Top 5 Best Camera Phones that Capture Photos like a DSLR
In the ever-evolving world of smartphone photography, some devices stand out not just for their megapixel count, but for their ability to capture images that rival traditional DSLR cameras.
Thanks to larger sensors, advanced optics, and groundbreaking AI-driven processing, today’s flagship phones have become powerful tools for creators and enthusiasts alike.
Whether you're zooming in on distant wildlife, shooting cinematic videos, or editing group photos with AI precision, the latest camera phones offer features once thought exclusive to professional gear.
In this guide, we rank the Top 5 Best Camera Phones of 2025 that deliver DSLR-like results — each one tailored to different types of photographers.
Let’s explore the future of mobile photography.
| Rank | Smartphone |
|---|---|
| #5 | Vivo X200 Pro |
| #4 | Xiaomi 15 Ultra |
| #3 | Google Pixel 9 Pro XL |
| #2 | iPhone 16 Pro Max |
| #1 | Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra |
#5 Vivo X200 Pro - The Zoom Specialist
The vivo X200 Pro rounds out the top five by excelling in telephoto photography, making it the ideal choice for photographers who frequently shoot distant subjects.
Many phones already mentioned in this list can take great-looking pictures at a distance, but for those after the absolute best, the vivo X200 Pro (or the fancy Ultra) is the phone to choose.
Telephoto Excellence
The standout feature is an f/2.3, 85mm periscope lens backed by a colossal 200MP 1/1.4-inch sensor, which captures impressive details at its native 3.7x optical zoom and crops in for much tighter frames without losing detail.
Reviewers have been impressed with the phone's results right out to 10x, but it can also take super-close-up macro photos from the same lens.
Versatile Shooting Capabilities
The dual-purpose nature of the telephoto lens sets the X200 Pro apart. It excels at both wildlife-distance photography and close-up work, with the same lens capable of capturing both distant subjects and detailed macro shots.
For serious telephoto photographers, vivo also sells a 200mm, f/2.3 extension lens for the Ultra's impressive main camera.
Paired with a hybrid digital zoom, it can take pictures all the way out to 1,600mm.
That's a huge distance, although the quality doesn't quite hold up that brilliantly at that range.
Image Quality and Performance
The X200 Pro delivers consistently great photo and video quality, with natural processing, making it an excellent choice for photographers who prefer less aggressive computational photography processing.
Best For
Wildlife photographers, sports shooters, travel photographers who need exceptional zoom capabilities, and anyone who frequently shoots distant subjects while also wanting macro photography options.
#4 Xiaomi 15 Ultra - The Hardware Powerhouse
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra claims the fourth position by delivering exceptional hardware specifications that photography enthusiasts crave. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is a camera powerhouse that's mostly on par with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
It comes with a superb camera, headlined by a wide camera with a large 1-inch sensor, a 200MP periscope that delivers excellent zoom image quality.
Impressive Sensor Technology
At the heart of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra lies a wide camera with a large 1-inch sensor, which represents one of the largest camera sensors available in any smartphone. This massive sensor enables superior light gathering capabilities and enhanced dynamic range.
The comprehensive camera system includes a 200MP periscope that delivers excellent zoom image quality. There's also a 50MP telephoto and another 50MP ultrawide camera, rounding up an extremely capable camera package.
Professional Accessories
What truly distinguishes the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is the camera grip accessory that transforms the experience completely. This optional accessory transforms the smartphone into a more DSLR-like device, providing better ergonomics and additional controls for serious photographers.
Image Quality Excellence
Despite being challenging to obtain in some markets, it's definitely among the best camera phones to consider.
Image quality is exceptional, with minimal overprocessing and oversharpening, which helps the phone achieve an extremely natural, and at the same time, appealing and detailed look that stands out.
The zoom performance is particularly noteworthy: Zoom quality is exceptional, with images appearing wonderful at both the native 3X and 6X zoom levels, but photographers can surprisingly get usable results even when zooming much further.
Best For
Photography enthusiasts who prioritize hardware specifications, users who want the largest possible sensor, and photographers who appreciate professional accessories and natural image processing.
#3 Google Pixel 9 Pro XL - The AI Photography Pioneer
Google's Pixel 9 Pro XL earns its place through computational photography innovation and AI-powered features that push the boundaries of what's possible with smartphone cameras. In tests, the Pixel 9 Pro XL made it among the very best devices for still images capture. Photos had accurate target exposure and a very wide dynamic range, with the Pixel capturing better highlight detail than its competitors in many test scenes.
Advanced Hardware Foundation
The Pixel 9 Pro XL features a 50MP Type 1/1.31 (9.8 x 7.4mm) Octa PD sensor, which is the largest on any of the devices. Paired with an F1.68 lens and a 25mm equivalent focal length, this camera benefits from both optical and digital image stabilization.
The telephoto capabilities are impressive, with a 110mm equivalent focal length in its tele camera, the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is a great option for smartphone photographers who like to take pictures at long tele zoom.
At the native 5x setting, tele images showed good exposure, nice color and high levels of detail.
AI-Powered Photography Magic
What sets the Pixel apart is its computational photography prowess. The new Pixel 9 cameras feature better lenses for sharper photos and videos, even in low light, but the real magic happens in software.
Revolutionary features include:
- Add Me: This feature ensures no one gets left behind. First, photographers take a photo of the group, then trade places with someone and take a second photo with them in it. Pixel uses augmented reality in real time to guide the second photographer to frame the photo to match the composition of the first one
- Magic Editor with Auto Frame: Auto frame in Magic Editor is a new AI feature that generates options to better frame a photo that's already been captured. It can even suggest a wider view of the image, using generative AI to fill in the blanks around the subject
- Zoom Enhance: Zoom Enhance intelligently fills in the gaps between pixels and predicts fine details for high-quality, post-capture zoom results
Video Innovation
Video Boost on Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL uses AI upscaling to deliver videos in 8K resolution. With that high of a resolution, photographers can save high-quality still images, up to 33MP, from the video or zoom in up to 2x in post-production and retain 4K resolution.
Best For
Social media creators, computational photography enthusiasts, group photographers, and anyone who wants cutting-edge AI features that enhance their photography workflow.
#2 iPhone 16 Pro Max - The Consistency King
Apple's iPhone 16 Pro Max secures the second position by delivering what many consider the most reliable and consistent camera experience available. The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are standout cameras, capturing the most impressive images seen from any iPhone. At every zoom level, photos look authentic and natural, like real photographs instead of computer-processed images or frozen video frames.
Technical Excellence
The iPhone 16 Pro Max features an upgraded camera system, with three rear cameras and a lidar scanner. It features "wide", "ultrawide" and "telephoto" lenses. The wide camera is 48 megapixels, with sensor-shift optical image stabilization (OIS) and dual-pixel phase detection autofocus (PDAF).
A significant upgrade comes in the form of a new main camera that features the same 48-megapixel resolution and f/1.78 aperture but is roughly twice as fast when it comes to readout speeds. This makes it possible to unlock 4K at 120 frames per second in video mode.
The ultra-wide camera upgrade, with the iPhone 16 Pro having a 48MP sensor, in place of the 12MP one used by its predecessor, represents another major improvement. This lens also functions as a macro camera.
Video Supremacy
Where the iPhone 16 Pro Max truly shines is video capture. Overall, the Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max is the best device tested to date for filming in challenging low-light conditions, capturing almost noise-free footage with very high levels of detail.
The new Camera Control button adds a DSLR-like physical interface, allowing photographers to open the camera app, switch between different camera controls and features, and take photos and videos.
The button can distinguish between light and hard presses.
Macro Photography Revolution
One compelling bonus of the 48 MP upgrade is that photographers get more than just high-resolution shots. It does wonders for macro photography.
The improvement means that with 48MP of image data, a center crop delivers a true 12 MP image. It makes for macro shots that are on another level.
Best For
Video content creators, photographers who prioritize consistency and natural-looking images, and anyone who needs exceptional low-light video performance.
#1 Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra - The Versatility Champion
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra claims the top spot as the most versatile camera phone of 2025, and for good reason. Samsung's new flagship improves the score achieved by last year's Galaxy S24 Ultra by two whole points, reaching 158 points in PhoneArena's comprehensive camera testing, making it the highest-rated camera phone currently available.
Camera Specifications That Matter
At the heart of the S25 Ultra sits a massive 200MP main camera with 2x optical quality zoom, which captures life in breathtaking detail and vibrant, true-to-life colours.
But the real game-changer is Samsung's comprehensive lens system: a 50MP ultra-wide lens (improving on the S24 Ultra's 12MP), a 50MP telephoto 1 lens with 10x optical quality zoom and 5x optical zoom, and a 10MP telephoto 2 lens with 3x optical zoom.
This multi-lens approach delivers what experts describe as exceptional quality, where the Galaxy S25 Ultra has two zoom cameras, which deliver exceptional quality.
Similarly to last year's Galaxy S24 Ultra, photographers get exceptional sharpness in all zoom levels that matter (up to 10X).
What Makes a Camera Phone DSLR-Like?
Before diving into the top picks, it's important to understand what separates truly exceptional camera phones from the rest. The journey toward DSLR-quality smartphone photography involves several critical factors.
Sensor size and quality form the foundation of great photography. Larger sensors capture more light, resulting in better dynamic range, reduced noise, and superior low-light performance. Today's flagship phones feature sensors that, while still smaller than full-frame DSLRs, are significantly larger than previous generations.
Multiple lens systems with genuine optical zoom capabilities have become essential. Rather than relying on digital crop-ins, the best camera phones now include dedicated telephoto and ultra-wide lenses that maintain image quality across different focal lengths.
Advanced image processing powered by AI and machine learning has revolutionized smartphone photography. Modern phones can merge multiple exposures, enhance details, and optimize images in ways that were previously impossible without extensive post-processing.
Professional controls including manual focus, exposure settings, and RAW capture give photographers the creative freedom they need. The ability to shoot in professional formats and manually control camera settings bridges the gap between smartphone convenience and DSLR capability.
These elements combine to create camera phones that can produce stunning images rivaling traditional cameras in many situations, though each device has its own strengths and ideal use cases.
Are Smartphone Cameras Really DSLR Replacements?
The question of whether smartphones can truly replace DSLRs requires an honest assessment of both strengths and limitations.
Where Smartphones Excel
Modern camera phones offer several advantages over traditional DSLRs:
- Convenience and Portability: The best camera is the one someone has with them. Smartphones eliminate the need to carry heavy equipment while still delivering exceptional image quality.
- Instant Processing and Sharing: Advanced AI processing happens in real-time, and images can be edited and shared immediately without transferring files or extensive post-processing.
- Computational Photography: Features like night mode, portrait mode, and HDR processing use multiple exposures and AI to create images that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with single-shot DSLR photography.
- Consistent Performance: Modern smartphones excel at delivering consistently good results across various conditions without requiring extensive technical knowledge.
