Many people tend to be deceived that the higher the pixel of their camera, the better the picture it can take. The IPhone 6's camera has 8 megapixels and the galaxy s6's has 16, but they both take pictures of the same clarity and sharpness.
So the big question is; WHY DOES THAT HAPPEN?
Theoretically, more pixels should mean a sharper and clearer image but that is never the case.
In reality, pixels rely on a camera's ability to capture light. The larger the sensor, the more pixels it can support which often leads to better, sharper pictures. But as more pixels are added to a sensor, the smaller they need to be to fit onto the sensor itself. And the smaller the pixel, the less light it can capture, which results in images with "noise," or unwanted artifacts that reduce an image's sharpness.
One way to counter this is keep the shutter open for longer to allow enough light to hit the sensor. But even the most minute movements you make when the shutter is open will result in blurriness, which then leads to poor quality images, especially in low-light situations. Apart from the new LG G4, most smartphones don't give you control over the shutter.
This image taken with the HTC One (M8) is still very good, but closer inspection will reveal that it's not as sharp as cameras with more megapixels.
At the same time, pictures won't be as sharp if pixels are too large. This was the case with the HTC One (M8)'s four "UltraPixel" camera, which simply means it has four megapixels with each pixel being larger than you'd normally find on a smartphone. It resulted in good bokeh (when a subject pops out against a purposefully blurry background) and relatively good low-light shots. But image clarity and sharpness was only decent because four megapixels isn't enough to capture finer details. HTC has since ditched the UltraPixels in favor of regular megapixels for the new One (M9).
So, there's a fine balance of sensor and pixel size smartphone manufacturers need to strike to make a good camera. The iPhone 6's camera has a 1/2.2-inch sensor with 8 megapixels, while the Galaxy S6's camera has a larger 1/1.9-inch sensor with 16 megapixels. Simply put, they're both very similar cameras that use different methods and components to achieve similar results.
THIS IMAGE WAS TAKEN WITH A GALAXY S6
So next time you want to buy a phone or just a camera, take the factors above into consideration.
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