stress that background blur and depth of field are not the same thing. The effective diameter = focal length / f-number is important for the background blur whereas the full frame equivalent f-number is important for the depth of field. That's why tele lenses with high f-numbers can give you a lot of background blur, but still with a high depth of field (the entire face is sharp).

          The title should have been fake Bokeh or just bokeh

            Anonymous, 23 Jun 2022Zte has 1/1.76" , not larger sensor. It is the FL th... moreI kept wondering why manufacturers kept going wider and wider with the primary camera and finally I understand. Doesn't the wider lens create more corner softness though?

              DoF is the worst crap photographers have come up with.

              Whoever uses it hates everyone who's ever going to look at your photos. IRL we can and do focus on everything. On photos with DoF we are forced to look at whatever photographer deemed important and then if you decide to see the rest of the picture GET YOUR EYES DESTROYED by blurry sh*t.

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                • Anonymous
                • Lkg
                • 23 Jun 2022

                If pixel 6 pro was left out, it means results would be too embarassing or phone must be dealing with any bug as always.

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                  • Anonymous
                  • Lkg
                  • 23 Jun 2022

                  Nick Tegrataker, 23 Jun 2022I wonder how much of these results have been affected by po... moreThey cant. When there are brands that apply some processing to raw instead of just pure data from sensor. They cant know if the raw is really raw or not.

                  They know Apple, Google and Vivo do not have real raw. But not how many other do same.

                    I wonder how much of these results have been affected by post-processing - Exynos S22 and S22U are by far the worst offender when it comes to oversharpening and smudging details, and they produce the lousiest bokeh with a lot of worminess when using their main cameras. Magic 4 Pro also seems to apply too much clarity boost on some occasions, resulting in a really contrast-enhanced, busy-looking background on the indoor telephoto shot. The inclusion of RAW samples (Imported to LR, no edits apart from exposure adjustments) from each phone would've been nice.

                      Mikey, 23 Jun 2022Random question, are you guys planning to do a flagship cam... moreYeah, I would love to see such a comparison as well!

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                        • Anonymous
                        • Lkg
                        • 23 Jun 2022

                        Einnor Diecast, 23 Jun 2022"It has less pixels to process" Optics doesn... moreZte has 1/1.76" , not larger sensor. It is the FL that has benefits here.
                        35mm is great for main camera.

                        When you have a 12-16mm super wide, it is pointless to have main camera as 23-26mm.
                        Phone makers do it because wider lenses decrease size of modules. Modules get slimmer.

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                          • Anonymous
                          • Lkg
                          • 23 Jun 2022

                          Einnor Diecast, 23 Jun 2022Bokeh is not an effect, it is the field of focus, more comm... morePhone makers increase aperture size for more light intake.
                          Background blur is just consequence of the process.

                          But somehow people just think larger aperture = always better.

                          Ignore how awful is for very close shots when part of subject is cut by the blur. Limits of electronic shutter to deal with excess of light etc ..

                            Anonymous, 23 Jun 2022It is very easy to calculate which camera produces the high... moreThis.

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                              • Anonymous
                              • Lkg
                              • 23 Jun 2022

                              Anonymous, 23 Jun 2022It is very easy to calculate which camera produces the high... moreYes. Only needs to convert f to FF equiv. Then do FL/f .

                              It is funny how so many people here think 24mm f1.8 in front of 1/1.56" is same of 24mm f1.8 in front FF sensor.

                              Diameter of aperture on phones are not even 7mm, while on cam lens like 24mm f1.8 is 13.3mm.

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                                • Einnor Diecast
                                • Enc
                                • 23 Jun 2022

                                22niro, 23 Jun 2022Pointless "contest". Axon has the lead simply bec... more"It has less pixels to process"
                                Optics doesn't work like that mate. The main camera has a large sensor, a really bright lens, and a longer focal length of 35mm compared to the other phones' 24mm. Thats why it won

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                                  • AnonD-1048858
                                  • nIX
                                  • 23 Jun 2022

                                  I think the Samsung A03 Core is best for this

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                                    • Einnor Diecast
                                    • Enc
                                    • 23 Jun 2022

                                    travis999, 23 Jun 2022Your poor,sad fools. Please explain why you are so keen on... moreBokeh is not an effect, it is the field of focus, more commonly known as background blur. And no, manufacturers arent trying to get rid of bokeh. Why would they keep releasing lenses with brighter apertures every year if that's the case?

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                                      • Shui8
                                      • XM7
                                      • 23 Jun 2022

                                      AnonD-1042738, 23 Jun 2022Natural Bokeh = Vivo X80 Pro Natural Bokeh from tele len... moreDisagree.

                                      Your assumption are opposite of this article comparison where it says S22 Ultra are the worst one when it comes to natural bokeh.

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                                        • Einnor Diecast
                                        • Enc
                                        • 23 Jun 2022

                                        Farid.Saiyed, 23 Jun 2022Very blur-capable Galaxy disqualified by noise What A Joke.Just look at the pictures yourself. The S22 Ultra's bokeh is clearly inferior to the rest of the pack