The iPhone's camera has long been lauded as excellent but rival smart phone makers are catching up.
HTC has overhauled the camera kit in its new line up of One Series phones -- with its flagship quad-core One X having an eight megapixel lens, and boasting the ability to snap a continuous burst of up to 99 photos.
Another would be iPhone killer, Sony's Xperia S, has a 12.1 megapixel snapper which can give the iPhone 4S a pretty good run for its money -- although, in my view, the 4S edges ahead in most situations.
I took the HTC One X, the iPhone 4S, and the Sony Xperia S out and about and got snapping to see how these three hero phones' cameras compare.
Settings -- where there are any settings -- were set to automatic, and all cameras were shooting at the maximum resolution offered.
Outdoors
All three cameras performed pretty well in the great outdoors, and all are capable of producing great shots, but to my eye the One X and the iPhone 4S inch ahead of the Xperia S -- which produces more noise in darker areas.
The most striking difference between the One X and the iPhone 4S is the distinctly different colour tone: the One X produces cooler tones that aren't quite as natural looking -- giving its shots a bluer colour-cast overall.
One physical characteristic to consider is that the One X's lightweight form can make it harder to hold steady than the Xperia S or the iPhone 4S when taking a photo.
Click on each photo to enlarge.
HTC One X
iPhone 4S
Sony Xperia S
HTC One X
iPhone 4S
Sony Xperia S
HTC One X
iPhone 4S
Sony Xperia S
HTC One X
iPhone 4S
Sony Xperia S
Indoors
Moving indoors, once again all three cameras prove themselves capable of taking some very decent snaps -- but the Xperia S continues to generate more noise in darker regions. The iPhone 4S captures slightly more true-to-life colours than either of the other two snappers. And if you zoom in, shots taken with the iPhone 4S show slightly cleaner lines than the other two cameras -- meaning its images look a fraction sharper overall. Click images to enlarge.
HTC One X
iPhone 4S
Sony Xperia S
HTC One X
iPhone 4S
Sony Xperia S
HTC One X
iPhone 4S
Sony Xperia S
HTC One X
iPhone 4S
Sony Xperia S
Very low light
In very dingy conditions all three cameras struggle, as you'd expect, but the One X's rendering of the book is especially fuzzy. The Xperia S includes Sony's Exmor R for mobile CMOS sensor, which the company says improves camera performance in low light. It certainly produces the brightest image of the three but it appears to be doing this by bumping up the ISO -- which results in a very grainy and noisy photo.
HTC One X
iPhone 4S
Sony Xperia S
Flash test
In a flash test -- using Legoman Torch and Android plush as subjects -- the iPhone 4S performs worst. Both the One X and the Xperia S have a variable flash that adjusts to the distance of the subject to help ensure it doesn't become washed out. To my eye the One X produces the clearest shot of the subjects but does create a stronger shadow behind them.
HTC One X
iPhone 4S
Sony Xperia S
Conclusion
All three phones have very respectable cameras but to my eye the iPhone 4S edges ahead of the pack with the most natural colours, and images that are less noisy and slightly sharper overall. It also produces more even exposure when light conditions vary and can generally be relied upon to produce a decent snap in most conditions (flash excepted).
The HTC One X comes second -- putting in a very good performance that certainly gives the iPhone a run for its money even if it can't quite steal Apple's photographic crown. The One X does edge ahead of the Sony Xperia S though, which has the most megapixels but also produces the most grainy images.
Agree? Disagree? Let me know your thoughts by posting a comment below or leaving your mark on our Facebook page.
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Comments 50
Add your comment
anonymous 2 April, 2012 10:01
I completely disagree with your verdict. All the One X pictures are a hair better than the iPhone's..
anonymous 2 April, 2012 10:09
Sorry why was the Nokia N8 not here? or if you want a more recent one the epic 41MP sensor in the Nokia 808 Pureview??
anonymous 2 April, 2012 10:11
if you put the zoom in all photos you cas see the xperia s and the iphone have better quality than the htc one
in many cases the xperia s is the winer
anonymous 2 April, 2012 10:57
I'm also going to disagree, here; the HTC is an easy third placer, here. The macro shots are clearly inferior and the exposure is off in many cases (though that may be the photographers fault).
In many cases I preferred the Sony camera over ther iPhone's too. Sure, it's a little noisy but I preffer its white balance and colour reproduction.
anonymous 2 April, 2012 11:33
Completely disagree.
Have you seen the flash test. the pic taken by iPhone is really bad, don't u think?
Xperia and One have far better pics.
My list would be
1. Xperia S
2. One X
3. iPhone 4S
anonymous 2 April, 2012 11:44
The 4s is the best. If you enlarge each of the images and zoom in then it is clear the 4s is better (except with its flash). The colours in the 4s are nicer and life like. I would then say the h&c, then the xperia. Its clear that the 4s is better when you zom in on the pics.
Jason Jenkins 2 April, 2012 11:54
This is why we provide links to the full-res photos, so you can make your own mind up.
anonymous 2 April, 2012 12:12
Definitely i disagree with the verdict of the writer here.... Like the conclusions of others Sony Experia S gets even better than iPhone 4s.... Take a look deeply!
chrisbeaumont 2 April, 2012 13:07
Sony Xperia S is clearly has the worst camera here. The colours are washed out, the images are soft, and the contrast is flat.
The One X is surprisingly good, but as a photographer the iPhone is the camera-phone I'm most comfortable carrying around with me.
mannan 2 April, 2012 13:21
IPhon 4S
anonymous 2 April, 2012 14:13
One X pics look by far the best!
anonymous 2 April, 2012 14:34
the experia looks to be the winner to me, then ipone, then htc.
anyone else agree?
anonymous 2 April, 2012 15:23
I have no clue what this guy is looking at but the HTC Hands over won this. I guess Apple has deep pockets. or this guy is color blind
anonymous 2 April, 2012 16:03
While your phones shot good pictures, I have to say that my Samsung Galaxy S II shoots excellent photos, sometimes superior to full fledged digital cameras. I'm not quite sure what it is with CNET's love affair with Apple and Iphone, but I think it's considerably biased. Just saying....
Erica Rosie 2 April, 2012 16:05
They have their favourites...
anonymous 2 April, 2012 16:51
Galaxy s 2 has better performing camera than the three.colours are very accurate provided that you are using a phones camera.as far as the pictures go i see, one x and iphone 4s both rank 1st.So i disagree with your verdict.
anonymous 2 April, 2012 20:05
Complete disagreement.
This is what happens when a guy with mind set gives review. The iphone was the worst here. The main rival were one x and xperia s. And to me both were good. Somewhere one was ahead and somewhere xperia.
But i found xperia s to be my choice.
anonymous 2 April, 2012 20:12
This was the worst review i ever saw.
The xperia s is a clear winner. The one comes second. And the iphone........ leave it.
anonymous 2 April, 2012 20:16
I disagree, the iPhone has by far the worst photos. This comparison has been tried before on CNET but it got so many complaints it looks like they tried again. Unfortunately the first comparison already told me the reviewer is highly biased against the Xperia S so there's no trusting this one either.
This reviewer has already previously proven her Apple iPhone bias if you've read her full Xperia S review. That was possibly the worst review I've read in my entire life. If you want a more reliable and trustworthy look at the Xperia S camera, I recommend GSM Arena's comparison review.
anonymous 2 April, 2012 21:34
Noob with a photographer who does not know to set up and take it all on point and shot, not even merit a lot of comments ...
sony who gets to take a picture, not just use the auto .. have to configure .. this was a bad review ... not earned my respect.
Raaz 3 April, 2012 02:02
I used to refer this site for review but after reading this writer's review of this and one X now i should be gone from here. The reviewer is such a iphone fan that see says iphone is better than anything. Here iphone is worst of three. But she says iphone is the clear winner hands down..such a pity. Review has to be unbiased get her out of review team.
anonymous 3 April, 2012 05:26
Disagree your conclusion, because the image of HTC One X are almost the best from your pictures. Contrast/Noise/Flashlight are better than iPhone4S. Color/Sharness are almost with iPhone4S.
anonymous 3 April, 2012 08:36
As this looks more like a battle of personal preferences and loyalty to platform/brand, I will just troll on and say....
iToy 4S ftw!!!
Because I own it, and I know how good pictures it can take with a steady held arm, and focus in a right place.
And I don't see any mindblowing improvements here from competition. Xperia has more megapixels, but also more colour noise. One X, if wins overall ("natural tones", f 2.0 eh?), then by a hair margin, nothing to really brag about. Sharpness is still better on 4S in most (not all thou) cases (harper collins - bookcase - tony parsons book/ ford's licence plate - trees /).
Using flash on any smartphone camera is a joke in 95% cases IMO. If HDR is not cutting in, it's just too dark for a meaningful photo... Handy when you really, really need that pic.., but I'd take HDR over flash anytime on my 4S:
http://oi43.tinypic.com/9jg7pu.jpg
Just get the device you personally like most, and enjoy it.
anonymous 3 April, 2012 10:24
Iphone is best: better focus, better colour, best in low light, close call on outdoor pics, sharper images overall, but epic fail on flash test.
zephyrx 3 April, 2012 12:01
I have also come to the point where I take some of CNET's reviews with a major pinch of salt.The reviews on other websites eg. GSM Arena, Tech Radar and Pocket Lint seem infinitely better, and don't read as if they've been done by a sixth former who has only ever had an iPhone and can't comprehend that there are some aspects of other OS that might actually be rather better than what Apple provide. The Sony Xperia S and HTC One X reviews on CNET were truly awful. The reviewer didn't seem to understand how the Xperia's camera worked, and appeared to think the One X was an iPhone in different wrapping. She barely touched at all on the huge amount of extra features the HTC One X has and instead just seemed to do a like for like review with the iPhone. That is never going to work in a review, as the whole point of Android is that it is much more feature rich than what Apple offers and, if you just do like for like reviewing, you miss out 3/4 of the extra Android features. I don't actually trust what CNET say now because it seems so miles off what other tech review sites say - and they give the impression they know what they're talking about a lot more than CNET often does. Come on CNET. Get your act together. You're now looking very second rate when compared to a lot of your competition.
anonymous 3 April, 2012 15:57
One X looks the best, iPhone 4S's photos look photoshopped/edited/colour-adjusted while One X is more natural. Xperia S surprisingly comes last for me.
anonymous 3 April, 2012 18:33
I don't know what this reviewer was looking at but he's either an apple fanboy or completely blind! you can see straight of the bat from the 1st shot that the One X wins outright! look how natural the colours look compared to the other 2 shots!
deya987 3 April, 2012 19:25
htc amazing
anonymous 4 April, 2012 02:49
ARE YOU JOKING!?!? Look at the first Picture!! wehn you open it up, the Xperia s is the only camera where you can easily read the TT's number plates... its That Crystal clear... Xperia Outshines them all... take a closer look to the detail!
anonymous 6 April, 2012 15:31
Thinking about it, I find the One X is disadvantaged compared to the other phones. Its pictures are taken in widescreen (16:9) mode, but in this mode they have only 6 MP. It should have been done in 4:3 mode, like the pictures of the other phones. Then the photos would have 8 MP.
anonymous 11 April, 2012 08:36
Completely disagree.
ONE X has the best shots on every comparison here,
the second is always the iphone and third is xperia.
anonymous 11 April, 2012 08:45
the HTC ONE X has the best pics here.
anonymous 14 April, 2012 11:15
iPhone 4s has a better quality camera, very crystal and detail, iPhone 4s shoot = Nikon d3x shoot
I've already try test a shoot with my nikon d3x friends, and i compare with my iphone 4s shoot, my friends was shock after see the result
anonymous 16 April, 2012 18:30
obviously your xperia S has bravia engine off because i get very vibrant colours in photos and they actually look better than the real product.
with bravia engine i took a picture of a manga book that uses lots of colours on the cover which had a scar along the front and in the picture it looked like the books was brand new never touched
charlie1234 17 April, 2012 19:18
the iphone is the best mate are you blind
anonymous 20 April, 2012 22:52
as a graphic designer and photographer, i can say that the iphone's images are really good contrast, sharpness, noise etc. but i surprised with the htc one x's photos, they're looks really good :)
unfortunately, sony xperia s photos are not as good as htc one & iphone.. sony need to work to do it better..
my choice, the iphone and htc is both winner..
anonymous 24 April, 2012 12:12
i have to say i have a Sony S and the pics above do not justify the pics i have taken with mine i use mine at car shows and events mainly in and out door with mint and poor lght and the pics are unbelevable
anonymous 25 April, 2012 17:54
One X and Xperia are both really good!
The Iphone is surprisingly bad... it's easy to see unless you're a Apple fanboy.
anonymous 29 April, 2012 13:02
I am not an Apple Fanboy, neither am I hung up on Android. I have looked at all the photo's both zoomed and standard as I am in the market for a new phone. I have viewed all the pictures subjectively and without any bias. In my opinion the 4s has the best pictures overall, however that said both the One X and Experia S have displayed qualities that neither other has. Firstly, in the first pictures, when zoomed in you can clearly read the index plates of the vehicles in the background with the Experia S, however on the One X and 4s they are but a blur, however overall I felt that the One X provided the most accurate colour reproduction. The second picture (with the arch), once again the level of detail of the background in the Experia S shots cannot be matched by neither the 4s or the One X, however the 4s has the best colour reproduction, with the One X looking decidedly washed out. The third picture of the flowers is a little harder, as the focal points are slightly off, this picture is a very close draw for all three phones however on zooming the 4s takes the crown for sheer clarity. The picture of the padlock is a draw between the One X and 4s. The One X has the most natural colour production, however again the 4s steals the show on the zoom with the clarity of the fine detail. I’m going to skip a few pictures and go straight to the coffee machines picture. The 4s has by far the best natural colour, with the One X and Experia S both hint too blue. The book photo in the dark goes to the 4s, the One X is just way too fuzzy when zoomed in and the Experia S, although brighter simply has too much noise for my liking. The final picture with the flash goes to the One X, with a much more natural look, although the overall colour is best on the Experia S. So that’s my view, each phone has its strengths and weaknesses, and it’s impossible to say which one is best as it comes down to individual opinion, but I don’t think anyone would be disappointed with any of the camera on any of these cameras. I just wish people would stop being so utterly ridiculous with their bias towards one particular brand.
anonymous 29 April, 2012 13:03
I am not an Apple Fanboy, neither am I hung up on Android. I have looked at all the photo's both zoomed and standard as I am in the market for a new phone. I have viewed all the pictures subjectively and without any bias. In my opinion the 4s has the best pictures overall, however that said both the One X and Experia S have displayed qualities that neither other has. Firstly, in the first pictures, when zoomed in you can clearly read the index plates of the vehicles in the background with the Experia S, however on the One X and 4s they are but a blur, however overall I felt that the One X provided the most accurate colour reproduction. The second picture (with the arch), once again the level of detail of the background in the Experia S shots cannot be matched by neither the 4s or the One X, however the 4s has the best colour reproduction, with the One X looking decidedly washed out. The third picture of the flowers is a little harder, as the focal points are slightly off, this picture is a very close draw for all three phones however on zooming the 4s takes the crown for sheer clarity. The picture of the padlock is a draw between the One X and 4s. The One X has the most natural colour production, however again the 4s steals the show on the zoom with the clarity of the fine detail. I’m going to skip a few pictures and go straight to the coffee machines picture. The 4s has by far the best natural colour, with the One X and Experia S both hint too blue. The book photo in the dark goes to the 4s, the One X is just way too fuzzy when zoomed in and the Experia S, although brighter simply has too much noise for my liking. The final picture with the flash goes to the One X, with a much more natural look, although the overall colour is best on the Experia S. So that’s my view, each phone has its strengths and weaknesses, and it’s impossible to say which one is best as it comes down to individual opinion, but I don’t think anyone would be disappointed with any of the camera on any of these cameras. I just wish people would stop being so utterly ridiculous with their bias towards one particular brand.
anonymous 29 April, 2012 13:03
I am not an Apple Fanboy, neither am I hung up on Android. I have looked at all the photo's both zoomed and standard as I am in the market for a new phone. I have viewed all the pictures subjectively and without any bias. In my opinion the 4s has the best pictures overall, however that said both the One X and Experia S have displayed qualities that neither other has. Firstly, in the first pictures, when zoomed in you can clearly read the index plates of the vehicles in the background with the Experia S, however on the One X and 4s they are but a blur, however overall I felt that the One X provided the most accurate colour reproduction. The second picture (with the arch), once again the level of detail of the background in the Experia S shots cannot be matched by neither the 4s or the One X, however the 4s has the best colour reproduction, with the One X looking decidedly washed out. The third picture of the flowers is a little harder, as the focal points are slightly off, this picture is a very close draw for all three phones however on zooming the 4s takes the crown for sheer clarity. The picture of the padlock is a draw between the One X and 4s. The One X has the most natural colour production, however again the 4s steals the show on the zoom with the clarity of the fine detail. I’m going to skip a few pictures and go straight to the coffee machines picture. The 4s has by far the best natural colour, with the One X and Experia S both hint too blue. The book photo in the dark goes to the 4s, the One X is just way too fuzzy when zoomed in and the Experia S, although brighter simply has too much noise for my liking. The final picture with the flash goes to the One X, with a much more natural look, although the overall colour is best on the Experia S. So that’s my view, each phone has its strengths and weaknesses, and it’s impossible to say which one is best as it comes down to individual opinion, but I don’t think anyone would be disappointed with any of the camera on any of these cameras. I just wish people would stop being so utterly ridiculous with their bias towards one particular brand.
anonymous 29 April, 2012 13:04
I am not an Apple Fanboy, neither am I hung up on Android. I have looked at all the photo's both zoomed and standard as I am in the market for a new phone. I have viewed all the pictures subjectively and without any bias. In my opinion the 4s has the best pictures overall, however that said both the One X and Experia S have displayed qualities that neither other has. Firstly, in the first pictures, when zoomed in you can clearly read the index plates of the vehicles in the background with the Experia S, however on the One X and 4s they are but a blur, however overall I felt that the One X provided the most accurate colour reproduction. The second picture (with the arch), once again the level of detail of the background in the Experia S shots cannot be matched by neither the 4s or the One X, however the 4s has the best colour reproduction, with the One X looking decidedly washed out. The third picture of the flowers is a little harder, as the focal points are slightly off, this picture is a very close draw for all three phones however on zooming the 4s takes the crown for sheer clarity. The picture of the padlock is a draw between the One X and 4s. The One X has the most natural colour production, however again the 4s steals the show on the zoom with the clarity of the fine detail. I’m going to skip a few pictures and go straight to the coffee machines picture. The 4s has by far the best natural colour, with the One X and Experia S both hint too blue. The book photo in the dark goes to the 4s, the One X is just way too fuzzy when zoomed in and the Experia S, although brighter simply has too much noise for my liking. The final picture with the flash goes to the One X, with a much more natural look, although the overall colour is best on the Experia S. So that’s my view, each phone has its strengths and weaknesses, and it’s impossible to say which one is best as it comes down to individual opinion, but I don’t think anyone would be disappointed with any of the camera on any of these cameras. I just wish people would stop being so utterly ridiculous with their bias towards one particular brand.
anonymous 29 April, 2012 19:21
rubbish! the sony pictures outdone both of the others! i havent got either phone yet u can tell whoever done that review is a apple fanboy!
anonymous 9 May, 2012 07:45
The iphone indeed have the worst photos. I cannot even read the number plate of the blue car which I could on the htc and sony. The htc is over exsposing highlights too much in daylight causing some washouts. HTC also have higher jpeg compression artifacts. The sony has the best resolution but coloured cmos noise 8n lower light. All in all, all have good cameras with good and bad points cancelling out each others positive and negative points. I consider this a draw. Reviewer should not be allowed to do camera reviews with iphone in it.
anonymous 13 May, 2012 12:10
Xperia S beats them out, OneX 's very noise
anonymous 26 May, 2012 04:51
plant image in htc one x is misfocused, can't par with the others
anonymous 30 May, 2012 22:57
Praise the idio... trolls with brainwashed heads.
For the trolls that argue Sony made a good device from junk not vice versa(junk from an possible good device) and a cameraphone read here, the thread is long talk.sonymobile.com/thread/34345?start=0&tstart=0
For others that argue both One X an Xperia S take better pictures than iPhone 4S go over here(or every other 2012 cameraphone test on the internet if Cnet's doesn't make a justice)
nordichardware.se/smartphone/45601-htc-one-x-i-kamerajaemfoerelse-med-xperia-s-och-iphone-4s.html
For the frustrated trolls thinking I own an iPhone, I DON'T OWN an iPHONE. My eyes just don't require glasses.
anonymous 25 June, 2012 15:29
This is ridiculous. I am not a user of those three phones. To be honest, it is crystal clear that the iPhone has the lowest quality of camera. It is only powerful when taking photos in the dark and is decent in producing natural color. So I guess it's clear that the writer is an iPhone fanboy. The iPhone's lost much detail in most scenes if zoomed in. I don't know what's going on in the writer's mind but she's just so denial. This verdict was not just. About One X and Xperia S, they both also have drawback. One X's seems to be too bright and washed-out in the sunny scene, and Xperia S is no match with the rest two compared in the low light scene.
pijol 15 August, 2012 21:14
Hi,
why the 3 smartphone above produce a lot noise when in low light condition? Is that normal for all smartphone?
anonymous 15 September, 2012 10:06
The proof is the owning of the phones. They're all pretty good in they're own way, but the truth is new tech should improve quality. The HTC is the clear winner, not just because of the superior pics, but because it's newer tech gives it a larger feature list. I own the HTC One X and bought it because of how much the better pictures were on my friend's One X compared with my wife's amazing Samsung Galaxy S2, and my old iPhone 4S. This CNET comparison tells me something of the tester. I used to trust CNET, but it's like they're sponsored by Apple. Everyone who has awoken from iPhone hysteria knows that Apple charge way too much, and have rested too long the strength of their self-made brand. HTC were first to take over, and now Samsung with it's mahoosive R&D department! The Samsung Galaxy S3 is easily the best phone, because it has the latest tech, but again, they' charging way too much for it. Compared with the half as much (on contract) HTC One X, the Samsung galaxy Galaxy S3 is not twice as good. In fact it is only a little better that the HTC One X. so my money went on the HTC One X. Simple!