Android Phone with Camera as good as iPhone 6 (autofocus speed, shutter speed, etc.)

[hellfire88]

Hi All,

Just a quick question, I'm looking for an Android phone with a camera that is as good as an iPhone 6 (or at least close). Specifically, in terms of autofocus speed, shutter speed, and picture quality.

I strongly prefer Android, but the camera on the iPhone 6 is just so freakin good for taking consistently good photos of my kid (he moves a lot so the fast shutter speed is great). Is there such a phone available right now? I've tested the following thus far:

- Nexus 6
- OnePlus One
- Samsung Galaxy S5

and none come close really in terms of shutter speed (it takes like 1.5+sec to process in between shots VS on the iPhone 6 it can take photos as fast as i click the shutter button). I'd prefer not to switch from Android to iOS just for the camera, but its tempting. Thanks for your time.

 

[TreVader]

Lol this should be good...



OP, none that I, personally, know of. Iphone 6 plus has the best camera in a phone besides those weird nokias that are like half camera half phone. Have you used iOS recently? It's changed a lot, and has a ton of features that you can't get at all on andriod. Biometrics, Siri, and the UI is way more fluid.

 

[Insomniator]

None that I know of. People will argue to the end, but my S5's camera doesnt even compare to my friends iPhone 6+.

Maybe an LG G3?

 

[vi edit]

Note4 is pretty damn good. Samsung puts a decent shooter in their higher end devices.

 

[dawheat]

http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/C...3-LG-G3-Galaxy-S5-Galaxy-Note-3_id3822/page/7

 

[NikolaeVarius]

While Android phones have surpassed the iP6 is terms of straight image quality, nothing I've ever used has ever been good as the camera on the IP6. It's so damn fast and effortless.

It's actually pretty amazing how much better the camera experience is on iOS than anything on Android.

 

[TreVader]

Apple puts a HUGE amount of R&D into it's cameras. Android OEMs just can't match the amount of money apple can put to designing a custom built camera for their phone. They also prioritize the camera above other suff.


You might find more megapixels or better zoom but in terms of performance, which is what you want, and autofocus... there is nothing better than the iphone 6 plus out there.

 

[Graze]

From what I have been reading the Note4's camera is great and the Nexus 6's is pretty good also when it wants to be

 

[vi edit]

Moto's cameras still continue to suck. I've had the 2013 MotoX and a Droid Turbo (scaled down Nexus6) and they both blow. The Turbo is particularly infuriating. My Galaxy Note2 was light years better than either of them for every day picture shooting.

 

[dawheat]

From what I have been reading the Note4's camera is great and the Nexus 6's is pretty good also when it wants to be

I've found the Note 4 camera to be easily the best Samsung has done and though I haven't tried all the major Android cameras, the best I've used.

Prior to the Note 4, I'd easily say my wife's iPhone was better all round - good in daylight, much better in low light and focus speed. With the Note 4, I'm comfortable saying that the Note 4 is a bit better than my wife's iPhone 6 camera - though it seems the 6 Plus is a bit better than the normal 6.

Compared to my wife's phone which we use quite a bit, the Note 4 is better in daylight and front facing, at least as good in low light and focus speed.

http://www.imore.com/iphone-6-plus-vs-galaxy-note-4-camera-comparison

 

[VashHT]

When I get my note 4 tonight I can compare it to the iphone 6 I have, according to the AT review the note 4 seems to be one of the better android phones in terms of latency of the shots so I hope that is true. Even though I'm selling the iphone 6 because I just don't like a lot of things in iOS, the camera in general has been pretty awesome.

 

[hellfire88]

Wow thanks for all the replies guys. I realized after I posted this that it could be construed as a troll post, believe me its not .

In terms of actual photo/video quality, I don't doubt that some Android phones have surpassed the iPhone 6 / 6 Plus by now (Note 4 being the main one I can think of, based on reviews I've read), but I guess the aspect of the camera that I'm particularly concerned with is the autofocus and shutter speed (I'm not photo junkie so maybe I'm using the wrong terms?).

On the iPhone 6, I can just point the thing at my kid, and keep pressing the shutter button. He moves a lot, but amazingly enough, most (like 85%) of the pictures I take are not blurry, and look pretty great. The consistency is amazing. I know I can buy a standalone point&shoot or DSLR camera for taking pics of the kid, but my wife refuses to use them ("the phone is just much more convenient and the best camera is the one you have at the time").

I'm using the Nexus 6 now, and while the quality of the photos I've taken are pretty great, the shot-to-shot speed is still kinda slow (like 1.5+sec) and its rather inconsistent (I'd say like only 60% of the photos I take are in-focus).

VashHT, I'm particularly interested in your comparison between iPhone 6 and Note 4 (when you get it), I'm sure the picture quality on the Note 4 will be equal or greater than the iPhone 6, but how about the shot-to-shot speed? Thank you!

 

[McWatt]

Agreed, my S5's camera can't even compete with my old iPhone 5, or honestly even my wife's iPhone 4. The Note 4 on the other hand looks pretty comparable to the iPhone 6.

I tend to phone cameras holistically based on the fraction of shots that I like, meaning that low light, handheld performance is a big deal. Overall I think that the higher end Lumias beat the iPhone camera in terms of image quality and general utility of the camera application, but in the Android ecosystem the Note (or depending on your typical images, the low-megapixel-high-SNR HTC One) is your best bet.

 

[poofyhairguy]

When I get my note 4 tonight I can compare it to the iphone 6 I have, according to the AT review the note 4 seems to be one of the better android phones in terms of latency of the shots so I hope that is true. Even though I'm selling the iphone 6 because I just don't like a lot of things in iOS, the camera in general has been pretty awesome.

That would be nice to know. The Note 4 is the obvious answer to OP on paper, but some real world experience would be nice.

 

[hellfire88]

That would be nice to know. The Note 4 is the obvious answer to OP on paper, but some real world experience would be nice.

Yes, I can read lots of reviews online, but nothing beats some real-world experiences of some fellow members

 

[Eug]

None that I know of. People will argue to the end, but my S5's camera doesnt even compare to my friends iPhone 6+.

Maybe an LG G3?

Note that the 6+ and 6 have slightly different cameras, with the 6+ including optical image stabilization. The OP was talking about the 6.

 

[Graze]

Moto's cameras still continue to suck. I've had the 2013 MotoX and a Droid Turbo (scaled down Nexus6).

The Nexus 6 has a different sensor from the Droid Turbo and the latter also lacks optical image stabilisation.

 

[Sweepr]

I've got Note 4 and my gf has the 6+
Both of us agree Note 4 delivers better picture quality overall. 6+ is great and perhaps a hair better at very low-light (though note 4 is a much better than S5 and most droids here, OIS is great) but it can't match Note 4's daytime photos.

 

[ChronoReverse]

How fast is the Note 4's camera? That's one of the things that I've also been looking at.

 

[sweenish]

The Nexus 6 has a different sensor from the Droid Turbo and the latter also lacks optical image stabilisation.

But I've heard that it's a slow camera.

It's possible that a camera API 2.0 app could remedy that, but I don't own an N6, nor have I heard anything about how well the API 2.0 apps are.

L camera is still only available on the N5 as far as I know.

 

[poofyhairguy]

How fast is the Note 4's camera? That's one of the things that I've also been looking at.

Depends on the setting. The normal mode is pretty fast, the game mode is the fastest I have seen in a smartphone.

 

[Strk]

Well, I'd say there are plenty of options for single images, but the multi-shot that the iphone can do is hard to beat. I'm not aware of anyone that really has something quite like it, although that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Well, I'd say there are plenty of options for single images, but the multi-shot that the iphone can do is hard to beat. I'm not aware of anyone that really has something quite like it, although that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Multi-shot? Do you mean burst mode?

 

[Strk]

Multi-shot? Do you mean burst mode?

Yeah, it sounds like that is what he wants.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Yeah, it sounds like that is what he wants.

Burst mode works quite well in a lot of Android phones though. Even my current lowly Galaxy S4 can do like 7 shots in a second. I'd just like a lot less shutter lag which is something iPhones are really good at.