Best (Camera Phone) for professional looking pics/vids?

[z1ggy]

I have a side business that I started a few months ago. I didn't invest much and got by with bare minimum to keep costs low since it is my own money. I need to have a decent social media presence to attract and retain followers in order to help sell my product and increase my chances to get affiliates. My current phone does not cut it.... Photos look pretty bad and video is okay but not nearly what I need to create professional looking reels/stories. It's quite helpful to have my camera also be my phone since I am using Capcut to create my social media videos and I'm able to pull right off the phone or Google. I've read lots of review but I come hear to ask about real life use and expert opinion. From what I gather, my main 3 options are iPhone 14, S23 and Pixel.

I'm used to Android but at this point, I need the absolute best camera/video system in a mobile platform... Not much else matters (price, size, OS, batt life, etc). FWIW, most photos or videos will be shot during the day, with as much natural light as possible but I may be forced to use artificial light if the sun isn't cooperating. Minimal night time photo use. If I had to get very specific, I'd say wide angle photo and high res video are the top 2 needs.

 

[Commodus]

I have a side business that I started a few months ago. I didn't invest much and got by with bare minimum to keep costs low since it is my own money. I need to have a decent social media presence to attract and retain followers in order to help sell my product and increase my chances to get affiliates. My current phone does not cut it.... Photos look pretty bad and video is okay but not nearly what I need to create professional looking reels/stories. It's quite helpful to have my camera also be my phone since I am using Capcut to create my social media videos and I'm able to pull right off the phone or Google. I've read lots of review but I come hear to ask about real life use and expert opinion. From what I gather, my main 3 options are iPhone 14, S23 and Pixel.

I'm used to Android but at this point, I need the absolute best camera/video system in a mobile platform... Not much else matters (price, size, OS, batt life, etc). FWIW, most photos or videos will be shot during the day, with as much natural light as possible but I may be forced to use artificial light if the sun isn't cooperating. Minimal night time photo use. If I had to get very specific, I'd say wide angle photo and high res video are the top 2 needs.

The iPhone generally remains the video champion. More consistent image quality between lenses, great stabilization, and social apps like Instagram and Snapchat tend to perform best with it. If not that, I'd say an S23 for the flexibility in shot types.

 

[darkswordsman17]

What is your current phone and what do you find lacking? Reason I ask is that it could be how you're attempting to use it that is the issue, which will hamstring you no matter what you use. The first thing I would recommend is something to stabilize the phone, like a tripod or gimbal that can keep it stable for what you're shooting making it easier for it to focus. Actually the first thing I'd recommend is figuring out what settings as the phone might be defaulting to worse quality than its capable of (I want to say my phone defaulted to like 1080p30 when it can do 4K60; using HDR causes motion stabilization to not be available, and format and bitrate also matters). Likewise, if you're using an app they might be processing whatever you upload which could be the source of the quality issues.

You might also check out an action cam (like GoPro or Insta360), they are pocketable but have quite a lot of features that might benefit you, plus they have a lot of accessories and offers some unique capabilities that a smartphone likely wouldn't (mount on things, including drone or other). And their quality is up there these days for both stills and video.

Otherwise you'd be looking at some DSLR (or mirrorless or whatever) with a lens (fit for your needs - i.e. macro, etc). Check local/used if possible and find someone that sunk most of the cost or maybe a pro photographer that upgraded. Might even get some advice or other to boot.

 

[Muadib]

I agree with darkswordsman! There is a reason most YouTubers don't use phones for their sites.

 

[z1ggy]

What is your current phone and what do you find lacking? Reason I ask is that it could be how you're attempting to use it that is the issue, which will hamstring you no matter what you use. The first thing I would recommend is something to stabilize the phone, like a tripod or gimbal that can keep it stable for what you're shooting making it easier for it to focus. Actually the first thing I'd recommend is figuring out what settings as the phone might be defaulting to worse quality than its capable of (I want to say my phone defaulted to like 1080p30 when it can do 4K60; using HDR causes motion stabilization to not be available, and format and bitrate also matters). Likewise, if you're using an app they might be processing whatever you upload which could be the source of the quality issues.

You might also check out an action cam (like GoPro or Insta360), they are pocketable but have quite a lot of features that might benefit you, plus they have a lot of accessories and offers some unique capabilities that a smartphone likely wouldn't (mount on things, including drone or other). And their quality is up there these days for both stills and video.

Otherwise you'd be looking at some DSLR (or mirrorless or whatever) with a lens (fit for your needs - i.e. macro, etc). Check local/used if possible and find someone that sunk most of the cost or maybe a pro photographer that upgraded. Might even get some advice or other to boot.

OnePlus 7.

Don't need to attach to stuff... I'm filming still objects inside my house. Use a tripod for almost everything.

I find the photo quality to pretty bad compared to my wife's S20. My video quality is pretty decent (I film 60fps 4k) but there's only a 1x function so I have to physically back away if I want a wider angle shot. The focus is also a little slow, but maybe I'm not using it properly when I'm tapping around. What my social media needs are two fold: 1) very good wide angle photos for posting my products for sale. I take photos either in my garage against a fake white brick backdrop, or inside my office, combo of natural and LED lighting. 2) 2 types of video, mainly for reels - One where the phone is on a tripod filming me work on my product. I create 30-90s reels giving tips & tricks or short summaries of how I turned the thing from A to B. The second one are Cinematic style B roll footage of misc related things, before & after's or anything else I find relevant/fun that is related to the work. All the video editing is done inside of Capcut, so I can change saturation/contrast, etc inside the app which I still am not the best at but learning and getting better.

It's a bit tough because photos are what drive my sales, but videos are what will drive followers. I only do this part time so I don't think I will ever gain a huge following, but who knows. After a certain point, having enough followers will let me set up a comission based storefront on Amazon, get me access to affiliates, etc.. To the point where maybe down the road, I'll be making just as much $$ off social media as I am off selling my products.

 

[z1ggy]

I agree with darkswordsman! There is a reason most YouTubers don't use phones for their sites.

Sure but also, watch this video... Just skip to the last 1 minute or something. Filmed on an iphone 14. Looks pretty darn good and professional if you ask me.

 

[Oyeve]

I have an S22 Ultra, a Pixel 7 Pro and an iphone 14 pro. IMO, they are all pretty much the same as far as video quality goes. You may want to see which SW you prefer. samsungs and apples SW for the camera is more intuitive and, IMO, has more director options than the pixel 7 pro.

 

[z1ggy]

I have an S22 Ultra, a Pixel 7 Pro and an iphone 14 pro. IMO, they are all pretty much the same as far as video quality goes. You may want to see which SW you prefer. samsungs and apples SW for the camera is more intuitive and, IMO, has more director options than the pixel 7 pro.

I messed around with both briefly but it wasn't sure by side. I might need to go into a Verizon store or something to compare them directly. I'm leaning s23 because I'm so used to Android but I've got an iPad and an app that having an iPhone would make nice use of (this random app called mirrorvision).

All the reviews I keep watching online seen to favor iphone for video and Samsung for photo.