smartphone cameras

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on smartphone cameras:

Moment beefs up whole lens lineup for growing iPhone cameras

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Got an iPhone 13 or newer? The bigger T-Series lenses should suit you.
Got an iPhone 13 or newer? The bigger T-Series lenses should suit you.
Photo: Moment

Moment said Wednesday its whole lineup of popular smartphone cameras lenses is getting bigger and bolder to suit growing handset cameras like iPhone’s, including the upcoming iPhone 15 series.

The new T-Series comprises eight lenses that are new versions of the company’s M-Series, which came out to widespread acclaim in 2017.

Huawei’s latest deceptive ads try the same old camera stunt

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Weibo post busting Huawei for misleading ad
Huawei needs to have more confidence in its smartphone cameras.
Screenshot: Huapeng Zhao/Weibo

The cameras in Huawei smartphones are class-leading. Yet, the company was caught again using a photo shot with a DSLR in an ad to promote pictures produced with their handsets.

Best, of all, the gaffe was discovered by the winner of an iPhone photography contest.

iPhone 11 Pro scores highest in 2019 for video camera

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iPhone 11 Max Pro cameras
The next iOS update will have an additional off switch for Location Services after recently data privacy concerns.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple has seen the rise of competitors launching smartphones with cameras declared by reviewers and consumer labs as surpassing the iPhone.

But the iPhone 11 Pro dismissed some creeping doubts when it launched this fall and it will end 2019 at the top of several recap and best-of lists.

Among the first with its 2019 review is independent lab DxOMark, which tested 31 new smartphones this year and ranked the 11 Pro as its favorite for video.

iOS 13 supercharges photo and video editing

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iOS 13 photo features
Browsing and organizing your photos will be easier with iOS 13.
Screenshot: Apple

WWDC 2019 bug Photographers and filmmakers eagerly awaiting the next generation of iPhone camera got a preview today of the software that will drive it when iOS 13 launches this fall.

iPhone shooters will be treated to a new editing interface that removes camera roll clutter, like screenshots, offers easier organization and browsing, and brings fine-tune editing for brilliance, highlight, noise reduction and sharpness.

Videographers for the first time will be able to rotate footage on the device.

New Samsung smartphone camera sensor is a 64-megapixel monster

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Samsung 64-Mp smartphone camera sensor
How much detail can fit on a half-inch-square canvas? We'll find out.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung says it will begin mass production later this year on a 64-megapixel smartphone camera sensor, the most powerful salvo in the megapixel war among the smartphone companies.

A megapixel-packed half-inch sensor is only as good as the accompanying software and with highly regarded sensors in its current Galaxy smartphones, Samsung’s announcement today makes some rather exciting claims.

Test lab gives iPhone XR top marks for single-cam smartphone

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iPhone XR test
Expensive performing camera in a budget iPhone.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone XR received the highest rating ever for a single-cam smartphone tested by image lab DxOMark.

Apple’s budget option for 2018 held its own against the more-expensive iPhone XS Max in a number of categories. Its score of 101 comes in just four points below that of the iPhone XS Max. And it’s three points better than the Google Pixel 2.

Pixel 3 camera taps into Google’s AI to top iPhone

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Pixel 3 camera
The Pixel 3 camera has an eye on the competition.
Photo: Google

Google called its new Pixel 3 “the best end-to-end photography experience” Tuesday and has adopted features and marketing strategies that made the iPhone a global success and camera industry game-changer.

But marketing and megapixels will not be where these two smartphone cameras do battle. The competition shifts to artificial intelligence and how it makes each phone camera perform.

Busted! Samsung uses stock photos as proof of camera quality

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Samung tweets
Samsung Brazil said it accidentally used stock photos when trying to show off on Twitter the camera of the Galaxy A8.
Photo: Feliperas/Twitter

When Apple wants to show off the camera quality of its latest iPhone, it mines social media for user photos by searching the hashtag “Shot on iPhone.” Apple then has plenty of actual iPhone images it then licenses for advertising.

But when Samsung tried to tout the camera of the Galaxy A8 in a recent Twitter campaign, it used stock photos most likely shot with DSLR cameras.

Kodak’s first camera-smartphone finally lands in the U.S.

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Kodak Ektra smartphone
The Kodak Ektra is a camera with a smartphone built in.
Photo: Kodak

The Ektra, Kodak’s camera-forward smartphone that launched in Europe around the time Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus debuted, is now available in the U.S.

The iconic but fading photo company partnered with Bullitt Group to develop a device that is, first and foremost, a camera, but also a smartphone to help reverse its fortunes by getting competitive in the mobile photography industry.

You decide if iPhone 7 Plus beats rival mobile cameras

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Five shades of gray. Which picture is from an iPhone 7 Plus?
Five shades of gray. Which picture is from an iPhone 7 Plus?
Photo: MKBHD/YouTube

You love your iPhone 7 Plus and find the beautiful pictures you make with the camera is money well spent. But you may not have the best smartphone camera in your hands.

Before you get all defensive, put the rods and cones in your eyes to the test. Be willing to set aside your lifelong devotion to Apple and submit to a blind test of pictures from five smartphones with the best-rated cameras.

Tiny ring light does more than make your selfies shine

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The SELFLASH is essential for selfies plus a whole lot more.
The SELFLASH is essential for selfies plus a whole lot more.
Photo: SELFLASH

Tech accessories tend to solve a single problem really well. The SELFLASH, a small ring light you attach to your smartphone for selfies, is not just around to make you look pretty.

In offering a flattering wink of light in a variety of colors and intensities, the SELFLASH also provides up to 128 GB of storage for file transfers, can serve as a backup battery for your phone and has a Bluetooth tracker. Not satisfied with your smartphone’s camera? A pro model of the SELFLASH also comes with a 15.1-megapixel camera.