Smartphone Camera Shootout – Galaxy S3 vs Xperia S vs One X vs Xperia P vs iPhone 4s

No matter how many specs a phone has to offer, one of the biggest factors that affect our choice when we’re buying a new phone is the Camera! We put 5 smartphones to the test! Here they are (We rank them in 3 categories) –

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Outdoor- Close-up, Brightly Lit, Macro
Xperia S 5/5	Xperia P 4.5/5	Galaxy S3 4/5	iPhone 4S 3/5	One X  2.5/5
Indoor- Dim Lighting, Macro
iPhone 4s 4.5/5	One X  4/5	Xperia P 3/5	GS3  2.5/5	Xperia S 2/5
Outdoor- Far focus, Brightly Lit
Xperia S 5/5	One X 4/5	Xperia P 4/5	GS3  3.5/5	iPhone 4s  3/5

1. Outdoor – Close-up 

Undoubtedly the best, the Xperia S with its 12MP camera produced an image that even Bharat Nagpal was proud of! Rich in colour and detail, it was hard to flaw the image. A close second was the Xperia P which clicked the image with a sharp focus and brilliant colours. The S3 delivered an image that was nicely detailed and sharply focussed, though the colours seemed a tad bit brighter than normal. The iPhone 4s captured a rather off-focus image but the colours and detailing were top-notch! On the bottom of the pile was the One X, not too surprisingly producing a dull and off-focus image. 

2. Indoor – Dim Lighting

The iPhone 4S was the best in this category, with an image which had had perfect focus, brilliant colours and amazing detail! Out of the rest the One X surprised us by clicking a near perfect picture, which was lagging just a bit in detail. The Xperia P and Galaxy S3 followed with images which were didn’t have accurate colours but decent detailing. Last came the Xperia S, which disappointed us a lot as we expected more from it’s camera.

3. Outdoor – Far Focus 

The Xperia S was once again the best, evenly focused, accurate colours, perfect image. Tied for second place were the One X and the Xperia P, with high detail images which were slightly off-colour. The Galaxy S3 produced an image which even though wasn’t as detailed as the rest, was perfectly focused. And at the bottom was the iPhone 4s, with an image which wasn’t focused or detailed, only the colours were accurate.  

Summary 

Xperia S  (12/15)

With its 12-megapixel camera, the Xperia S is THE best of the lot when it comes to outdoor shooting, though indoor shooting could have been better. 

Xperia P (11.5/15)

A close second was the S’s sibling, the Xperia P, which produced images that were sharply focused and amazingly detailed.

iPhone 4S & One X (10.5/15) 

While the iPhone performed excellently indoors, it let us down in outdoor shooting with slightly off-focus images. The One X too was not as impressive as we would like it to be.  

Galaxy S3 (10/15)

The biggest disappointment was the Galaxy S3 which boasts of an 8-MP camera but did not produce any exceptional image.