Feeling cute, might delete later? Well, if your selfie camera isn’t number one, you might be more likely to delete it before even posting it. Front-facing cameras on smartphones are often terrible. They have a wide angle lens that you hold close to your face, causing distortion. This increases the size of your nose and makes your face look wider. Selfie dissatisfaction is all too common. Furthermore, the photos are often grainy. Phone manufacturers use small sensors and camera lens systems to produce an affordable front-facing camera. With the exception of dual screen phones that allow you to use the rear-facing camera, selfie cameras are usually disappointing.
That might change with DxOMark’s new ranking. Alongside DxOMark’s typical smartphone camera rankings, their rankings also show selfie camera scores. Now manufacturers that release lousy cameras will get called out for it. Apple’s iPhone XS Max scored the fourth place spot on the list, but it’s a full ten points below the Google Pixel 3 in the number one spot. The iPhone X is all the way down in the tenth spot. This is out of only 12 phones, as DxOMark has only ranked 12 phones using this new system as of this writing. There’s a new way for manufacturers to compete, and Apple is already far behind.
How DxOMark Ranks Selfie Cameras
Despite its cropping, the iPhone seems to take the most realistic photos here.
DxOMark ranks their selfie cameras in the same fashion as their rear-facing cameras. However, because front-facing cameras are specifically used for selfies, DxOMark weighted the various aspects of the cameras differently. They also added new criteria for distortion.
Usually, when you take a selfie, the most important thing is that you and your friends look good in it. For this, you have to make sure the result of a photo is a good photo. It’s clear, well-lit, isn’t grainy, and has good color accuracy. But it’s even more important than usual that it’s a good camera for portraits. This means exposure and color accuracy working together for realistic skin tones, details in people’s faces regardless of their skin tone, realistic, non-blurry skin, and minimal distortion.
Minimizing Distortion
What do I mean by distortion? A wide angle lens makes objects close to the lens in the center of the screen appear larger than those around the edges. This has a dramatic effect on the human face. It makes your nose appear enlarged. In fact, numerous plastic surgeons have reported that people come to them with dissatisfaction over their nose size due to selfies.
The ultra-wide angle lenses smartphone manufacturers often tout on the front of their phones are great for photos of groups. When you have only the length of your arm to work with, a wide angle lens can help you get everyone in the frame. But the camera will warp the scene and the people in it. Software can make up for this, but it often doesn’t do enough. DxOMark has considered this distortion as part of their “artifacts” rankings. Phones that receive high scores for their lack of artifacts will minimize this distortion.
One way to do this is Google’s Pixel 3 method. This phone has two front-facing cameras. One is a normal selfie lens, the other is a wide-angle for group selfies. Since DxOMark only counts the primary camera lenses on the front and back of devices, this will allow a company to have their cake and eat it too. Other methods include using a mesh to correct photos later, or even AI to identify people and objects and bring them into line accordingly.
What DxOMark’s Rankings Mean
DxOMark’s rankings are consistent, but much is still left up to the interpretation of the viewer. Photos are still subjective. However, by ranking these front-facing cameras, they’ll push manufacturers towards making better front-facing cameras. Your selfies are going to look better than ever, and it’s all thanks to DxOMark’s new rankings. Apple’s got some catching up to do, as fourth place out of twelve, despite being the most expensive phone on the list, is not acceptable.
Sources: