Smartphone cameras have come a long way in terms of photography capabilities compared to digital cameras. A webinar hosted by Counterpoint Research revealed that the imaging system continues steep advances as software drives innovation in a new direction. Honor, DXOMARK, Qualcomm, and Eugenio Recuenco were the guests of the webinar and it focused on various topics like smartphone camera trends, OEM imaging comparisons, and more. 

The report states that at the upper end of the market flagship camera counts are flattening, focal lens lengths are been stretched and image processing demands are pushing chipset makers. Since 2019, the average number of camera counts per smartphone is below three. OEMs like Honor are adopting sophisticated computational photography techniques to keep up with the pace of advancement. 

Beyond megapixels and camera counts, there is an increasing importance of software in camera systems. They offer features like multi-frame and multi-camera fusion techniques. Qualcomm VP says that software and algorithm-based photography means processing power is paramount for smartphone camera performance to deliver extreme image signal and neural processing. 

DXOMARK’s Director says that Honor’s Magic4 Ultimate makes the best use of multi-camera fusion computational photography. 

Related: 

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• Thailand Smartphone Shipments Saw a 10% Dip in the Q1 2022, Samsung Leading Brand: Counterpoint

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Over the past few years, DxOMark has turned out to be an important part of smartphone benchmarks. Almost all of the new flagship models that are released in the market are subjected to their thorough camera tests. But there are some smartphone companies who opt out of DxOMark tests, and OPPO is one of them.

Earlier today, OPPO’s VP, Brian Shen, questioned the significance of DxOMark benchmarks in today’s smartphone market. While talking to his followers on Weibo, he said that there was no need to set a specific standard when it comes to smartphone cameras. He questioned whether it was right to tune every smartphone camera to one particular standard.

“Do you really need DXO? Do all cameras have to be tuned to the same standard?

I mean, there may be a need for rating agencies, but does anything as subjective as taking a picture have to be set to the same standard? Is it right To beautify everyone into one style?” Brian posted on his Weibo earlier today.

Interestingly, OPPO smartphones are never rated on DxOMark’s camera tests. As a result, you won’t find a single flagship from the company on DxOMark’s best smartphone camera list. On the other hand, you’ll find almost everyone else, including Huawei, Xiaomi, Samsung, Sony and even OnePlus on DxOMark’s chart.

This goes on to prove that most companies don’t mind getting their smartphones rated from the benchmarking platform. While I agree one specific standard is never the best way to judge a smartphone camera, what DxOMark gives us is the opportunity to compare the best phones out there on a standard benchmark. Understanding how different smartphone cameras work in a set environment does give us an idea of where it stands among the competition.

• RELATED: Meitu’s beauty-focused selfie flagship T9 finally rated on DxOMark

That said, some might prefer Google Pixel 3’s camera (DxoMark score: 107) over Huawei Mate 20 Pro (DxOMark score: 109). So there’s definitely a hint of personal preference to a smartphone’s camera performance. But it’s unlikely that you would end up finding Asus Zenfone 5’s camera (much lower down the DxoMark chart at 90 points) better than say something like the Galaxy Note 9 (featuring one of the top DxoMark scores — 103).

What are your thoughts? Should we stop giving too much importance to DxOMark ratings?

(Source)

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