General Camera Question

[ShaggyKids]

I've been noticing that it seems the front cameras on phones in general are lower pixels than the back facing cameras. Unless I'm misunderstanding how this works, this is backwards. Shouldn't the better camera be the front facing one?

Thanks,
Deb

 

[belodion]

Not in my case. The lower the resolution of the front camera, the better.

 

[hallux]

Not in my case. The lower the resolution of the front camera, the better.

I might have to agree that this also applies to me!

 

[ShaggyKids]

I might have to agree that this also applies to me!

SERIOUSLY? Lower is better? I've always been taught the higher the resolution the better the image.

Maybe we're talking about 2 different things. This is what I'm seeing on a comparison of the LG V60 and the LG Velvet FRONT cameras.

[TABLE="class: inr_tbl, width: 0"]
[TR]
[TD="class: title, align: left"]Camera LG V60 [/TD]
[TD="class: val, align: left"] 64 MP + 13 MP [/TD]
[TD="class: val, align: left"] LG VELVET 48MP + 8MP + 5MP[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[ManiacJoe]

More pixels is not necessarily better quality.

The front camera (top of the screen) is normally used for selfies and video chats.
No need for lots of pixels here. Fewer pixels gives faster processing and often better low-light handling.

The general photography camera on the back of the phone is where the need for lots of pixels is.

Edit:
The "better for me" comments are a joke about the authors being less than handsome. :-D

 

[hallux]

SERIOUSLY? Lower is better?

I believe we're both implying that we're better off if the camera we're using for selfies is of a lower quality. (I am anyway)

 

[L0n3N1nja]

There is a lot more to the quality of a camera than megapixels, the pixels are just image resolution.

Front facing camera sensors are typically smaller than rear sensors, especially on new phones because the rear sensors have been growing larger. When a sensor is small lowering the resolution often helps image quality because it makes the pixels physically larger on the sensor.

 

[Morty2264]

More pixels is not necessarily better quality.

The front camera (top of the screen) is normally used for selfies and video chats.
No need for lots of pixels here. Fewer pixels gives faster processing and often better low-light handling.

The general photography camera on the back of the phone is where the need for lots of pixels is.

Edit:
The "better for me" comments are a joke about the authors being less than handsome. :-D

Plus, I'm pretty sure the Pixel 2 line didn't have beefed-up camera specs but still took kickin' photos.

 

[J Dubbs]

I might have to agree that this also applies to me!

Me and my wife, despite all our precautions, are in the midst of trying to survive this darn covid-19 we caught.....guys thanks for the entertainment, it really does help

 

[belodion]

My old LG G3, I think it was, had an auto Beautify feature on the front csmera, and on those very few occasions when I took a self-portrait, it would IMMEDIATELY turn it on to the MAXIMUM setting.

I can’t see that high resolution is needed for self-portraits, even for beautiful people, whereas you do need it for subjects taken with the rear camera. So although I was joking, I was serious. Who would want all their physical imperfections to be recorded in high res detail?

Similarly, the fierce glare of gaslight was disliked for the same reason, compared to the kinder light from candles.