At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, we got to see a lot of really cool stuff. One thing a lot of the new devices had in common though was amazing camera setups. So here are our top picks of some of the most beefed up shooters we saw at the conference.
The Mi 9 looks like any other flagship released these days. But underneath that nondescript exterior lies a pretty awesome triple camera setup. It's comprised of a 48MP primary camera, a 12MP telephoto lens, and a 16MP wide-angle shooter. On top of that, it's priced at just about Rs 36,000 for the 6GB/64GB version, and about Rs 40,000 for the 6GB/128GB, making it one of the best camera phones in the mid-range price segment.
Nokia has really pushed the envelope with the PureView 9, giving it a staggering 5 rear shooters, arranged in a circular pattern with the LED flash and light sensor. All five cameras feature a 12MP sensor with an f/1.8 lens. Two of these shoot in RGB and the other three in monochrome. The way this setup works is, when you hold down the shutter button, all five cameras shoot at different exposure levels, and the images are then merged into a single shot in post processing, to give you the best details and lighting in the scene in a 60MP photo. The device will release in the US first in March for Rs 49,000, so it hopefully won't be much more expensive here in India.
We don't really know the specs of the MateX for sure, but it features here because of how much promise it holds. Despite it being the company's first foldable device, it doesn't skimp on the cameras. The company has said the device will have four cameras at launch. But whether two or three on the rear, it still becomes very important for one reason. When the device folds into phone mode, it has a screen on each side. That means your subject can see what they look like as you click their photo. It will however be priced at about Rs 1,85,000.
The LG G8 ThinQ comes with a triple rear camera setup, a 12MP primary and telephoto lens, and a 16MP super-wide angle. The front meanwhile has a single 8MP lens. This front camera though will have depth-sensing capability, meaning it will be able to do a Face Unlock like the iPhone X. More importantly though, it also has something called Hand ID, which uses infrared light to read the veins in your hand to unlock. Unfortunately no release date or price tag on this yet.
OneLeaks
This one makes the list just because of sheer spec-impressions. There are no confirmations yet, but rumours indicate a triple camera setup with a 16MP telephoto lens, a 0.3MP ToF lens for bokeh, and a massive 52MP primary shooter.
Though we've not seen the actual device yet, the Oppo F11 Pro did get an exciting teaser at MWC in the form of its 10x "lossless" zoom. Optical zoom, which makes for a clearer photo than the digital zoom normally used in smartphone cameras, moves two lenses closer and apart to adjust their focal lengths. The F11 Pro, to get around space constraints, uses a hybrid zoom system. It features a wide-angle 16mm lens, a 48MP camera, and a telephoto lens that goes up to 160mm.