Best Smartphone Cameras for Video 2019 – According to DxOMark Image Labs rating
A few days ago, DxOMark Image Labs announced that the Huawei Mate 20 Pro tops their camera test chart. But this test is an average of the phone’s performance for photos and video. As we’re all about smartphone filmmaking, we are of course more interested in the video performance.
So I have rearranged the table, using only the video scores for each smartphone. There are some surprising changes, with some phones punching above their weight when it comes to video. Why is this important? Because if you are looking at a smartphone primarily for it’s video performance, then there might be some bargains to be found – great video at less cost.
Huawei Mate 20 Pro tops DXOMARK Camera Rating Chart
Owned by DxOMark Image Labs, the DxOMark is a website providing image quality ratings for standalone cameras, lenses, and mobile devices that include cameras. Yesterday, they released their rating for the Huawei Mate 20 Pro.
The firm gave Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro an overall score of 109, meaning it tops the chart level on points with the older Huawei P20 Pro. Apple’s iPhone XS Max is the next best device according to DxOMark, four points behind the duo.
Here’s the top of the chart.
As I said, the score is the average of the still photo and video performance. The company gave the Mate 20 Pro a photo score of 114 and a video score of 97. However, when it comes to the top phones video performance, there’s very little difference between the Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro and the the Apple iPhone XS Max, which has a video score of 96 – only one point behind.
So if you take only the video score from DxOMark, things look a bit different…
DxOMark Table By Video Score
101 – (NEW) Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G
98 – Google Pixel 3
98 – Google Pixel 2
98 – Huawei P20 Pro
97 – (NEW) Honor 20 Pro
97 – (NEW) Samsung S10
97 – (NEW) Huawei P30 Pro
97 – Huawei Mate 20 Pro
96 – iPhone XS Max
96 – iPhone XR
95 – Google Pixel 3a
95 – HTC U12+
94 – Huawei P20
93 – Xiaomi Mi MIX 3
91 – Huawei Mate 10 Pro
91 – OnePlus 6T
91 – Google Pixel
90 – NEW Xiaomi Pocophone F1
90 – iPhone 8
90 – Vivo X20 Plus
89 – iPhone X
89 – iPhone 8+
88 – Xiaomi Mi 8
88 – Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S
87 – OnePlus 6
86 – Asus ZenFone 5
86 – Crosscall Trekker-X4
85 – Smartisan Pro 2S
85 – iPhone 7
84 – Sony Xperia 1
84 – iPhone 7 Plus
84 – HTC U11
84 – Xiaomi Mi Note 3
82 – Nokia 8 Sirocco
80 – Google Nexus 6P
79 – LG G7 ThinQ
78 – iPhone 6
75 – Archos Diamond Omega
75 – Samsung Galaxy S5
74 – Samsung Galaxy A8
73 – LG V30
67 – Motorola Moto G5S
66 – iPhone 5s
65 – Meizu Pro 7 Plus
65 – Nokia 808 PureView
62 – Lava Z25
62 – Nokia 8
60 – Intex Aqua Selfie
57 – Gionee S10L
56 – Sony Xperia L2
52 – Energizer E520
What do we learn from this?
Firstly, if you are simply looking for a smartphone which has great video specs, there are some bargains to be had.
Remember that the Sundance break-out hit, Tangerine, was shot on iPhone 5s which only has a score of 66. You can buy a refurbished one for a few $$.
Remember also that Soderbergh used Apple iPhone 7+ phones to shoot Unsane and iPhone 8+ to shoot High Flying Bird.
But the absolutely stand out is the original Google Pixel, which has a score of 91 and can be bought for $183. Yes, according to DxOMark the old Google Pixel is better for video than even the iPhone 8 and 8+ and iPhone X.
The surprise is to find the Samsung S9+ top of the chart and costs a little less than the phones below it. This is pleasing news to me, as I happen to have a Samsung S9 (although this has not been reviewed by DxOMark, I presume it is close if not equal to the plus version). I have been filming my SciFi series with Samsung phones so you can see how I’ve been getting on.
Meanwhile the latest Google pixels and the latest Huawei are close behind, followed by the iPhone XS Max.
Of course, all this depends how much you trust DxOMark’s smartphone video analysis. Because I do find it hard to believe that the original Google Pixel ranks so highly.
Well… actually…
Watch this camera test and remind yourself you can buy one of these phones for $183 (refurbished). Or £142 in UK money.
If you check the description in the video, the filmmaker has put a link to the ungraded version, as well, which is really interesting. He says he “edited in FCPX and graded in DaVinci Resolve. I also used Filmic Pro and the native camera app to record the entire video.”
Below is the same filmmaker – Matteo Bertoli – this time with an iPhone 7+ ($400 refurbished).
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