Mobile phone with good camera 2022 (1 Viewer)

[jurek]

Hi,
I wonder what is a mobile phone with very good camera for phonescoping. I prefer Samsung or Google, not Apple. I read about some models, e.g. Google Pixel and Samsung galaxy S22, but they seem to suffer from weak batteries (obviously a problem in the field). If possible, I would prefer a smaller phone, not something huge.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I have a Google Pixel 6 and it has a very decent camera. I've not used it much for phonescoping but it can certainly do a decent job. A disadvantage might be the lack of dedicated adapters, so you need to use a generic adapter. The phone is generally excellent, although the finger print sensor is sometimes a bit slow.

 

[Richard D]

Most modern phones have a decent camera that will perform well if you can get the alignment right. The main problem is they often have multiple lenses grouped together so getting a good alignment with one lens can be tricky.

 

[jurek]

How is the battery at Google Pixel? I charge my camera overnight and would not want to carry a battery in the field.

Adapter is no problem for me. My mate has a 3D printer and can produce an adapter for by printing a custom-sized ring and gluing it to a cheap camera cover. It works perfectly.

I currently use Samsung Galaxy 7 and the camera is good for usually pictures, but birds normally come as slighly blurry and weakly colored. Especially bad are white birds against vegetation - there is lots of photogenic Great Egrets and they always come as burned uniform white. On the other hand, I like its size.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

How is the battery at Google Pixel? I charge my camera overnight and would not want to carry a battery in the field.

Adapter is no problem for me. My mate has a 3D printer and can produce an adapter for by printing a custom-sized ring and gluing it to a cheap camera cover. It works perfectly.

I currently use Samsung Galaxy 7 and the camera is good for usually pictures, but birds normally come as slighly blurry and weakly colored. Especially bad are white birds against vegetation - there is lots of photogenic Great Egrets and they always come as burned uniform white. On the other hand, I like its size.

I would say the battery life is good. I'm fine for a full day even if I use it quite a bit. I don't think it charges as fast as some but, like most modern smartphones, is still pretty quick.

I think there's a new version of the Pixel out. I'm not sure how that compares to the 6.

 

[kawwauser]

i have a google pixel 3 and love the pics it takes in all lighting ,never used it for phonescoping tho

 

[Trinovid]

Since the thread title didn't specify, I'm happy to report that there was a night and day difference when I upgraded from an older iPhone to the 12 Mini last year, and now have the reportedly 'better' 13 Mini on the way. The biggest difference was for shooting in low light and I'm hoping to get an additional boost also in zoomed clarity.

 

[Ruff-Leg]

I use my Pixel 4XL (bigger battery) all day long in the field - eBird, digiscoping, recording. No battery problem.

I recently saw Red-tailed Hawk capture a coot in midair, dropping to the ground with prey. Digiscoped it with my Nikon Monarch and it's 38x eyepiece. Pretty nice results. PhoneSkope adapter.