The video blogging or vlogging wave has become a major component of the digital era. There are many people capturing memorable moments in their lives through videos and sharing it on social media every day. These videos are fun and exciting because they can be watched time and time again.
A lot of phone brands these days have smartphones with amazing camera capabilities that rival DSLR cameras. If you’re looking for unique camera ability or a particular camera strong point, this list is for you. Here are the best smartphones for vlogging, 2018/2019.
Huawei P20
While the Huawei p20 might not have created the biggest buzz in 2018, there’s no reason why you should not consider it. It is an alternative to the Galaxy S9 and other expensive phones from top brands.
The Huawei P20 has a lot going for it. Apart from the fact that it looks great, it has a great camera with some unusual capabilities, at a tempting price for such a high-end phone.
It doesn’t have the triple cameras of its sibling, the Huawei P20 Pro, however, a great camera is still great regardless of whether or not there’s an extra camera offering zoom or X-ray vision.
As a matter of fact, the P20 isn’t far behind the P20 Pro on lens count because it still packs two, and what’s more, they are Leica branded as well. It has a 12MP color snapper on the rear, paired with a 20MP monochrome sensor used to apply depth mapping to portraits, to capture detailed rich monochrome photos and improve colors as well. With the P20, you’ll be getting a 12MP camera, with a ½.3in sensor and pixels that are 1.55um in size.
All of this combines with an aperture of f/1.6 on the mono camera, plus a 4 in one hybrid focus which promises to deliver stunning results making the P20 the best phone for vlogging.
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
Coming as the first to sport Sony’s “Motion Eye” capture system, users of the XZ Premium will enjoy the amazing speed of a dedicated DRAM, helping to process images with improved speed.
You’re going to enjoy some other benefits of the stacked memory. It features Predictive capture, which works when the sensor detects motion and capturing either immediately before or after pressing the shutter button.
With the new ½.3 inch sensor, the megapixel will reduce to 19MP from the 23MP on Xperia XZ, which is considerably larger, improving lowlight picture quality and taking even 4K videos at a whopping 960fps. There are a few other modes available, such as recording at 120fps and adding in the slow motion post, and one-shot super slow motion that shoots a five-second clip just by pressing the shutter button.
The marquee feature, however, is the 720p video recorder at a normal speed, at which point you have to press the capture button at the right moment to initiate the high frame rate.
The Xperia XZ Premium has a great vlogging camera. Recording at 1080p yields videos with amazing detail and great colors, but recording at 4k would yield even better results especially when they’re eventually rendered out in 1080p.
One gripe you might have with the XZ premium is the slower shutter speed in low light conditions. This makes for blurry photos when there are movements, and you might want to retake the shot. Besides that, Sony used their own hardware to great effect; the XZ premium is solid, fun and the second best phone for vlogging.
Samsung Galaxy S9+
The Samsung Galaxy S9+ is one of the best smartphones in terms of videography. While it may not be the most spectacular camera phone, it certainly delivers high-quality videos fused with an excellent all-round smartphone experience.
The Galaxy S9+ features two rear cameras, with the main 12MP sensor accompanied by a secondary 12MP sensor directly below it. The main sensor makes the phone really special, it’s the first time a phone camera features f/1.5 aperture, meaning it can adjust quickly to any lighting situation.
It also features a new Dual Aperture Technology, allowing it to smoothly transition between f/1.5 for low light to f/2.4 which enables it to perform spectacularly well in low light, with consistent good exposure and vibrant colors. The autofocus feature works swimmingly with very little time wasted and the video stabilization is great.
What makes the Samsung Galaxy S9+ stand out, however, is its noise reducing ability while shooting videos. It pulls in more light and less noise and has a DRAM added to its image sensor stock, which allows photos to be made up of 12 frames instead of 3. With the Galaxy S9+, you can record in slow motion at 240fps in 1080p and supers slow motion at 960fps in 720p.
All these features, coupled with an easy to use camera app, make the Galaxy S9+ the best phone for video recording.
LG G6
The G6 sticks with its predecessor’s dual camera concept, but with both sensors now offering the same 13MP resolution. The wide angle lens also comes with a 71-degree angle of view and an f/1.8 aperture while the super wide angle offers 125 degrees and a slower f/2.4 aperture meaning low light snaps won’t be quite as good. The G6 also offers 4k video capture, stereo sound recording, and a laser-assisted AF system.
LG worked with Qualcomm to pluck some of the dual-camera smarts from the 835 CPU to implement them in the 821. The result is a much smoother process when switching sensors, giving the feel of a single camera.
The LG G6 has a few issues though; while the detailing is good, colors tend to look a bit bland on occasion and the dynamic range doesn’t compare with other high-end Android phones. In the end, the wide aperture helps significantly in low lighting conditions, even though the pixels are still as small as they were in the G5. Details are decent in dark conditions and noise is kept to a minimum.
While the G6 isn’t on the same level as other high-end phones, it still is right on top of its game when you take the price into consideration. It most definitely is the best mid-range camera phone in 2018 and the best budget smartphone for vlogging.
