PhoneArena redefines smartphone camera testing with the PhoneArena Camera Score benchmark،
We called this process: PhoneArena Camera Score.
This is how PhoneArena camera scoring works
We evaluate every phone camera on a multitude of criteria: from essentials such as exposure, color representation and detail resolution, to specialties such as separation quality in portrait mode and the reliability of the viewfinder.
Depending on the camera (main, zoom, ultra-wide, or selfie), there is more emphasis on the features considered most fundamental to the camera lens. For example, the level of detail resolved has a higher relative weight when evaluating zoom cameras than when evaluating the ultra-wide camera, for example.
Currently our testing procedure covers over 15 different criteria just for the main camera! To get a better idea of the type of things we look at, here are some examples:
- Exposure
- Subject exposure
- Color temperature
- Color tint
- Detail resolution level
- Oversharpening artifacts
- Separation quality in portrait mode
- Preview reliability (HDR, resolution, portrait mode)
- Stabilization
We measure the still and video performance of each camera in a controlled environment, to maintain comparable results. Our studio environment challenges phones with a number of different scenes, intended to provide a more holistic measure of performance in different scenarios.
However, it is important to note that we have repeatedly verified these controlled environment tests against performance in real-world scenarios and are confident that our test results are representative of the type of image quality you will get once on the spot. and start taking photos. In addition to this, we continue to check real-world performance and use real-world results to evaluate certain aspects of the camera, such as separation quality in portrait mode.
At PhoneArena, we’ve had the chance to test and review hundreds of phone cameras over the years. We are confident that the breadth of experience we have accumulated within our team of industry veterans and technology enthusiasts has been successfully integrated into this new camera review process.
The Camera Score widget
Along with this all-new review process, today we are launching our Camera Score widget, which aims to display all camera ratings for a particular phone model.
The widget displays all of these scores and provides an indication of how a particular score compares to the best in each category. In the case of the examples above, you can see that the iPhone 15 Pro Max holds the current best score for the main camera in video, while its zoom photo score of 23 is a bit short of the current best, which is 24 and belongs to the Pixel 8 Pro.
It’s important to note that we assigned different weights to different camera types (main, zoom, ultra-wide, and selfie). The weight ratios are as follows: 100 for the main camera; 35 for Zoom; 30 for Ultrawide; and 35 for Selfie. These ratios are the same between the photo and video categories.
All sub-scores in the photo category make up the overall photo score, while the final camera score is the result of the photo and video scores, with the current weighting being 50:50 between photo and video.
The road to follow
This is just the beginning of the PhoneArena Camera Score, which ushers in a new era of sophisticated, objective, and easy-to-understand camera scoring, and we’re excited to offer this solution to all smartphone fans who want to do the right thing. decision when choosing their new product. Today we are launching v1 of the PhoneArena Camera Score, but we are already planning to add more testing criteria to our procedure, for an even deeper, more holistic and relevant evaluation of smartphone cameras. Our controlled testing setup will only become more sophisticated over time.
You can already find Camera Score widgets for some of today’s best flagships (the entire iPhone 15 family, Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, Galaxy S23 Ultra, and Pixel 7 Pro) in the camera sections of their reviews, as well as in our articles dedicated to camera reviews for each of these products. Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be adding camera scores for all new phones submitted for review, as well as major releases that hit the market over the last year.
We’ve worked hard to create the PA Camera Score benchmark, and we hope it will be of great use to everyone. Feel free to share your thoughts and comments in the comments!