In recent years, it has literally become a trend to rely on multiple cameras even in the cheap smartphone price range. But it is also clear that the number of cameras cannot be increased with higher quality sensors if the price of the device remains the same. This is not only shown by very cheap devices. Smartphones priced between 300 and 400 euros have also consistently shown that this trend is not positive for consumers
Two years later: what happened, cheap macro cameras are still popular?
The good news is that macro cameras are on the decline. Still, manufacturers like Xiaomi have installed pure macro cameras in their 12 series. Not always with only 2 MP and slightly better cameras in between, but the “false” of real triple cameras was kept. The 2 MP macro camera can still be found in cheaper devices like the Moto G53.
In the case of Xiaomi, for example, something has changed since the 13th generation and macro cameras are finally out of expensive devices. Corporations like Google rely on a combination, here the ultra-wide-angle camera can also create macro shots with autofocus. We see that manufacturers can no longer sell the cheap 2 MP sensor as a highlight and therefore make it less.
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The camera concept is not consistent
Offering as many cameras as possible makes sense from a marketing perspective, but it’s actually just kidding the customer directly. To be clear. There was already a perfect example in 2020 with the OnePlus Nord. A total of four cameras are installed at the back, at least one of which could be stored. I’m talking about the macro camera, which has a whopping 2 megapixels, and that’s not the only reason it delivers a correspondingly poor quality.
When I think about it a little more, this combination is actually not good for marketing either. On the one hand, manufacturers install 48, 64 or 108 megapixel cameras and loudly advertise them. On the other hand, other camera sensors are so underpowered that the overall concept seems completely incoherent.
Zoom instead of macros can sometimes help
Back to OnePlus Nord. Curiously, with the rest of the cameras you can sometimes not only get closer to the object, but also in better quality. With the OnePlus Nord, I like to use the double zoom to get closer to the subject, as the image quality is sometimes much better. Macro cameras do not have autofocus and therefore quickly go out of focus, false colors, are very noisy and lack detail. The following is an example:
Of course, with zoom, only the focused object remains in focus, but other modules show more detail. A camera that comes into focus reveals a lot more about itself, and it’s not just a black thing. Updated: And yes, you can definitely get more out of it with post-processing. But this is probably only interesting to those who want to deal with this topic. I’m talking here for those who want to take good pictures from the wrist.
Macro cameras can be useful, but they need to be able to do more
Only since the OnePlus Nord I think we can do without the 2 megapixel camera if they are responsible for taking photos alone and without help. But the macro camera quality is really bad, especially on OnePlus smartphones, and the low price of the smartphone doesn’t make up for it. For example, the Redmi Note 9S’s 5 megapixel macro camera delivers significantly more quality. It has a resolution of 5 megapixels and even an autofocus.
Addition: Logically, a high resolution alone does not make a good picture. The mention of weak 2 megapixels should underline even more that manufacturers in this area are already trying very hard to cut corners and initially install rather cheap camera sensors.
Just a small tip: if a manufacturer advertises additional cameras that are at the level of 2 MP and have nothing else to offer technically, you can stay away from them. Or at least shouldn’t be a reason to buy a 2MP macro camera, because you get nothing in return. So, dear creators, don’t fool us anymore.
